Ekphrasis in Contemporary Kalmyk Poetry

Introduction. The relevance and novelty of the study be determined by that Kalmyk poetic ekphrases dealing with the deportation, exile and return of the people (1943–1957) remain underinvestigated. Goals. The article aims to identify the function of ekphrasis in poetry addressing the mentioned historical period. Materials and methods. The work focuses on two poems of Kalmykia’s national poet Ye. Budzhalov — Exodus and Return (Kalm. Буйслһн болн Босхлһн, 1997) and The Mask of Sorrow (1996) — dedicated to the monuments of E. Neizvestny in Elista and Magadan, these be supplemented with poems by R. Khaninova, V. Lidzhieva, V. Khotlin, and P. Darvaev. The subject of research is ekphrasis in contemporary Kalmyk poetry on the topic of historical memory. The employed methods include the historical / literary, historical / functional, comparative, and descriptive ones. Results. In contemporary Kalmyk poetry, the theme of the Elista-based monument created by E. Neizvestny is reflected in two poems by Yegor Budzhalov, as well as in narratives of other Russian–language Kalmyk poets, such as Rimma Khaninova (Neizvestny — A Requiem Two Steps away from the One Who Authored the Exodus and Return Memorial, 1996), Valentina Lidzhieva (Monologue of the Father, 1997), Valery Khotlin (Exodus, 1998), and Pyotr Darvaev (To the Exodus and Return of Ernst Neizvestny, 2009). Conclusions. Despite that Ye. Budzhalov created the two poems having attended the opening ceremonies of those monuments by the renowned sculptor in Magadan and Elista, ekphrasis in his works is reduced to some minimalist and laconic techniques, its plot-forming function as one depicting the sculptural artefacts serving rather a starting point for the author’s thoughts on personal experiences of the Siberian exile and ethnic genocides in the era of Stalinist repressions. The poems of the Russian–language Kalmyk poets born during and at the end of the Siberian exile (P. Darvaev, V. Khotlin, R. Khaninova), or after the people’s return to their homeland (V. Lidzhieva) articulate ekphrasis to varying degrees — through verbal depictions of the monument in connection with its author. So, the Kalmyk poets have evidently created no mother-tongue ekphrases to capture such a significant event, which may be explained by that the artefact is actually too difficult to describe through the prism of ekphrasis and its tools

Art · Art history · Literature · Narrative · Poetry · Sorrow · Discourse Analysis and Cultural Communication · History · Language, Communication, and Linguistic Studies · Sociopolitical Dynamics in Russia