Ivan Bunin’s book of travel sketches the Temple of the Sun: a history of the text

The starting point for the authors is notion of flexibility and dynamism Bunin’s text, which was treated by this writer as a narrative that almost never could reach its conclusion, be verified and, since moment, given an unchangeable version. travel poems Temple Sun provide one instances kind treatment. uniqueness material derives from following factor – efforts initiated in 1910s to edit travelogue were first experience, unprecedented Bunin, dealing with large form, prevenient step towards his later latest works, such Cursed Days, Life Arseniev, Liberation Tolstoy, Dark Avenues Memoirs. For time science, undertake fullscale reconstruction poems’ textual history, became significant on way complete academic collection works currently prepared team scholars at A.M. Gorky Institute World Literature Russian Academy Sciences. conceptual center all observations article emphasis onto primarily “semantic” character amendments loaded sense paving new poetics. have found four versions Sun: (1) initial publications 1907–1911, entity “travel poems” within collected 1915; (2) 1917 edition sketches intertwined oriental verses; (3) thoroughly revised Paris 1931 entitled Shadow Bird; (4) “Nobel prize” version issued Petropolis, publishing house Berlin, again under title Sun. analyze texts belong outlined circle sources perspective several topographic locations concentrate around themselves main motifs travelogue. They also single out number essential types correction Bunin made opus. Motifs representing cosmopolitism world capitals (remarkably, not Western ones but Eastern, Constantinople Alexandria) alongside specific sentiment narrator’s voice, marked feeling all-world unity, serve indicators primal, most archaic layer text. Its history reveals how gradually (vigorously émigré years) tended reject both capitals’ hopes cosmopolitan future humanity. These shifts encouraged alteration poetics whole. Now traces modernity are excluded East’s images whereas antiquity channel bring reader back into humanity’s past was, contrary, reinforced years went by. A less conspicuous important type based erasing text narrator who sometimes presented himself historically authentic figure: “literary” citations well “bookish” instrumentation telling subject general radically reduced eliminated. All finally contributed virtual, fictional relocation factual realities 1907 timelessness, metahistory. these strategies revising singled considered close connection real topography journeys across Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Palestine, Judaea. In course comparison refer different stages travelogue’s dynamics aesthetic ideological concepts applied centres ancient religions cultures Constantinople, Athens, Alexandria, Cairo, Jerusalem becomes more noticeable.