Solzhenitsyn and American Culture: The Russian Soul in the West (The Center for Ethics and Culture Solzhenitsyn Series)

For many Americans of both right and left political persuasions, the Russian bear is more of a bugbear. On the right, the country is still mentally represented by Soviet domination. For those on the left, it is a harbor for reactionary values and neo-imperial visions. The reality, however, is that, despite Russia's political failures, its rich history of culture, religion, and philosophical reflection--even during the darkest days of the Gulag--have been a deposit of wisdom for American artists, religious thinkers, and political philosophers probing what it means to be human in America. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn stands out as the key figure in this conversation, as both a Russian literary giant and an exile from Russia living in America for two decades. This anthology reconsiders Solzhenitsyn's work from a variety of perspectives--his faith, his politics, and the influences and context of his literature--to provide a prophetic vision for our current national confusion over universal ideals. In __Solzhenitsyn and American Culture: The Russian Soul in the West__, David P. Deavel and Jessica Hooten Wilson have collected essays from the foremost scholars and thinkers of comparative studies who have been tracking what Americans have borrowed and learned from Solzhenitsyn as well as his fellow Russians. The book offers a consideration of what we have in common--the truth, goodness, and beauty America has drawn from Russian culture and from masters such as Solzhenitsyn--and will suggest to readers what we can still learn and what we must preserve. The book will interest fans of Solzhenitsyn and scholars across the disciplines, and it can be used in courses on Solzhenitsyn or Russian literature more broadly. Contributors: David P. Deavel, Jessica Hooten Wilson, Nathan Nielson, Eugene Vodolazkin, David Walsh, Matthew Lee Miller, Ralph C. Wood, Gary Saul Morson, Edward E. Ericson, Jr., Micah Mattix, Joseph Pearce, James F. Pontuso, Daniel J. Mahoney, William Jason Wallace, Lee Trepanier, Peter Leithart, Dale Peterson, Julianna Leachman, Walter G. Moss, and Jacob Howland. These essays will interest readers familiar with the work of Nobel Prize–winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and are a great starting point for those eager for an introduction to the great Russian's work. When people think of Russia today, they tend to gravitate toward images of Soviet domination or, more recently, Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine. The reality, however, is that, despite Russia's political failures, its rich history of culture, religion, and philosophical reflection—even during the darkest days of the Gulag—have been a deposit of wisdom for American artists, religious thinkers, and political philosophers probing what it means to be human in America. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn stands out as the key figure in this conversation, as both a Russian literary giant and an exile from Russia living in America for two decades. This anthology reconsiders Solzhenitsyn's work from a variety of perspectives—his faith, his politics, and the influences and context of his literature—to provide a prophetic vision for our current national confusion over universal ideals. In Solzhenitsyn and American Culture: The Russian Soul in the West, David P. Deavel and Jessica Hooten Wilson have collected essays from the foremost scholars and thinkers of comparative studies who have been tracking what Americans have borrowed and learned from Solzhenitsyn and his fellow Russians. The book offers a consideration of what we have in common—the truth, goodness, and beauty America has drawn from Russian culture and from masters such as Solzhenitsyn—and will suggest to readers what we can still learn and what we must preserve. The last section expands the book's theme and reach by examining the impact of other notable Russian authors, including Pushkin, Dostoevsky, and Gogol. Contributors: David P. Deavel, Jessica Hooten Wilson, Nathan Nielson, Eugene Vodolazkin, David Walsh, Matthew Lee Miller, Ralph C. Wood, Gary Saul Morson, Edward E. Ericson, Jr., Micah Mattix, Joseph Pearce, James F. Pontuso, Daniel J. Mahoney, William Jason Wallace, Lee Trepanier, Peter Leithart, Dale Peterson, Julianna Leachman, Walter G. Moss, and Jacob Howland. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Foreword 12 Acknowledgments 14 INTRODUCTION. Missing the Deep Roots and Rich Soul 16 PART ONE. Solzhenitsyn and Russian Culture 30 ONE. The Universal Russian Soul 32 TWO. The New Middle Ages 47 THREE. The Age of Concentration 57 FOUR. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness in Solzhenitsyn 67 PART TWO. Solzhenitsyn and Orthodoxy 80 FIVE. Art and History in Solzhenitsyn’s The Red Wheel 82 SIX. The YMCA Press, Russian Orthodoxy, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 95 SEVEN. The Distinctively Orthodox Character ofSolzhenitsyn’s Literary Imagination 123 EIGHT. How Fiction Defeats Lies: A Faithful Reading of Solzhenitsyn’s In the First Circle 149 PART THREE. Solzhenitsyn and the Writers 162 NINE. Solzhenitsyn’s Cathedrals 164 TEN. Literature of Dissent in the Soviet Union 179 ELEVEN. The Example of Prussian Nights 200 TWELVE. Kindred Spirits: Solzhenitsyn’s WesternLiterary Confréres 212 PART FOUR. Solzhenitsyn and the Politicians 230 THIRTEEN. Inferno Dialogues: Why Americans Should Read Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s In the First Circle 232 FOURTEEN. Judging Communism and All Its Works: Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago Reconsidered 251 FIFTEEN. The Rage of Freedom: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s 1983 Templeton Prize Address 265 SIXTEEN. What Americans Today Can Learn from the Russian Past: Lessons from Turgenev and Dostoevsky for American Hillbillies 277 PART FIVE. Beyond Solzhenitsyn: Russian Writers and American Readers 300 SEVENTEEN. City of Expiations: Ivan Karamazov and Orthodox Political Theology 302 EIGHTEEN. Russia and the Mission of African American Literature 316 NINETEEN. The Price of Restoration: Flannery O’Connor and the Nineteenth-Century Russian Realists 330 TWENTY. Wisdom from Russia in the Thinking of Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton 351 TWENTY ONE. Totalitarian Physics and Moral Threshing 371 Contributors 384 Index 388