F. Sologub as the editor in the publishing house "Vsemirnaya literatura"

The paper discusses the work of F. Sologub in the publishing house "Vsemirnaya literatura", organized in 1918. The aim of this paper is to review the editorial principles of the writer and their changes in the course by cooperation. Sologub's work as editor has not previously been a subject of research; the introductory articles by the writer have not been the subject of a separate study. Using the comparative method, the author traces the evolution of the editorial principles of the writer. In "Vsemirnaya Literatura", Sologub was the editor, compiler, author of commentaries and introductory articles for Izbrannye proizvedeniya G. de Mopassana [Selected Works of G. de Maupassant]. Archival studies showed that Sologub prepared six volumes; however, only two of them were published (Bel Ami, Strong as Death). They became the main research material, along with previously unknown documents (Maupassant's Lunnyi svet i drugie rasskazy [Moonlight and Other Short Stories] from Sologub's private library which preserved marginalia and allowed tracing the process of editing, and the unpublished "Preface" to the two volumes of Rasskazy Mopassana [Short Stories of Maupassant] stored in the archive of the writer). Until 1918 Sologub had written three introductory articles to the books of translations: his own translations of poems by P. Verlaine, the novel translated by An. Chebotarevskaya and a note for Polnoe sobranie sochineniyMopassana [Complete Works of G. de Maupassant]. These brief notes by Sologub about the authors or the works were an expression of the subjective attitude of the writer towards the object, they disclosed his own views on issues raised in the novel or on the work of the author. "Vsemirnaya Literatura" had specific requirements for introductory articles. Instructions sent to the editors are a detailed plan of what the preface should contain and how it should be structured. Sologub wrote his introductory article for Izbrannye proizvedeniya G. de Mopassana following this plan. However, the evolution of the principles of editorial work by Sologub did not satisfy the reviewer of the book, N.O. Lerner. He gave a negative review and pointed to the source in one of the articles -Complete Works of G. de Maupassant in French (ed. by L. Conard). The review of this publication and its comparison with the content of Sologub's introductory articles shows that the informative part of the preface is completely taken from this source. However, when writing articles, Sologub did not abandon his principles of writing. It is most evident in Sologub's article to his translation of the novel Strong as Death. Comparing the introductory articles of the two periods of the writer, i.e. before 1918 and during the existence of "Vsemirnaya Literatura", the author comes to a conclusion that Sologub, who, at first glance, completely changed an approach to work, managed to save his characteristic manner, i.e. expressed his vision of the works by Maupassant at a professional level.

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