#XX century literature

[wisteriavenusta]

[...] embora se saiba que muitas vezes começamos por falar de horizonte porque é o mais curto caminho para chegar ao coração.

José Saramago, O Ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis.

[thegirlintheblackdress]

B. J. Rosenmeyer, "Edgar Allan Poe walking in High Bridge"

[make-death-proud-to-takeus]

Andrzej Bursa, Polish poet

[venicepearl]

Edith Wharton (January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gilded Age. In 1921, she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, for her novel, The Age of Innocence. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, in 1996. She was other well-known works are The House of Mirth, the novella Ethan Frome, and several notable ghost stories.

[darkballoonstarlight]

Yeah I'm an adult human being... Why?

[ranimotia]

╭┈◦❥ • Dark Paradise

Having Goth! Malleus Draconia as your lover includes..

・❥Pairing: Malleus Draconia x reader

・❥Content warning: Goths (lol), GN! Reader, POC friendly, inaccurate to timeliness of game, reader with stereotypically feminine interests

・❥Authors note: ik this isn't too different from normal mal but I liked the idea, Romantic Goth Malleus 🗣🗣🗣

Goth Malleus who's... Medieval-gothic style room gets invaded by a couple of cute and fuzzy plushies you keep at his place for when you stay over.

Goth Malleus who... Treats the plushies with immense care; tucking them into bed and keeping them as clean as possible. After all, they remind him of you.

Goth Malleus who... Often takes you out on historical museum dates, guiding you by the waist through each gallery, whilst rambling on about each object displayed.

Goth Malleus who... Responds to the cute sticky notes you leave for him with long, heartfelt poems detailing your beauty.

"Make sure you unload the drier :) love you xx"

"I adore you beyond comprehension. You consume my every thought, both whilst awake and asleep, you are my moon, sun, stars and more, you are love itself and you consume my mind, body and soul and I'm more than content with letting you consume more of me each passing day-"

You get the idea..

Goth Malleus who.. Lulls you to sleep by reading you historical writings; ranging from 19th century literature to ancient epics. When doing so, he likes having your head rested carefully on his chest. He caresses your cheek every so often.

Goth Malleus who... Wakes up earlier than you and makes you breakfast almost every morning, presenting you with a silver plate of pancakes, sliced fruit, and a mazer of homemade juice when you finally stumble downstairs after waking up.

Goth Malleus who... Owns an impressive jewellery collection of silver chains decorated with either red, green, or purple jewels, accompanied with ornate designs of either roses or dragons. Despite his extensive collection, his favourite piece of jewellery is one you gifted him; a hello kitty ring you had jokingly proposed to him with.

Goth Malleus who... Sends you a bouquet of a dozen red roses tied together with a silk ribbon, alongside a hand written letter detailing your dinner reservations- sealed with a matching black seal adorning a dragon symbol embedded into the wax each morning of your anniversary.

Goth Malleus who... One night on one of your regular nightly strolls, presents you with a gold ring embedded with a raw cut gem of your birthstone in a velvet box. Asking to be yours till the day he dies.

Goth Malleus who... Lets out a sigh of relief at your acceptance, knowing the baggage of being a prince's spouse isn't appealing to most people, promising you he'd repay you for taking up such a tedious role.

Goth Malleus who... Doesn't miss a beat when it comes to wedding planning, already having some some drafts on what your wedding would be like thanks to countless ramble sessions with Lilia.

Goth Malleus who... After months of planning and organising, managed to set your dream wedding, a surprisingly simple affair- taking place in a flower field near an old victorian mannor right as the sun was setting.

Goth Malleus who... Believes you to be the most beautiful person in the world in your wedding attire; which consisted of long custom made floral lace, in a soft shade of your signature colour with matching gold jewellery, complementing your undertones. His own attire consisted of 14th century style robes, black in colour with roses embroidered onto it.

Goth Malleus who... Seals your vows by placing a flower crown on your head and you doing the same to him- a much more intimate break from the traditional kiss.

