“Lyric poetry... under suspicion”: vicissitudes of “self-expression” in the 1950's

The essay traces the origins of the “poetic renaissance” of the Thaw, namely, the 1953-1954 discussion on lyric poetry and poetry’s reappearance in literary periodicals during that time. Initiated by Ol’ga Berggol’ts’s article “Conversation on Lyric Poetry,” the discussion revolved around such concepts as “self-expression,” lyrical persona, and poetry’s right to express the whole spectrum of human emotions. The essay sheds light on the role that the discussion played during this period and its contributions to the development of “Soviet interiority” at large.