Biographical Writings Research Articles

Biography of Writers as a Motivation for Creative Skills of Primary School Students

In addition to education and training, formation of skills of practical application of the acquired knowledge is the goal of modern school. Therefore, the ability to use what has been learnt as a sample, as an example, is formed in pupils who get acquainted with biographies of writers and poets. Literary works play a special role in the formation of a person's personal qualities and his further development. Presenting information about the author's biography is one of the ways to arouse interest in reading and analyzing a work of fiction. The article argumentatively shows the role of studying the biography of the writer as a motivation in teaching for the development of creative abilities of younger pupils. The biographical method should be used as an element, which helps to prepare children to perceive and analyze the studied literary work.

Pushkin's Pages of Boris Vasiliev's Historical and Autobiographical Novels (Based on the Novel «The Player and the Brether, the Player and the Duellist»)

The subject of the article is the image of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin as a source of unique information within the boundaries of the writer's biography, allowing to conduct historically reliable literary research and to put forward a new assumption about the prototype of the hero of the work. The novel «The Player and the Brether, the Player and the Duellist», which opens the Oleksin cycle of B.L. Vasiliev's works, was taken as a material for analysis. A characteristic feature of the «Oleksin saga» is a complex, branched system of characters. Thanks to the study of «Pushkin's» plot line of the novel it was possible to put forward an assumption about the prototype of the hero of the work and to prove it, relying on archival materials of correspondence of A.S. Pushkin and his contemporaries. The problem of the prototype of the hero of the novel was addressed by V.A. Karnyushin, whose creative interest in this issue is due to the original ending of the novel. The aim of the study is to determine the prototype of the novel's hero.

Being a Jesuit in Renaissance Italy: Biographical Writing in the Early Global Age, by Camilla Russell

<i>Being a Jesuit in Renaissance Italy: Biographical Writing in the Early Global Age</i>, by Camilla Russell

The Potable Steinbeck: Prohibition Protagonists as Seen through the Lens of Alcohology

Abstract Critical and biographical writings on John Steinbeck have identified and described the writer’s propensity to engage in alcoholic consumption. Labeled by one critic as a “hard drinker” on a par with his contemporary Ernest Hemingway, Steinbeck could be said to have “written what he knew” given the plurality of drinking episodes in his writings. Drawing on the the social, economic, and historic aspects of Prohibition as well as the findings of anthropologists whose behavioral research focused on alcohol consumption as “constructive drinking,” this study examines selected characters in The Long Valley, Steinbeck’s Prohibition-era short stories. While the motivations behind the drinking of the Long Valley denizens may run contrary to anthropological findings, such diversion from the expected is lent credence given the impact of Prohibition, with its overarching backdrops of crime, suppression, and violence, upon John Steinbeck.

Being a Jesuit in Renaissance Italy: Biographical Writing in the Early Global Age by Camilla Russell (review)

Being a Jesuit in Renaissance Italy: Biographical Writing in the Early Global Age by Camilla Russell (review)

Dissimulation as an Editorial Strategy in the Life of William Wilberforce

In 1838, Robert and Samuel Wilberforce published, in five volumes, The Life of William Wilberforce. Although the subject of some contemporary controversy, this work, containing extensive quotations from his diaries, rapidly established itself as the principal source for subsequent biographical writings about Wilberforce and strongly influenced later interpretations. The production of a complete initial transcription of the diaries by the Wilberforce Diaries Project for the first time enables a systematic comparison between the Life and its principal source. This reveals a systematic attempt by his sons to minimize references to Wilberforce's participation in some aspects of Hanoverian sociability, his use of medication to deal with his worsening health, his close associations with and respect for Nonconformists and his own evangelical commitment and spirituality. As a consequence, the Wilberforce we know from the biography is as much a product of early Victorian myth-making as the Wilberforce of 1759–1833.

