Inostrannaia Literatura

(Foreign Literature), a monthly literary, artistic, and sociopolitical journal of the Writers’ Union of the USSR, published in Moscow since 1955. It is the continuation of the journal International’naia literatura (International Literature). The journal publishes the works of outstanding foreign writers, such as Brecht, Böll, Faulkner, and Mauriac. It also acquaints its readers with the work of young African, Latin American, and Asian writers struggling for independence against colonialism and imperialist aggression. Among these authors are M. Dib, U. Sembène, P. Abrahams, J. Amado, N. Guillén, P. Neruda, and K. Chandar. Inostrannaia literatura devotes a great deal of attention to the theme of new ways of life in the socialist countries. This theme appears in the works of A. Seghers, D. Noll, V. Nezval, W. Broniewski, and E. Bagriana.

In the Literary Heritage section of the journal, the works of great writers from all historical periods appear in Russian translation. Another section of the journal, which is devoted to criticism, contains articles dealing with problems of critical realism, contemporary modernist trends, and criticism of reactionary bourgeois aesthetic theories. The defense of realistic art and arguments against revisionism, dogmatism, and antirealist bourgeois conceptions are central to the work of Inostrannaia literatura. The journal frequently publishes special issues about Africa, Latin America, Spain, the antiwar movement, and youth. There is also a richly illustrated section entitled Fine Arts Abroad. The journal reflects the relationship between Russian and foreign literature.