Goth Malleus who... Only has his closest companions at the wedding; his guardian since childhood, and his two closest guards. You too, are with your two closest friends, even having Grim as your ring bearer.

Goth Malleus who... Dances with you in the field under the moonlight once the party was over and everyone had retreated to their rooms. His arms wrap around you in a warm, loving embrace whilst swaying to a familiar tune he hums.

Goth Malleus who... Takes you to a cottage in the countryside for your honeymoon, holding your hand as you both walk though hidden forest pathways admiring the beauty of nature.

Goth Malleus who... Preserves your wedding bouquet, keeping it on display in your shared room; yet another symbol of your love displayed throughout your home.

Goth Malleus who... After all the years your spend together, still keeps the hello kitty ring you gave him.

Goth Malleus who... Each year of your wedding anniversary, takes you stargazing in the exact field you got married in.

"Look Malleus!"

Malleus' eyes darted to where your finger pointed in the deep sea that was the sky; a shooting star, leaving as fast as it came.

"A shooting star, did you wish?" You asked, gaze not breaking away from the illuminated sky and your hand not leaving his.

"No, I didn't have time" He simply stated, staring at the space were the star previously was.

"And there is somthing you wish for?" You asked, now with your eyes ripped away from the veiw and on him, pooling with curiosity.

"Yes," He replied to your inquiry, still not satisfying your curiosity as you continued to stare at him. "I wish," He spoke with a sudden pause, taking a moment to lift your intertwined hands and admire your matching rings, "To continue being your husband, even in the life after this one."

Lifting your hands further to his lips, he pressed a soft kiss against your knuckle. A burning sensation made its way onto your face as you felt your stomach flutter- gosh, who's life did you save to be blessed with a man so loving? You hoped to continue being his spouse in the life after this, too.

[myemuisemo]

"Modern Belgian masters" distracted me at the beginning of chapter V of The Hound of the Baskervilles in the most recent Letters from Watson. Doyle's offhand references to literature, pop culture, and politics usually have some substance behind them, and "modern Belgian masters" did not disappoint.

Belgium was a hotbed of artistic controversy! In 1876, a group of "rebellious" artists can formed what became L'Essor as a counterpoint to conservative art institutions. In 1883, L'Essor refused to exhibit James Ensor's De oestereetster on grounds that the painting was too risque (since oysters were considered an aphrodisiac, as well as resembling certain female parts). Rebels against L'Essor formed Les XX, which held its own exhibitions featuring more avant-garde artists, including Monet, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and Seurat.

Since Watson refers to Holmes having "the crudest ideas" about art, I'm guessing Holmes sided with Les XX on using experimental styles and unusual subjects to provoke (and to make political points). Whether the conversation included Ensor's etching Le pisseur, which shows Ensor urinating on a wall of graffiti that declares "Ensor es fou" (Ensor is crazy)... we can only hope.

This is just the beginning of a chapter that contains a lot of sly humor. For instance, when Holmes social-engineers information out of the desk clerk, the guests he asks about are a coal-merchant from Newcastle (so known for its coal that the phrase "like taking coals to Newscastle" meant taking a thing to a place where everyone already has plenty) and a very old lady named Mrs. Oldmore.

Sir Henry Baskerville establishes himself as rough-edged, choleric, and unaware of social nuance by yelling at the German waiter. Being rude to any staff would have been seen as ungentlemanly at the time (as now). There's more to it, though. Germans were the largest immigrant group in London in 1889, and their tradition of professional training made them highly in demand as waiters (source).

And then there's the man with the black beard, who has the wit and gall to tell the cab driver that he's Sherlock Holmes. It seems that there have not been sketches of Holmes in any press! Is he the same man with a black beard as butler Barrymore?

The telegram experiment seems to indicate not, but I'm not sure how probative it is.

The bearded man in the cab had his cab driver make haste to Waterloo Station, which served the London & Southwestern Railway. The L&SR took a northern route around Dartmoor, stopping at Exeter and Plymouth.

Watson and Sir Henry will be leaving from Paddington Station, which served the Great Western Railway. GWR takes the southern route along the Devon coast.

