1920 Diary / Isaac Babel; Carol J. Avins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Babel, Isaac, Author.

Contributor:

Avins, Carol J., Editor.

Willetts, H. T.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Babelʹ, I. (Isaak), 1894-1940--Diaries.

Babelʹ, I.

Authors, Russian--20th century--Soviet Union--Diaries.

Authors, Russian.

Soldiers--Diaries.

Soldiers.

Soviet Union--History--Revolution, 1917-1921--Personal narratives, Russian.

Soviet Union.

Soviet Union--History--Revolution, 1917-1921--Campaigns.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (192 p.) : 16 b/w illus.

Place of Publication:

New Haven, CT : Yale University Press, [1995]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Russian writer Isaac Babel (1894-1940) is widely acknowledged to be one of the great masters of twentieth-century literature, hailed as a genius by such critics as Lionel Trilling and Irving Howe. The work for which he is best known is a cycle of stories called Red Cavalry, which depicts the exploits of the Cossack cavalry during the Polish-Soviet war of 1919-1920 and is based on Babel's experiences as he rode with the Cossacks during the campaign. Babel kept a diary during this period, in which he recorded the devastation of the war, the extreme cruelty of the Polish and Red armies alike toward the Jewish population in the Ukraine and eastern Poland, and his own conflicted role as both Soviet revolutionary and Jew. The 1920 Diary, a vital source for Red Cavalry as well as a compelling narrative, is now published in English for the first time.The 1920 Diary is the most significant contemporary account of the tragedy of Eastern European Jewry during this period. The Diary also yields important insights into Babel's personal evolution, showing his youthful curiosity and his anguish as, frequently concealing his own Jewish identity, he mingled with the victimized Jews of the region's shtetls and with his Cossack comrades. Finally, the Diary sheds light on Babel's artistic development, revealing the path from observations recorded in excitement and despair to the painstakingly crafted narratives of the Red Cavalry cycle.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Illustrations

Editor's Acknowledgments

Editor's Note on the Translation

Map of Poland in the Era of the Polish-Soviet War

Map of Babel's Route with the First Cavalry Army

Introduction: Isaac Babel's "Red Cavalry" Diary

1920 Diary

Appendix: Babel's Publications in the Red Cavalryman

Notes to Babel's Texts

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9780300173307

030017330X

OCLC:

1024033737