The section presents a mapping of the phenomena of literary and artistic dissent that existed and developed in Italy, France, and the USSR. It includes a filing process and an overview of the main groups and movements active on the international scene, divided into the two macro-areas: the Western area (Italy and France) and the Wastern area (Soviet Ukraine, Belarus and Russia). The criteria adopted in the selection of the sample and the filing criteria are described below and vary according to the geographical area, and to the differences and peculiarities of the various political, social and cultural contexts.
WESTERN AREA
The sampling includes a series of Italian and French movements and groups, whose selection is based on their relevance within the cultural and political panorama in which they are active, on the presence of a precise cultural strategy, characterized by a programmatic correlation between aesthetic production and political or social intervention.
A distinction was first made between Groups and Movements based on the different nature of the phenomena. The “Groups” are structured, collective formations that define themselves as such. They are characterized by common initiatives, such as conferences, events, and publications (anthologies, magazines, etc.). Among the major examples of this type, we can mention Group 63 in Italy, and the group gathered around the magazine Tel Quel in France.
Within the much wider denomination “Movements” less structured, mostly international collective formations are included. In this context current groups are also taken into account; an example of this phenomenon is Situationism, the Beat phenomenon and the Provo movement, but also some inter-artistic experimentation movements in the field of visual poetry.
The following fields are represented within the Group records: Dates, Place, Promoters, Participants, Conferences, Magazines, Publishing houses, Description, Bibliography.
In the “Date” field, the chronological extremes are indicated within which it is possible to define the activity of the group.
The “Place” field shows the city (or cities) where the group was founded and operated.
The “Promoters” field shows the figures who played an important role in the conception and organization of the group’s activities within the group.
The “Participants” field shows the main authors/artists/intellectuals who took part in the group’s work.
In the “Conferences” field, dates and place are indicated of the conferences organized by the group, where present.
In the “Magazines” field, the titles of the main journals are provided characterized as a direct expression of the group, or that promoted the activity.
The “Publishing houses” field indicates the main publishers who supported the group’s work through their publications.
In the “Description” field the history of the group is reconstructed, providing an overview of the main activities and a synthetic description of the literary, artistic and critical production, with specific attention to the cultural policy pursued by the Group.
The “Bibliography” field shows the main bibliographic sources consulted for preparation of the record, as well as those considered useful for further studies.
The following fields are shown within the Movement records: Dates, Groups and places, Magazines, Publishing houses, Events, Description, Bibliography.
In the “Date” field, the chronological references are indicated within which it is possible to define the activity of the movement.
The “Groups and places” field indicates the main groups active within the movement, if there were any, and the main meeting places of the group’s members. It is specified that the places mentioned in this field are those that see an assiduous frequentation by people who animate the movement and perform a precise symbolic function, since around them unstructured aggregations are formed. It is not possible to define these aggregations as proper groups, as they are not united in pursuing common goals.
The “Magazines” field indicates the main journals that are characterized as a direct expression of the movement or that have promoted its activity.
In the field “Publishing houses” we report, if present, the publishing houses that promoted the activities of the movement or that were started thanks to the initiative of its members.
The “Events” field indicates the most significant cultural manifestations created as an initiative of the movement’s components.
In the “Description” field, a synthetic historical reconstruction of the movement and of the main initiatives is presented, with a focus on the cultural aims and the interartistic activities.
The “Bibliography” field shows the main bibliographic sources consulted for the preparation of the form, as well as those considered useful for further study. [Translated by Claudia Pieralli]
EASTERN AREA
This section describes the groups and aggregation phenomena that existed in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus and belonging to the so-called “second culture” (vtoraja kul’tura) in the period from the beginning of de-Stalinization (1956) up to the collapse of the Soviet Union (1991). The records, divided by location or city (Leningrad, Moscow, Kiev, Minsk), report both to self-represented groups through the drafting of real manifestos and to more magmatic and hardly traceable aggregation phenomena. As far as the literary experience in Belarus is concerned, the records contain an interview with the poet and testimony of the epoch Dmitrij Strocev and with the scholar Vladimir Volodin.
The following fields are shown inside each record: “Dates”, “Place”, “Founders or promoters”, “Members”, “Publishing initiatives”, “Description” and “Bibliography”.
The “Date” field shows the chronological details within which it is possible to define the activity of each group.
The “Place” field shows the city in which the group was formed and operated. If the name of the place has changed, the translation is reported as widespread in the period of activity of the group (e.g. Leningrad → Leningrad, rather than St. Petersburg).
In the field “Founders or promoters” the prominent figures (if present) are indicated within the group.
The names of the effective members of the group are shown in the “Components” field. In the case that the large number of members makes it impossible to draw up a complete list, the main names are mentioned.
The “Editorial Initiatives” field indicates the publishing activities related to the group or part of its components, whether they are occasional (the publication of anthologies and almanacs) or periodical (the publication of a magazine).
In the “Description” field, the activity of the group is reconstructed, from its genesis to consolidation as a circle of friends and colleagues who recognize themselves in a common Weltanschauung, fixing in some cases the fixed points of shared literary poetics. The field also refers to the influences exerted by the group, as well as to the performative gestures implemented, if present and relevant.
The “Bibliography” field shows the main bibliographic sources consulted for preparation of the record, as well as useful for further information [Tr. by Ilaria Sicari]