Saints Under Siege

by Wright, Stuart A.; Richardson, James T.

• ISBN13: 9780814795293
• ISBN10: 0814795293
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-10-01
• Publisher: New York Univ Pr

Summary

The weather in Moscow is good, there's no cholera, there's also no lesbian love...Brrr! Remembering those persons of whom you write me makes me nauseous as if I'd eaten a rotten sardine. Moscow doesn't have them--and that's marvellous." -- Anton Chekhov, writing to his publisher in 1895 Chekhov's barbed comment suggests the climate in which Sophia Parnok was writing, and is an added testament to to the strength and confidence with which she pursued both her personal and artistic life. Author of five volumes of poetry, and lover of Marina Tsvetaeva, Sophia Parnok was the only openly lesbian voice in Russian poetry during the Silver Age of Russian letters. Despite her unique contribution to modern Russian lyricism however, Parnok's life and work have essentially been forgotten. Parnok was not a political activist, and she had no engagement with the feminism vogueish in young Russian intellectual circles. From a young age, however, she deplored all forms of male posturing and condescension and felt alienated from what she called patriarchal virtues. Parnok's approach to her sexuality was equally forthright. Accepting lesbianism as her natural disposition, Parnok acknowledged her relationships with women, both sexual and non-sexual, to be the centre of her creative existence. Diana Burgin's extensively researched life of Parnok is deliberately woven around the poet's own account, visible in her writings. The book is divided into seven chapters, which reflect seven natural divisions in Parnok's life. This lends Burgin's work a particular poetic resonance, owing to its structural affinity with one of Parnok's last and greatest poetic achievements, the cycle of love lyrics Ursa Major. Dedicated to her last lover, Parnok refers to this cycle as a seven-star of verses, after the seven stars that make up the constellation. Parnok's poems, translated here for the first time in English, added to a wealth of biographical material, make this book a fascinating and lyrical account of an important Russian poet. Burgin's work is essential reading for students of Russian literature, lesbian history and women's studies.

Author Biography

Stuart A. Wright is professor of sociology and director of the Office of Research at Lamar University. His numerous books include Armageddon in Waco. James T. Richardson is professor of sociology and judicial studies and director of the Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies at University of Nevada, Reno. He is the coauthor or editor of ten books.

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations	p. vii
Preface and Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Historical Context
The Past as Prologue: A Comparison of the Short Creek and Eldorado Polygamy Raids	p. 25
Rescuing Children? Government Raids and Child Abuse Allegations in Historical and Cross-Culrural Perspective	p. 51
The Struggle for Legitimacy: Tensions between the Lds and Flds	p. 80
Social And Cultural Dimentions
Reader Responses to the Yearning for Zion Ranch Raid and Its Aftermath on the Websites of the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News	p. 107
Deconstructing Official Rationales for the Texas State Raid on the Flds	p. 124
Texas Redux: A Comparative Analysis of the Flds and Branch Davidian Raids	p. 150
Large-Scale Flds Raids: The Dangers and Appeal of Crime Control Theater	p. 178
Legal And Political Perspectives
Strategic Dissolution and the Politics of Opposition: Parallels in the State Raids on the Twelve Tribes and the Flds	p. 201
Political and Legislative Context of the Flds Raid in Texas	p. 221
Pyrrhic Victory? An Analysis of the Appeal Court Opinions Concerning the FldsChildren	p. 242
About the Contributors	p. 265
Index	p. 267
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