От ВАПП к РАПП: к истории литературной организации

The article offers materials on the history of the Russian Association of Proletarian Writers (RAPP). The “line” of the movement from the Section of Proletarian Writers under the LITO of the NKP of the RSFSR to the organizational design of the RAPP at the First All-Union Congress of Proletarian Writers (1928) is considered. An attempt is made to present the processes taking place within the RAPP: organizational separation from the MAPP, the struggle against the Napost minority. The materials on the liquidation of the RAPP are analyzed, making it possible to see that the Organizing Committee of the SSP of the USSR could not do without the experience and accumulated literary practices of the RAPP.The history of the literary organization studied in the article allows us to cover the extensive material presented in documentary sources (statutory documents, transcripts, resolutions, memos) from the archives of the OR IMLI and RGALI, which is being released into scholarly circulation for the first time. The documents also allow us to reconstruct individual episodes in the biographies of writers in the period 1920–1930. The stated topic is one of the most important strategic directions in the study of the literary process of the twentieth century.

Ad Santel is Coming to Town: The 1921 Yasukuni Shrine ‘MMA Fights’ Between Catch Wrestling and Kōdōkan Judo

In February 1921, catch wrestlers Ad Santel and Henry Weber traveled to Japan to engage in several public bouts against fighters from the Kōdōkan judo school. The matches were held in a sumo ring at Tokyo’s Yasukuni shrine and became a mega-event, attracting between 20,000 and 25,000 spectators. The Kōdōkan judo headquarters and the center’s founder Kanō Jigorō positioned themselves in opposition to the bouts to protect the Kōdōkan brand. What became known as the ‘Santel Incident’ (Santeru jiken) caused major controversy in Japan’s judo community. To understand the significance of the Santel Incident in the history of Kōdōkan judo, this article focusses on the aspects of medialization, commercialization, and eventization of sports, thus placing the bouts within the larger context of contemporary Japanese and global sport history. We demonstrate that the challenge by the American professional wrestlers brought to the surface generational tensions as well as divergent visions concerning the definition of judo between sports and martial art, and professionalism and amateurism. Our analysis is based on close readings of contemporary primary sources, including Japanese newspaper articles, research essays in judo magazines, and (auto)biographical writings, some of which are analyzed and discussed for the first time.

Some issues of the national liberation movement in Turkestan in the legacy of Mustafa Shokay

Relevance. The history of the Turkestan uprising in the works of Mustafa Shokay is rather poorly researched, especially the biographical writings that covered these processes were barely analysed. The Turkestan uprising of 1916 is a grey area in historiography, and the study of Mustafa Shokay's writings for the interpretation of those events is still relevant nowadays. Purpose. The purpose of this study is to investigate the writings of Mustafa Shokay for the interpretation of the 1916 uprising, to trace the processes and causes that followed, and to examine Mustafa Shokay's role in the Muslim faction - which was important in clarifying the issue. Methodology. The study used a variety of historical methods and approaches to analyse and select information regarding the issue of the uprising in Turkestan in the works of Mustafa Shokay. The research also made wide use of methods of analysis and synthesis, general methods of scientific cognition, and methods of empirical investigation. The historical-comparative, retrospective and abstractive methods made it possible to reconstruct and model the processes on the days before the uprising in Turkestan, and its consequences, in as much detail as possible. The study analysed Mustafa Shokay's work, his role in these processes, and his views on all the processes that occurred in Turkestan during the uprising. Results/Conclusions. Based on the results of the study, the following conclusions were made: the role of Mustafa Shokay in the Turkestan uprising of 1916 is implicit, his standpoint of this event is insufficiently studied by modern historians, which gives grounds to consider his writings as another important source for the coverage of those events. However, it is Mustafa Shokay's work in the 1916 uprising commission and his biographical notes from that time that provide valuable and complete information for a comprehensive consideration of the issue.

