Heinrich Wolgast and the Formation of Russian Theoretical Discourse in Children’s Literature, the 1910s–1930s

Abstract

Svetlana Maslinskaia studies the impact of Heinrich Wolgast on the development of Russian theoretical discourse in children’s literature in her article, “Heinrich Wolgast and the Formation of Russian Theoretical Discourse in Children’s Literature, the 1910s–1930s”. The immediate reaction of Russian literary critics on the book by Wolgast has demonstrated that the 1910s became a groundbreaking period for the formation of professional critical circles that dedicated their attention to children’s literature. A prolific group of pedagogues who occupied themselves with the issues of children’s critics was able to develop a new language of critique that came to fruition through their external polemics with Heinrich Wolgast and his book. Such polemics assisted this group in creating their own theoretical apparatus established a well-recognized pantheon of influential children’s critics and defined the parameters of the national discourse on children’s literature. Although the 1920s did not show any support for Wolgast’s theory, his work was once again in high demand in the 1930s, which coincided with the time when the pre-revolutionary “restoration” and the discussion of what children’s literature should have been.

Keywords: Heinrich Wolgast, theoretical discourse, a critique of children’s literature, national critical discourse, the pantheon of children’s literary critics.