Based on oral and written testimony of pupils and teachers, this essay examines the lived educational experience of the school-age cohort of children in Stalin's Russia from 1931 to 1945. The state alone determined the structure and curricula of the nation's schools. However, Soviet youngsters, their parents, and teachers responded to the center's…

Provides examples of Soviet literature which describe the character and everyday life of children during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Includes information on how political and economic realities shape the Soviet character. (JDH)

This essay examines American awareness of Soviet literature and writers and vice versa and discusses problems involved in making Soviet literature available to Americans. Highlights include accessibility through public and private libraries and establishing and publicizing a Soviet writings library collection. Some Soviet publications and…

Suggests that conflicts in early Soviet literature over reader's identity and function presages many issues in critical understanding of audiences, especially as reflected in the antithetical Frankfurt and Birmingham School positions. Argues that how the mass reader was invoked, defined, and appropriated for institutional needs in the Soviet…

One in a series of annotated bibliographies of English-language books that reflect ethnic and folk literatures from Eastern Europe. Includes annotations of 25 books, including several dealing with the experiences of immigrants in North America. (FL)

Calls for new textbooks to teach Russian literature. Complains of inappropriate wording for young people, officious and boring content, and a lack of humanistic themes in existing textbooks. Suggests that a text be compiled from among the best literary and critical articles to develop in students a love and understanding of literature. (DK)

Presents the results of a study that supports the premise that children should read literature written for children in other countries to increase their knowledge and understanding of other cultures. Includes a bibliography of Russian children's literature. (AEA)

Provides annotations for 25 books containing stories from and about countries that are now part of the Soviet Union. Suggests that they can help children become aware of cultures other than their own. (FL)

Puts four poems written by Vladimir Mayakovsky into social and historical context by performing a content analysis. Discusses the revolutionary nature of the poetic and typographic communication and the circumstances surrounding the poems' publication. (KEH)

Reports on a reading-discussion program of the Vermont Reading Project. Describes the origins, development, and operation of the program. Includes titles of literature works used in the project. (CFR)

Explores difficulties in translating and understanding visual poetry created by a linguistically different culture. Provides historical context and analyzes the design process of El Lissitzky's typographic presentation of Vladimir Mayakovsky's poems. Transposes the visual wordplays found in the original Cyrillic typography into the Roman alphabet.…