When I look at modern railroad schedules, a trip from London to somewhere around Dartmoor takes about 3.5 hours. Is that within the time frame of Sir Henry and Mortimer walking back to the Northumberland, the wait for Holmes and Dr. Watson to arrive for lunch, the luncheon itself, and finally the rigamarole of sending the telegram? It feels to me like it could be -- and also, when I was looking up old schedules for the short story with the missing train, it seems that sometimes Victorian lines ran faster than modern ones.

How common even were black beards? In latter half of the 19th century, beards were fashionable, though not universal. Dr. Alun Withey's discussion of 19th century beard styles shows an ad for false beards. The style at far right looks about right.

It's possible that someone is framing -- or just confusing the issue by imitating -- the butler Barrymore.

We are assured again that Rodger Baskerville died unmarried, which is starting to strike me as "protesteth too much."

Rodger is the one who went to make his fortune in South America. The largest silver deposits were in Bolivia and Peru, and Agatha Christie's Hastings goes to Argentina, so those are the countries where I started on looking for when civil registration of marriages and births started. The answers are 1940 in Bolivia, 1886 in Peru, and 1886 in Argentina. Peru did not start registering deaths until 1889. Before that time, proving a marriage or a birth meant going to the parish church records.

So the Baskerville family solicitor could not simply send a telegram to a government agency in the capital of Bolivia, nor hire a clerk at a Bolivian law office in the capital city to go check. Someone would have to identify the parish where Rodger would have married, produced an heir, or died -- which might be three different places. And then someone has to see about looking through a handwritten register.

How sure are we really that Rodger is even dead?

Since Holmes is so eager to send Watson along with Sir Henry, I assume he's counting on Watson's credulity to maximize the impact of planned shenanigans. Is this a story about a mysterious dog or a story about a grift?

[ran-orimoto]

I love Chiaki is a ballerina in your future Au. Don't ask but I thought in GG Calamara danced like a balerina and I thought about it back then but also Rana had balerina poses like when she bends to make the mist

Only in MTTCI, in truth!

I won’t hide the Calamaramon from GG actually sealed that headcanon in my mind with all those twirls looking like the pirouettes of a ballerina…? But I mean look at this, absolutely yes💕💕💕.

And I also get the Ranamon thing, yes. There was a fanfiction on EFP (italians’ fanfiction site lmaoo) where Ranamon’s movements were described like the ones of a ballerina and YESSS, she absolutely performs pliè, for example, but also when she raises her hands to join them in the air wwwwwwww, her gait, her poses WWWWWWWW. She’s such a graceful being.

Tbh I chose ballet for MTTCI Chiaki, over her being a soprano like in the main timeline of my story, because I was fascinated by the fact in late XIX and XX century’s literature the figure of the ballerina is a symbol of vacuity and deceit. She both represents the fascination of art and its artifice. Since Ranamon is a veeeery vain, to the limits of extreme shallowness, I did want Chiaki to be like that to create a faint connection.

Moreover, being a boring person loving these kinds of motifs, I often like playing with the concept of the illusion embodied by life on a stage. So, MTTCI Chiaki is a ballerina but also an actress, Teruo is more a theatre man ( but he’s also a countertenor) Junpei is a tenor fooling around with both theatre and acting and voice acting for children stuff maybe, as well, because talk to the man about kids and he will be happy to oblige.

Chiaki as a soprano was too great to trash it away tho lol. I wish I could have been able to add Izumi and make the stage trio a quartet, but Izumi just…Threw her possibilities into modelling in canon. Funny as freak if Junzumi would meet again as actors in a romantic film. THAT’S another idea I would like to play with someday. I MEAN THERE IS A WORLD OF AUs I CAN COME UP WITH. WHY BEING BORING.

[herbgroom]

I don't understand the "daniil speaks latin cuz latin is a dead language" takes because latin... is not.... a dead language?

every single scientific field is based on latin, fauna and flora (latin words) species have latin names. bacteria and microbes have latin words in the name

medical field, whether you want to be a nurse or a doctor, you *HAVE TO STUDY* latin. it is mandatory. human anatomy is just latin words.

