Literary Celebrity and Late Style: Anna Akhmatova's Unfinished Cinema Scenario about Pilots and Poem Without A Hero

Harrington, Alexandra

Abstract

This article brings theoretical discussions of literary celebrity and the concept of ‘late style’ into dialogue with one another, arguing that celebrity and a concern with reputation can be significant factors in the development of late style. It explores this possibility through an examination of Akhmatova's unfinished cinema scenario about pilots which situates it in relation to her other late texts (especially Poem Without a Hero and the memoir of Modigliani). It demonstrates that the scenario can be understood as an expression of Akhmatova's anxieties, as she approached the end of her life, about the cost of celebrity and her reputation in posterity.

Citation

Harrington, A. (2017). Literary Celebrity and Late Style: Anna Akhmatova's Unfinished Cinema Scenario about Pilots and Poem Without A Hero. Slavonic and East European Review, 95(3), 458-503. https://doi.org/10.5699/slaveasteurorev2.95.3.0458

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 16, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Jul 14, 2017
• Publication Date: Jul 14, 2017
• Deposit Date: Aug 16, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 14, 2018
• Journal: Slavonic and East European Review
• Print ISSN: 0037-6795
• Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association (MHRA)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 95
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 458-503
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5699/slaveasteurorev2.95.3.0458
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1406417