Nostalgia and Creative Urge as Double-Edged Swords in the (Auto)Biographical Writings of Rose Gollup-Cohen

Abstract While some Jewish immigrant autobiographies have received broad critical attention, a few important autobiographical endeavours have been underrepresented or almost forgotten. Autobiographies written by Jewish female writers who immigrated to America from Russia, Poland, or Galicia often draw a bifurcated picture of their struggles in callous New York sweatshops, or, on the contrary, they exalt the Jews’ notable success while blending in the American melting pot. Scarce studies, however, have been devoted to the dislocation and uprootedness of female immigrants and to the nostalgic feelings they have experienced during their absorption into American reality. This paper intends to resuscitate the forgotten voice of a Jewish immigrant female writer, Rose Gollup-Cohen. Moreover, using primarily psychoanalytical methodology and a feminist theory, the paper focuses on the nostalgic feelings that immigrants reverted to. Finally, it deals with both the therapeutic and the destructive powers of compulsive writing and shows how the writing process assists an immigrant writer when coping with distress experienced in her new homeland, but, on the other hand, it also demonstrates how compulsive writing may lead to obsessive behaviours, resulting in losing awareness of one’s surroundings, neglecting one’s family, and even to depression and suicide.

Russell, Camilla. Being a Jesuit in Renaissance Italy: Biographical Writing in the Early Global Age

Russell, Camilla. Being a Jesuit in Renaissance Italy: Biographical Writing in the Early Global Age

Biography of the Artist as an Artistic and Aesthetic Category

The study of the problem of a creative personality and an artistic hero allows us to find a solution to a number of poetic issues, such as a work of art, the history of its creation, an aesthetic ideal, a hero, an image. In the first case, attention was paid to this concept from the point of view of sociality, and in a later period it is observed that the mental state and spiritual vibrations of a human personality are illuminated on the basis of literary sources (creativity, literary text, its roots). The main principles of the biographical method in the world literature are studied in many theoretical sources in general, during this period in the West, the synthesis of a work of art with the character, talent and psychological states of its author, an individual approach to the creative process, became a form of tradition. Since the identity of the creator is full of mysteries, it is difficult to organize his biography according to strict rules. That is why in Russian literary criticism the writer's biography was called "a genre that does not obey the rules" In a biographical work, one of the main issues of the biographical method is the integration and study of different aspects of a person's life.

Dear Scottie – F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Letters to his Daughter

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Our article aims at a brief literary analysis of the letters written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, the famous American writer to his only child, Scottie. Despite his short life (1896-1940), Fitzgerald left an indelible mark not only on English-language literature, but also on world literature. His novels and short stories have been translated into many languages ​​of the world. And the new screen adaptation of his masterpiece "The Great Gatsby" once again opened the door for the writer in the hearts of millions of modern youth. The writer's biography is no less impressive than the lives of his most reckless characters. Fitzgerald's life was full of adventures and extremes. He had periods of carefree life and days when he had to constantly ask his literary agent for an advance. Scottie, his only daughter, was the brightest point of his life, born to him by his wife, the beautiful and talented Zelda Sayre. Dozens of letters written to Scott reveal the truest and most intimate side of the writer - the father figure and that of the role of the father - for which he never betrayed.

Recollection of the Parisian painters in 1650–1800

The article is dedicated to research of sources and documents linked with recollection of Parisian painters of 1650–1800 by contemporaries and scholars. Since the origin of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture appeared regularly a sum of biographical essays devoted to French academic masters. The texts were created by historiographer of Academy until the middle of the 18th century. Later it were connoisseurs of fine art who continued to produce these writings. The authors were recruited from members of Academy as well as friends and relatives of an artist. After research of such sources and documents, the author strives to define a role of memory and posthumous glory for the most eminent artists and representatives of artistic milieu. The author takes in consideration an image of a Parisian painter displayed before his descendants. The article also treats an idea of personal glory connected with artists’ aim to make the Academy and its pictorial school flourish and rule throughout Europe. The research novelty is based on the lack of fundamental publications on the topic in Russian and Western historiography. The relevance of this study is caused by recent trends of social art history interested in everyday life and worldview of a real artist in the real world. Author’s careful work with authentic documents helped to trace a certain scheme used in such biographical writings. They contain biographical data, a tribute to personal qualities of the late artist and, finally, a scrupulous description of his works. The texts written by artist’s friends and relatives are usually more sentimental and have a touch of biographical novel. Virtually, both of these genres were intended not only to keep memory of artist’s creative heritage but also to represent his individuality. In doing so the biographers of any artist not only aimed to compose several individual vitae but also to create a panoramic view of French school of painting as the leader of artistic progress of the time.