LAW. anyone who studies law has to know the roman law code

areas like philosophy, history and literature, probably art as well. because western culture flourished with romans and greeks, whether you like it or not

oh and if you speak a romance language, no way you can avoid latin. I myself had to study it for two years even if it had nothing to do with what I wanted

not to mention the time period of the game, early XX century (see, roman numbers) where latin probably had an even much stronger presence in academia than it has now. they probably had entire lectures in latin for all I know, and textbooks heavily featured latin I bet

I can assure you artemy knows latin, georgiy too, and probably the stamatins as well. daniil is just like that

latin is *THE* academic language, far, far from dead

[mercuriopoetry]

Book bingo 2025

My friend @en-busca-de-mi-ikigai-blog tagged me on a cool literary bingo (hers is here) made up by @batmanisagatewaydrug (original bingo here)! So I'm gonna try and fill it up with books I read last year and books I'm planning on reading. It's on my storygraph too, since they made a version for it!!

Literary fiction: I don't think anything I've read this year counts as litfic, but I'd like to add some of it to my next year. I'm gonna use A pesar de Camelot by Verónica Pazos here - I met her in a lit forum and she is an amazing person overall

Short stories: I read some short books by Eduardo Mendoza this summer, and maybe fanfiction could count here? That's all for 2024, but I'm planning on finishing De nombre y hueso by several authors, a compilation of dark and supernatural stories by 12 trans authors and illustrators that I started and never finished

Sequel: I've read a bunch of sequels and series this year, like Jay Kristoff's The loto wars (loved it) or Eduardo Mendoza's El paciente del doctor Sugrañes. I'm planning on reading some other books by Almudena Grandes on her series Episodios de una guerra interminable, which I really recommend to anyone interested in the Spanish civil war

Childhood favorite: I haven't read any childhood favorites last year (not even Shadowhunters!) but this year I'm planning on reading some Fairy Oak yet again! Missing the softness of Elisabetta Gnone's writing I guess

20th century speculative fiction: This year I read some books in Stephen Hunt's series Jackelian (my fav one this year was From the deep of the dark, maybe, but my all-time favorite is The kingdom beyond the waves). I've yet to read two books from that series, so I might do that this year

Fantasy: I haven't mentioned yet American Gods by Neil Gaiman, which I read last year, so that´ll do. This year I'll try and finish The colour of magic by Terry Pratchet

Published before 1950: my oldest book read last year was published in 1986, León el Africano by Amin Maalouf, so nothing here. This year I want to read more war correspondant stories, so let's add The Memoirs of Sir Ronald Storrs (pub. 1937) to the list

Independent publisher: I haven't read anything independent in the last year, but I have a poem book by a friend of mine titled El mero intento de algo bueno, and I really need to read it this year so there it goes

Graphic novel/comic book/manga: I mostly read my comics in Tapas and I haven't been keeping track of them as books, so who knows. I might try and get some Calvin and Hobbes comics this year, maybe

Animal on the cover: León el Africano has a camel on it! I'm gonna leave it blank and see if I find one for next year

Set in a country I have never visited: Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff is set in a fantasy and steam-punk version of Japan, so let's say it works. This year I want to read some African literature and fiction, but I haven't picked titles yet, let's fill it up as we go

Science fiction: some books I've already mentioned count as sci-fi, and this year I might read XX by Angela Chadwick

2025 debut author: I didn't read any debuts last year, so let's see if I get one in this year

Memoir: nothing last year, and if a book can't fill two prompts I'll add Wishful drinking by Carrie Fisher

Read a zine, make a zine: I haven't read a zine in a while! I bought one on horror stories inspired by local folklore for a gift, so I'll read it before handing it out hehe

Essay collection: I haven't been counting the short essays I've read so I'm kinda lost about last year, but this year I intend to finish Más que visibles: antología de la bisexualidad y otras plurisexualidades, edited by Carlos Castaño and Ignacio Elpidio

2024 award winner: I have no idea if any of the books I read last year received any awards, and I think I'm not keeping track this year either, but we'll see

