Theory of Prose

“Out of Shklovsky’s conviction came critical works of great beauty and complexity, but also several utterly remarkable literary works.” -Martin Riker

“Shklovsky’s audacity gave him the freedom to take apart Cervantes and Sterne, Gogol and Tolstoy, with a brilliance that still dazzles ninety years later.”-The Nation

“Shklovsky, who refers to own his style as “serpentine,” employs digression, repetition, autobiography and occasional salutations to the reader, confounding one’s expectations of how a book of literary criticism should unfold. In doing so, he crafts a true rarity: a superbly written, extended critical study that’s capable of inducing a feeling of affection in the reader towards its author.”-The Guardian

Viktor Shklovsky (1893-1984) was a leading figure in the Russian Formalist movement of the 1920s and had a profound effect on twentieth-century Russian literature. Several of his books have been translated into English and are available from Dalkey Archive Press, including Zoo, or Letters Not about Love, Third Factory, A Sentimental Journey, Energy of Delusion, Literature and Cinematography, and Bowstring.Shushan Avagyan translates from Armenian and Russian. She is the translator of Viktor Shklovsky’s Bowstring: On the Dissimilarity of the Similar and other works by Shklovsky from Dalkey Archive Press.Lyn Hejinian (born May 17, 1941) is an American poet, essayist, translator and publisher. She is often associated with the Language poets and is well known for her landmark work My Life (Sun & Moon, 1987, original version Burning Deck, 1980), as well as her book of essays, The Language of Inquiry (University of California Press, 2000).

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