Logics of Actors in the Resilience Trajectory of People Living with HIV/Type 2 Diabetes Comorbidity

The person living with HIV/diabetes a type 2 comorbidity (PLHIV/DT2) faces adversities from the moment the diagnosis is announced, such as uncertainty about the course of the pathology, chronicity and the management of complex recommendations. Different professional and social actors intervene in his different environments to support him. In spite of this, PLWHIV/AIDS oscillate between improvement and relapse, acceptance and denial, stability and instability, autonomy and dependence. This reflects a fluctuating trajectory of resilience. The aim of this article is to analyse the logics of the actors in the trajectory of resilience of PLWHA/DT2. In order to answer this question, we have opted for a phenomenological qualitative research. The biographical writings of 05 PLWHA/DT2, who attend the National Obesity Centre and the Cameroonian Association of Diabetics, and in-depth interviews with 20 social and professional actors were carried out and were the subject of a content analysis. The results showed that the characteristics of the actors are diversified and their action strategies are complex. The logics of positioning (power games, confrontation of scientific and secular knowledge), standardisation (respect for deontology, ethics and institutional culture) and complementarities (négociations, intégration, interactions) were identified. Interdisciplinarity is suggested.

China's First Recital and Recording Pianist Ding Shande: A Critical Examination of His Performing Career and Performance Style

AbstractMusical biography, particularly that which focuses on non-Western performers, has long been marginalized in musicology. This article critically examines the performing career and performance style of China's first recital and recording pianist, Ding Shande, by scrutinizing written documents and analysing recordings. It was found that Ding's performing career was short-lived, peaking in 1935 and ending in the 1950s, and that he tended to play with fast and even tempo, emphasize metrical organizations, and highlight structural divisions through long-range dynamic variation. These findings shed light on how the changing concept of semi-colonialism influenced the career trajectories and performance styles of the earliest Chinese pianists, and hence offer insights into early history of piano performance in China. This article shows that performers’ performances are just as important in biographical writings as is the story of their lives, and that interweaving the two helps develop a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of a performer's biography.

British Formalist Aesthetics and Its Literary Writing Practice

British Formalist Aesthetics and Its Literary Writing Practice

The Growth of Arabic Biographical Writing in South Asia from the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Century

This essay surveys the Arabic biographical writing of select South Asian Muslim scholars from the late Mughal to the colonial period to argue that, for scholars participating in transregional networks of hadith scholarship, Arabic biographical writing served purposes distinct from Indo-Persianate biographical writing. South Asian scholars chose to write Arabic histories to access pasts and construct communities that centered the ʿulama’ as a distinct class of Muslims who represented the continuity of Islamicate discursive traditions across time and space. Arabic biographical histories indicate a different sense of temporality and geography than Indo-Persianate histories by both marking the passage of time through the transmission of religious knowledge over generations and mapping transregional scholarly networks.1However, this did not necessarily entail a disavowal of Indo-Persianate histories that placed greater emphasis on saintly miracles, blessings, and shrines.2This productive tension between Indo-Arabic and Indo-Persianate writing is missed when only Indo-Persianate texts are examined.

Margery Kempe: A Mixed Life

Margery Kempe: A Mixed Life

Camilla Russell, Being a Jesuit in Renaissance Italy: Biographical Writing in the Early Global Age

Camilla Russell, Being a Jesuit in Renaissance Italy: Biographical Writing in the Early Global Age