Andrei Vasilevsky

The Apollon Grigor'ev Literary Prize

On St. Tat'iana's Day, January 25, 2002, in the Oval Hall of the Rudomino Library of Foreign Literature the names of the three finalists for the fifth Apollon Grigor'ev Literary prize were announced. These were: Andrei Dmitriev, for his novella Doroga obratno (Znamia, 1, 2001); Leonid Zorin, for his short novel Trezvennik (Znamia, 2, 2001); and Ol'ga Slavnikova, for her novel Bessmeretnyi: povest' o nastoiashchem cheloveke (Oktiabr', 6, 2001).

A little later (again, following tradition), on Shrovetide, March 12, 2002, in “Dom arkhitekora” in Moscow, the name of the winner of the $25,000 Grigor'ev Prize was announced, and it was Andrei Dmitriev. Leonid Zorin and Ol'ga Slavnikova automatically became winners of the Small Prizes of $2,500 each. In addition, the nominators of the major winner shared a special award of $1,000. An additional award was a prize/scholarship of $2,500 for a young literary figure; it was given to the literary critic Il'ia Kukulin (presently on the staff of Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie).

All these are rather ordinary and routine events and practices for the literary community-the Moscow community, at least. But what sort of prize is this, one of the more substantial in monetary terms (the Solzhenitsyn Prize is also $25,000, the Booker about half that amount)?

To answer this question I must first say a few words about the Academy of Contemporary Russian Letters (ACRL) which I presently head. ACRL is essentially a corporate organization of professional literary critics concerned, among other things, with current Russian literature. It was established in 1997 by nine “founding fathers,” of which I was one. Subsequently ACRL steadily expanded, and today it has thirty-nine members. Among the goals of this fundamentally new type of organization were “the quest for new forms of literary activity under conditions of a free society; raising the social authority of the writer, the status of the literary critic and of belles-lettres in general.”

The post of president of our Academy is a voluntary one. It carries no salary. Yet the duties (organizational) are substantial. Therefore we take turns as incumbents for a two-year term. The first president was Aleksandr Arkhangelskii, the second, Natal'ia Ivanova, and I am the third; we will choose a new president in the spring of this year.

ACRL is an academy with a closed structure. One cannot join it, but one can be invited to join. The Academy does not ask in advance for the agreement of invitees but announces its decision to the candidate, who can then decide whether he will accept the invitation or not (in the history of the ACRL there has been one refusal to join and two resignations of candidates who had been chosen).

The Apollon Grigor'ev Literary Prize was established by the Academy of Contemporary Russian Letters and the ONEKSIM Bank (at present Rosbank has taken on its responsibilities). Apollon Grigor'ev's name was chosen because he represents the universal Russian literary figure-a poet, prose writer, dramatist and literary critic. And the prize that bears his name is awarded for a work an any genre other than literary criticism. Secondly, Grigor'ev's name (you must agree) is not as shopworn as many others. It is always useful and pleasant to remind the literary community and reading public once more of the name of a half-forgotten Russian writer.

There is no such thing as an objective literary prize. Every good literary prize is subjective by its very nature. The peculiarity of the Apollon Grigor'ev Prize is that both the nominators and the members of the jury are exclusively members of ACRL. In other words, they are experts in contemporary literature.

And so it was that on October 8, 2002, in the Literary Museum on Trubnikov Lane we held the fourth Apollon Grigor'ev Lectures, during which, among other things, the new jury was selected. The jury is selected only by lot: numbered ballots are drawn from a hat. All members of the Academy sooner or later serve on the jury.

At the end of the year the remaining members of the Academy each submit to the jury one work that they consider the best of the past year. This might be a large novel, or a novella, or a book of stories, a single story, a selection of poems, or even a single poem.

It's obvious that the decision of any jury is a subjective one formed after some compromise, but at the same time one can regard the decision as a collective “pronouncement” by experts on the state of contemporary letters. One may not agree with that “pronouncement,” but one must take heed of it. The more so that the Apollon Grigor'ev jury never takes into consideration the commercial success of the works they judge (something for which they are criticized, by the way).

As an organization the ACRL has no sponsors. It was established from the beginning as a non-profit body and can continue as such for as long as necessary. The Apollon Grigor'ev Prize, however, is backed by the ACRL and Rosbank. Rosbank provides the necessary funding, and the Academy takes on the job organizational matters and provides the literary expertise. At the same time, Rosbank's investment in the prize is gradually increasing. Rosbank publishes small editions of the works of prize laureates. The most recent of these were a collection of poems by Vera Pavlova, Sovershennoletie (The Age of Majority, Moscow: O.G.I., 2002) and Andrei Dmitriev's book of prose, Doroga obratno (The Road Back, Moscow: Vagrius, 2003). (Collections of literary criticism by members of ACRL have also appeared under the title L-Kritika, 1 and 2).