Nonfiction - learn something new: this one is cool! I have a bunch of non-fiction books in my to-read pile, but they are mostly about feminism, LGTB+ and anti-racism, which are topics that I have yet lots to learn about, but aren't exactly new to me, so I'll have to find one along the year

Social justice and activism: boy, here it gets hard. I don't think I finished one of these last year, so 2025 might be the year I finish Angela Davis's autobiography, or Ser mujer negra en España by Desirée Bela-Lobedde, or Biciosas o la necesidad de queerizar lo queer by Ana Amigo

Romance novel: last year I didn't read any romances (again, not counting fanfics xd), although Inés y la alegría by Almudena Grandes has a great love story. I don't know if it counts but this year I gotta read This is how you lose the time war by Max Gladstone and Amar El-Mohtar

Read and make a recipe: I do this all the time! I have a bunch of veggie cookbooks that I guess I should look into more, and I'm planning on recreating a local recipe with seitan sometime soon so let's count that

Horror: I don't really read horror because I scare easily, so I might not fill this one out haha

Published in the aughts: I think a bunch of the books I've read this last year were published between 2000 and 2009, so there's that. For this year, a book I'd forgotten I had in my list that I realized I really want to read: Strangers: Homosexual Love in the Nineteenth Century, by Graham Robb

Historical fiction: last year I read a bunch of Spanish civil war fiction by Almudena Grandes, but this year I'm finally reading Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon

Bookseller or librarian recommendation: last year I read books from my own list, so this year I'll mix this with my intent to peruse the library more, and get some fresh recs. I'll update this then!

This was fun! I don't think I have enough mutuals to tag anyone with confidence yet, but if you read this and wanna do it feel free to, and tell me about it!

[wisteriavenusta]

Bebera da juventude e imaturidade dos tempos.

Thomas Mann, Morte em Veneza.

[sefaradweb]

Modern Ladino Culture

����🇸 El libro "Modern Ladino Culture: Press, Belles Lettres, and Theater in the Late Ottoman Empire" de Olga Borovaya, finalista de los National Jewish Book Awards en 2011, es el primero en examinar como un fenómeno unificado tres géneros de la producción cultural ladina: la prensa, la literatura de ficción y el teatro. Borovaya identifica estos géneros como importaciones de Occidente que se arraigaron entre los sefardíes otomanos a principios del siglo XX y se desarrollaron dentro del contexto cultural local, centrándose en las comunidades de Salónica, Esmirna y Estambul. La autora considera crucial abordar la cultura impresa ladina como un fenómeno único para entender el movimiento cultural de la época y su importancia en la historia sefardí. Analiza la evolución de los tres géneros, comenzando con la prensa, seguida de la literatura de ficción, y finalmente el teatro, destacando el papel significativo de las escuelas de la Alianza en la expansión de la cultura ladina. Borovaya también explora el fenómeno de la "reescritura" de novelas europeas occidentales, que luego se serializaban en la prensa ladina. Con notas detalladas y un índice, Borovaya presenta un análisis exhaustivo y accesible de un conjunto de materiales raros, proporcionando una valiosa contribución al estudio de la cultura sefardí.

🇺🇸 The book "Modern Ladino Culture: Press, Belles Lettres, and Theater in the Late Ottoman Empire" by Olga Borovaya, a finalist for the National Jewish Book Awards in 2011, is the first to examine three genres of Ladino cultural production as a unified phenomenon: the press, fiction literature, and theater. Borovaya identifies these genres as imports from the West that took root among Ottoman Sephardim at the beginning of the 20th century and developed within the local cultural context, focusing on the communities of Salonica, Izmir, and Istanbul. The author considers it crucial to approach Ladino print culture as a single phenomenon to understand the cultural movement of the time and its importance in Sephardi history. She analyzes the evolution of the three genres, starting with the press, followed by fiction literature, and finally theater, highlighting the significant role of the Alliance schools in the expansion of Ladino culture. Borovaya also explores the phenomenon of "rewriting" Western European novels, which were then serialized in the Ladino press. With detailed notes and an index, Borovaya presents a comprehensive and accessible analysis of a rare collection of materials, providing a valuable contribution to the study of Sephardi culture.

