THE KNOW-HOW OF THE BIOGRAPHICAL GENRE

Abstract

The article offers a detailed examination of Mikhail Bakhtin’s biography by A. Korovashko, which came out in The Lives of Remarkable People series [Zhizn’ zamechatelnykh lyudey, ZhZL] in 2017.M. Bakhtin’s life and legacy have always sparked keen interest among Russian and foreign scholars alike, but his biography still holds its secrets and, despite the efforts of M. Holquist and K. Clark, of S. and L. Konkin, N. Nikolaev, N. Pankov, I. Popova, and others, a comprehensive scholarly version is missing to this day.With his ideas permeating the global intellectual environment and his theories influencing the modern studies of human sciences, Bakhtin is a preeminent contemporary thinker. It is only natural, therefore, that his biography by A. Korovashko, entitled Mikhail Bakhtin, was published in the ZhZL series.In his attempt to offer his own view and interpretation of the scholar’s lifetime and the historical and cultural context of his research, Korovashko decided to debunk what he calls ‘the Bakhtin myth’ and undermine the so-called ‘Bakhtin industry’. However, his unusual manner of ironic narration and a penchant for literary reimagining of the subjects lead to the emergence of factual errors and inaccuracies, while the author’s rhetoric of demystification frustrates any professional and competent analysis of Bakhtin’s theories.