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\begin{document}

\today

\centerline{\bf MODERN RUSSIAN FOLK POETRY: AN OVERVIEW}
\centerline{a talk given at the UCSD Literature department April 19, 1995}
\centerline{\sc by Andrej Broido}
\centerline{Department of Mathematics, University of California, 
La Jolla CA  92093-0112 USA} 
\centerline{broido{@}math.ucsd.edu}
\vskip 1cm

\centerline{\bf 1. Introduction.}
This lecture is based on my personal experience with russian folk culture,
and on the collection of over 3000 observations
made by Jana Kutin, Yakov Broido and me in 1949--1995, which
will be published later this year.

It is often hard to distinguish between conventional literature and folk
poetry. It seems appropriate thus to start with the

{\sc 1.1. Definition.}
A piece of literature is said to belong to folk poetry if it

a) allows for transformations

b) is circulated privately

c) has an explicit structure.
\vskip 0.2cm 

{\sc Comments:} Property a) defines folk poetry as a set of speech
patterns, that is, as a part of spoken language.

Property b) refers to the lack of institutional support;

Explicit structure mentioned in c) is superimposed on conventional language
structure and is recognized as such by all parties. Properties 
a) and b) refer to the word "folk"; property c) -- to the word "poetry".

{\sc Consequence:} A single piece of literature cannot be viewed as a part of 
folk poetry unless one is able to find its tranformation(s).

\newpage
{\sc 1.2. Example.} "A spruce was born in the forest".
\newline \nopagebreak
{\rus
\begin{tabular}[t]{l}
%=======================================\\
P\-13.02p $I3''$\\
Moskva, 1959\\
\\
V  lesu rodilasp1 \"elochka,\\
V lesu ona rosla,\\
Zimo\u i i letom stro\u inaya,\\
Zel\"enaya byla\\
\\
\\
P\-13.02 $I3''$\\
Tanya, 11l\\
San Diego, 9 apr 1995\\
\\
V lesu rodilasp1 \"elochka\\
Pod ne\u i lezhal bandit,\\
Potom prishla snegurochka\\
I prinesla im dinamit\\
\\
%=======================================\\
\end{tabular}}
{\rm
\begin{tabular}[t]{l}
%=======================================\\
P13.02p $I3''$\\
Moskva, 1959\\
\\
V  lesu rodilas' \"elochka,\\
V lesu ona rosla,\\
Zimoj i letom strojnaya,\\
Zel\"enaya byla\\
\\
\\
P13.02 $I3''$\\
Tanya, 11l \\
San Diego, 9 apr 1995\\
\\
V lesu rodilas' \"elochka\\
Pod nej lezhal bandit,\\
Potom prishla snegurochka\\
I prinesla im dinamit\\
\\
%=======================================\\
\end{tabular}}
{\rm
\begin{tabular}[t]{l}
P13.02p\\
Moscow, 1959\\
\\
A spruce was born in the forest\\
It has been growing there\\
In the winter and in the summer\\
It was slender and green.\\
\\
\\
P13.02\\
Tanya, 11 (b.1984)\\
San Diego, 9 apr 1995\\
\\
A spruce was born in the forest\\
A bandit lay underneath,\\
Then the snow maiden came\\
And brought them dynamite\\
\\
%========================================\\
\end{tabular}}

{\sc Explanation.} Aside from inspirations, and memories of the childhood,
folk poems and songs are a bunch of very efficient mnemonics.
Kids inserted "bandit" and "dynamite" in the vanilla song above
for purely pragmatic reasons: knowing these two words may allow them to avoid
potentially dangerous situations.

Folk poetry is created in multiple acts of absorption, transformation 
and emission:

\centerline{
\begin{picture}(150, 100)(0,-45)
\put(-10,0){\vector(1,0){50}} \put (-20,10){Absorption} 
%\put(40,120){\makebox(0,0){ \parbox{0.3 in}
%{\footnotesize Transformation}}}
\put(60,0){\circle{40}} \put(74,14){\vector(3,2){40}} 
\put(95,15){Emission}
\end{picture}
}

Since each act includes transformation, the notions of authorship and priority
do not apply to folk poetry, at least qualitatively. One should rather measure
the amount of information brought in and thrown out by each speaker. Math 
routinely suggests to describe processes with many independent contributors
in terms of continuous evolution. Yet even that
may not be applied to the evolution of text, since some  
contributions may be quite large!