[darl1ng-rachel]

Hey, readers and poetry lovers on Tumblr!

Maybe someone has already seen my posts with Vsevolod Nekrasov's poems and my fanart of it.

I think, it was a kind of experiment. When I started to explore his poetry for my coursework, I was interested if there was someone among my peers who knew and read his poems too.

I find out that there are literally a few posts about him on Tumblr. And even one meme!

That's much better than nothing.

I've drawn this illustration cause I was curious if there's someone who will be interested and search for more information about his works.

Vsevolod Nekrasov (1934-2009) - is also known as the poet of the Lianozovo group and one of the authors of unofficial Russian poetry of the XX century. His poems are a collage of elements of spoken language, freed from any context. Therefore, you can read and understand them in different ways.

The basic unit of his creative method becomes an ordinary word. The word, which does not need an author's accumulation of meanings. It doesn't matter where it comes from - from internal, household, or clerical speech - this word speaks for itself and can tell you anything.

"Night water" is both a feature of the Soviet water supply system and a night walk along the riverbank. This is the picture, this is the sound, this is the state of the water. The phrase can be continued as you like. And to see life in all its manifestations.

So, I want more people to know about him and his works.

If you're a philologist student and study Russian literature/poetry in university, be free to DM me! I'll be happy to share my knowledges with foreign colleagues and discuss modern poetry (or anything else).

[venicepearl]

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (née Perkins; July 3, 1860 – August 17, 1935), also known by her first married name Charlotte Perkins Stetson, was an American humanist, novelist, writer, lecturer, advocate for social reform, and eugenicist. She was a utopian feminist and served as a role model for future generations of feminists because of her unorthodox concepts and lifestyle. She has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Her best remembered work today is her semi-autobiographical short story "The Yellow Wallpaper", which she wrote after a severe bout of postpartum psychosis.

[hedgewitchgarden]

What is dziady?

But speaking seriously: Dziady (in English: Forefathers’ Eve) is a Slavic holiday, dedicated to the spirits. It allowed you (presumably) to contact the other side. After the Christianity entered the Polish territory, Dziady was forbidden, and the practitioners were persecuted. Not fully successfully. Dziady stopped being celebrated across the country, but in many places (preferably distant from the religious centers) was practiced for many years. In Polish literature tradition was preserved thanks to our great poet Adam Mickiewicz and his poetic drama Dziady.

Slavic religion veneration of the dead was very important. It was believed, that spirits may have huge impact on material world. They were connected with fertility and abundance. That’s why Dziady hold so high place in the calendar of Slavic holidays. Dziady was celebrated twice a year (considering major holidays, there were also smaller, more often celebrated festivities) – around May the 2 and on the night of 31 October/1 November. It was the time of change, when the border between realms of the living and the dead was very thin, and spirit could go back to the temporal world. People could try to gain their favor then.

How were the souls hosted?

Our ancestors made sure to appropriately accommodate deceased relatives. Food and drinks were left for the souls. The important function of dziady was also to help spirits to get to the other side.

To assist them, people were lighting the campfires, that were showing them the right direction. Fire was also used to prevent wraiths from infiltrating our reality – that’s why the campfires were lighted on the graves of people who died violently or committed suicide. Campfires were often set on the places of their death. Grave candles are remnants of these traditions.

Rituals were conducted in former places of worship – on the hills, under the holy oaks, where the pagan temple were built, or in the cemeteries. Believers were using wooden masks (“karaboshkas”) as a decoration – you can associate them with Halloween pumpkins. As the time passed, more and more christian traditions were included into the Dziady celebration.

Dziady was celebrated in Poland, but also in Eastern Europe countries, such as Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

Apart the rituals, Dziady was connected with many other customs. On this day it was common to pay beggars (with food, small objects and even money), so they pray for the souls of deceased ancestors. It was believed that, there is connections between beggars (in Polish also known as Dziady) with souls (which were called by the same name). That’s why they frequently were given the favorite food of dead relatives.

