“Mikhail Yasnov’s Library”: the poet as the organizer of the bookish space

Abstract

One of the features of the modern literary process that should be considered today is the active involvement of authors themselves in the publishing process. This includes every step of publication of their creative works in both commercial publishing houses and through the “Ridero” platform. M.D. Yasnov, poet and translator, implemented several such projects, including the book series “Mikhail Yasnov’s Library” at the “Clever” publishing house. The collection “One Evening in the Morning”, compiled by Mikhail Yasnov, is viewed in the article as an attempt to create an anthology based on “the author’s personal taste.” It includes selected works of modern humor literature for children. The goal of this book as well as the entire series “Mikhail Yasnov’s Library” is to collect and preserve the best that exists in children’s literature today. The article analyzes composition of the book and it identifies the foremost techniques of the language game: polysemy, antonymy, oxymoron, literalization of metaphor, plot twists and turns. Special comments are made on the peculiarities of the subject organization of the text. Yasnov’s own poems are published in the book along with the creative works of other authors who are close to him in their creative approach. In addition, the works, collected in this single volume, introduce children to some “secrets” of poetic speech, above all, to the function of rhyme. Developing sensitivity to language, the book fulfills both child-rearing and educational tasks, but it does this with humor, cheer, with breaking stereotypes, and reviving worn-out speech patterns.

Keywords: Book management, contemporary children’s poetry, almanac, speech play, humor, metaphor, pun