THE POET IN UDMURTIA: LITERARY REPUTATION AND REGIONAL IDENTITY
The article considers the currently established literary reputations of contemporary Russian-speaking poets from Udmurtia: S. Zhilin, V. Shikhov, A. Koramyslov. With reference to the works of M. M. Golubkov, A. I. Garaev, the article highlights the importance of sociocultural influences on the formation of the writer’s role. The article points out the importance of self-presentation in the formation of the writer’s image. The article shows that the problem of definition of a personal position in literature is especially relevant for those writers who live in regions situated far away from literary life. Udmurtia is such a region. An important factor in the formation of a local writer’s literary reputation is his attitude to the local locus itself, in particular, to the literary life of the region. A poet can identify himself within a local context and present himself as a creator of a local text. In such a way, he generates perceptions that create a symbolic dimension (the case of S. Zhilin who obtained the image of “poet of Izhevsk”). Another situation: the author might purposely renounce participation in the literary life of the local locus because of its “provincialism”. He attempts to fit into the national context, thus avoiding the stage of recognition in the local context (the case of V. Shikhov who has chosen the image of “non-media”, “closed” poet). The third situation: the writer finds some kind of a compromise by getting involved in the national literary process, while, at the same time, preserving, for example, his ethnical identity (the case of A. Koramyslov who attained dual status, namely: “a famous poet” and “a poet from Udmurtua/ Votkinsk”). The conclusions reached in the article represent the character of general trends and show the problems that characterize the literature of provincial regions.