Feasts for the souls were prepared in human houses – so the families could eat together with the souls. During this time, there were special rules. It was forbidden to pour out the water (to prevent wetting the spirits accidentally), to knead cabbage (to avoiding stomping on the ghost) and to bang fist on the table (to not to scare off any spirit). At the time of the feast, ancestors were the only topic of conversations.

Today

Nowadays almost no one practice Dziady in Poland (except, of course, neo-pagans), but there is description of the rituals from the beginning of XX century, from the Latowicki region. People were gathering on November the 2nd. The meeting took place in an old house, then everyone went further – among others, to sacred spot, where back in the days were burial place. The ritual started with the prayer. In the center, there was a fire. Ritual was conducted by two persons: Old Man and the Sorcerer. They were summoning ghosts, which later were fed with fasting food, soaked in milk and honey. It was believed, that souls need to eat and they stay in the Afterlife as long as they are kept in mortal memory. During the celebration, everybody were quiet, and all the faces were covered. Who did otherwise, risked being taken by the ghosts. Ritual was finished before midnight.

These traditions survived in collective consciousness thanks to, mentioned earlier, Mickiewicz. Vision of the poet had strong impact on common picture of folk rituals. Many works of culture were influenced by his poem. For example: in video game Witcher 3: Wild hunt, one of the sidequest was based on Mickiewicz’s Dziady.

[theniftycat]

@alex51324 asked me about Soviet YA novels, I’ll try to tell as much as I can remember.

As a Soviet (especially, the later period) child, you were covered. My mum read me and my brother books before we went to bed up until I was 12 and my brother was 10. There was a variety of stories, both Soviet and translated, including Tove Jansson, Astrid Lindgren, A.A. Milne, Gianni Rodari et al. Soviet authors included N.Nosov, S.Mikhalkov, S.Marshak, K.Chukovsky, A.Barto, E. Uspensky, G. Oster, A. Nekrasov, That is, speaking of the XX century literature. Earlier fairy tales were abundant too. One funny thing I need to mention is that in the USSR copyright laws were different, so reworkings of foreign works were published as original works (fanfiction could fly in the USSR), so we had The Wizard of the Emerald City by A.Volkov (The Wizard of Oz) and its multiple original sequels, and The Golden Key by A.Tolstoy (Pinocchio). My cousin also had a weird little book with a fat man sitting by a round door on the cover. It was some obscure children’s book from England with a weird name, published in the 80s. Something that would never catch up as it had no princesses or knights, phew.

I wasn’t a Soviet child as I was born 1 year before the collapse, but most books in my town’s library and at my home were Soviet or republished.

When you became 12-13, it suddenly became a bit more difficult. You started looking at books that were written for adults in the XIX century.

Out of distinctly YA Soviet literature, I remember sci-fi (Kir Bulychev for younger readers and the Strugatsky brothers for like 13+), novels about girls living in small towns and falling in love for the first time before something very dramatic like war, revolution or moving to another town, happened (I don’t remember any names except for Wild Dog Dingo by Ruviim Frayerman) and high, almost fantasy romance like Crimson Sails by A.Grin. There were also books about young revolutionaries or war heroes, I wasn’t very much into them, but I liked The Story about a Real Man by B.Polevoy about a Soviet pilot who lost both his legs and continued serving as a pilot in WW2, it was based on a true story. There was also a micro genre of stories about orphans, with such authors as Lev Kassil, and Belykh and Panteleyev.

As much as I liked stories about princesses as a child, I didn’t really care about stories of first love as a teen. At 14 I completely reverted to foreign classical literature, reading A.Dumas-father, A.C. Doyle, Poe, Wilde, Stevenson etc. I think most Soviet teen readers did the same. Jules Verne was also big as were Twain, O.Henry, Jack London and some other writers who aren’t remembered in the West due to being commies.

As I was a teenager in 00s, I also read some R.L.Stein and modern Russian books for teens, not all of them were great. Soviet books that stood the test of time were all pretty good quality though.