\vskip 0.3 cm
\centerline{\bf 2. Sources, divisions and types of modern russian folk poetry.}
\vskip 0.1 cm
{\sc 2.1. Sources.}
\vskip 0.2 cm 
\centerline{
\begin{tabular}{|l||l|l|}
\hline
{\bf Period} & {\bf Professional} & {\bf Non-professional}\\
\hline
XIX c. &Romance &Syllabotonic folk poetry\\
1910-1950 &Popular music &Poets of prisons and labour camps\\
1920-1990 &Official Soviet song &Anonymous poets and singers\\
1950-1995 &Independent authors &General public\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
}
{\sc Note.} Unlike its American counterpart, Russian folk poetry is $99\%$
anonymous. Though texts whose author is known still qualify as folk poetry
(see Def.1), omission of any reference to the originator is quite natural
for the texts which undergo permanent change. Cf. a couplet originally
due to Pushkin: 

\begin{tabular}{ll} 
{\rus Tovariw, v$\check{\rus e}$rp1 --   vzo\u id\"et ona,} &Believe, my comrade -- it will rise\\
{\rus Zv$\check{\rus e}$zda pl$\check{\rus e}$nitelp1nogo  schastp1ya} &The star of fascinating fortune\\
\end{tabular}

\noindent which became incorporated into a soldier's poem 
(obs. S2.17, 1984):

\begin{tabular}{ll} 
{\rus Kogda iz spiskov e1to\u i chasti} &When our names will disappear\\
{\rus Ischeznut nashi imena.}   &From this detachment lists and files.\\
\end{tabular}

\vskip 0.2 cm
{\sc 2.2. Social divisions.} Classification of folk poems and songs 
can be based on the social environments they
come from, or those in which they are retained  long enough. Those listed 
below provide an ample source of folk literature.  
\vskip 0.2 cm  
\centerline{
\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|l|}
\hline
Criminal &Common &Children  &Student\\
\hline
Convict &Soldier &Teenager &Intelectual\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
}

{\sc Notes.} 1. One should keep in mind that assignment of a social environment
to a poem may be (if not always is) dicy. All divisions of the society
are interrelated, and enjoy a free exchange of texts, meters and tunes.

2. There are no such divisions as "lower middle-class" or "yard" song or
"cruel romance" (cf. G.~S.~Smith, Songs To Seven strings, Indiana Univ., 1984);
they are all referred to as "common" here. Gipsy songs (if any) also fall 
in this category.

3. Intellectual folk poetry includes folklore of tourists, geologists and hippies.

\vskip 0.2 cm
{\sc 2.3. Types.} There are six currently productive types.    
\vskip 0.2 cm \centerline{
\begin{tabular}{|l|l|}
\hline
Songs & Limericks I and II \\
Ballads & Proverbs\\ 
Poems & Correspondences\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
}
{\sc Notes.} 1. Limericks I are four-line poems in trochaic tetrameter/trimeter,
mostly of erotic and satyric content. Limericks II
are satyric studies of death and pain, often in (but not restricted to)
dactilic tetrameter.

2. Proverbs are structured by repetition/variation, which makes them
covered by Definition 1.1. The same applies to {\it correspondences},
a common entry of soldiers' and students' notebooks, containing lists of
army or school terms "translated" to the titles of movies and books
e.g. (obs. S5.25; cf. also T5.57, P9.01):

\begin{tabular}{ll}
{\rus Patrulp1 -- tri bogatyrya} &Patrol -- Three Knights\\ 
{\rus Uhod ot patrulya -- ih znali tolp1ko v lico} &Escaping a patrol --
They were known only by face\\
\end{tabular}

\vskip 0.2 cm
{\sc 2.4. Attractions of folk poetry.} Here is the list of subjects which
attract the attention of folk poets and editors. 
There is no common denominator whatsoever
to this list -- just a collection of issues viewed as "hot":     
\vskip 0.3 cm 
\centerline{
\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|}
\hline
Love &War &Machines \\
Freedom &Sex &Sea\\
Responsibility &Society &Odessa \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
}

In particular, Odessa is one single city which has inspired 
a lot of Russian folk poetry.
\vskip 0.3 cm
\centerline{\bf 3. Reasons for the existence of the folk poetry.}
\nopagebreak
\vskip 0.2 cm \centerline{
\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|}
\hline
{\bf Property} & {\bf Results in} & {\bf Beneficiaries}\\
\hline
a) Speech patterns &Language database &Kids, {\it marginals}; intellectuals\\
\hline
b) Private circulation &Free medium &Closed societies \\
 &Spontaneous behaviour &Convicts, soldiers; kids\\
\hline
c) Explicit structure &Supply of necessary {\it rhythms} &Body and emotions\\
 &Intellectual pastime (meters) &Mind\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
}
{\sc Note.} 1. Marginals (ossetians, kazakhs, moldavians, armenians) 
have proved to be an extremely rich source of genuine russian folk poetry.
The reason
is partly their need for easily memorized patterns; partly "filtering out"
by the mainstream folk of all irrelevant pieces of literature. 

2. Juniors (soldiers and students) are often maintaining records,
which support their competence in language and poetry.
This has also proved to be an invaluable source of information.

\vskip 0.3 cm
\centerline{\bf 4. Conclusions.}

Folk poetry thrives in social environments where learning or processing
of language is a matter of everyday life. It is also highly demanded
by those who lack freedom and/or intellectual stimulation. 

Any regular study of folk poetry
should be based on scanning socially defined groups like 
kids, youths, ethnic marginals, intellectuals, convicts and soldiers. 
This radically diverges with the practice of screening 
the senior part of the mainstream population, existing ever since
the Kireevsky-Yazykov project (1828--). 
Therefore, it is not surprising that the existing body of russian 
folk poetry is so scarcely understood.

\end{document}