At the time of writing the process of awarding our next prize is still under way.

As usual, on St. Tat'iana's day, January 25, 2003, in that same Oval Hall the jury composed of Nikolai Aleksandrov, Lev Anninsky, Andrei Nemzer (president), Vladimir Novikov and Mariia Remizov announced the three finalists for 2003 (based on publications of the year 2002): Marina Visnevetskaia, “A.K.S. (Opyt liubvi),” Znamia, 11, 2002; Sergei Gandlevskii a novel, Znamia, 1, 2002; and Andrei Gelasimov, “Zazhda,” a novella, Oktiabr', 5, 2002.

The winner of the major Grigor'ev Prize will be announced on Shrovetide, March 6.*

Attachment 1
Regulations for the Apollon Grigor'ev Literary Prize

1. The prize will be awarded by experts-professional literary critics-for the best original (not translated) artistic work published in Russian over the past year.
2. The prize may be awarded to a work of any genre (a poem, a selection of poems, a book of poetry, a long poem, a play, story, cycle of stories, novella, novel, memoirs, sketch, etc.).
3. The place and form of publication will not be taken into account. The prize may be awarded to a work that has received other prizes.
4. Works of criticism and scholarship on literature or culture cannot be considered for the prize.
5. Any works by members of ACRL cannot be considered for the prize.
6. The prize cannot be awarded to a work that appears in book form after previous publication in a journal. Editions of “Selected Works” are likewise exempt. Collections of verse or stories that have been partially published previously may be considered if they make up a new artistic entity.
7. Manuscripts cannot be considered.
8. The right (and duty) of nomination for the prize belongs exclusively to members of ACRL. Each member of ACRL is entitled to nominate only one work. Jury members do not have the right of nomination.
9. In the event that a nominated work does not meet the formal criteria described above, members of the jury may draw this to the attention of the nominator and recommend the he or she select another work. Should the nominator insist in making a formally inappropriate nomination, the work will not be considered by the jury.
10. The jury (five persons) is selected by lot each year from among the members of ACRL. Those who have served on the jury will be eliminated from the selection until such time as all members of ACRL have served.
11. The president of the jury is selected by lot and enjoys the same rights as other jury members. The president's duties include organizing the jury's work, chairing its sessions, and presenting the prizes to the laureates.
12. The jury independently sets up its schedule of work within the time frame of the dates listed below. In the even that the jury members are geographically dispersed, jury meetings may be conducted by mail, e-mail, telephone, and other means.
13. The total amount of the prize is $30,000. The amount of the large prize is $25,000; the two small prizes are $5,000 each.
14. Neither the large nor the two small prizes may be shared among several works. The large or the small prizes may be awarded to a work written by co-authors.

Attachment 2
Nominees for the Apollon Grigor'ev Prize for 2003
(The Long List, Based on Works from 2002)

1. Anatolii Azolskii. Diversant. Novyi mir 3-4, 2002. (Novel).
2. Tat'iana Bek. Uzor iz trashchin. M.: Atlantika, 2002. (Poems).
3. Il'ia Brazhnikov. Kulinar Gurov. Uprazhnenie v inoskazanii. SPb.: Limbus Press, 2002.
4. Dmitrii Bykov. Prizyvnik. SPb.: Amfora/Gelikon Plius, 2003. (Poems, published in 2002).
5. Marina Vishnevetskaia. “A.K.S. (Opyt liubvi).” Znamia 11, 2002.
6. Anatolii Gavrilov. “Berlinskaia fleita.” Oktiabr' 2, 2002.
7. Sergei Gandlevskii. . Znamia 1, 2002. (Novel).
8. Andrei Gelasimov. ”Zhazhda.” Oktiabr' 5, 2002. (Novella).
9. Roald Dobrovenskii. Artsymagnus (Nerifmovannaia khronika). Den' i noch' (Krasnoyarsk) 5-6, 2002.
10. Boris Evseev. Otrechennye gimny. Druzhba narodov 11-12, 2002. (Novel).
11. Irina Ermakova. Kolybel'naia dlia Odisseia. M.: Arion, 2002. (Poems).
12. Valerii Iskhakov. Legkii privkus izmeny. Druzhba narodov 2-3, 2002. (Novel).
13. Tat'iana Kasatkina. ”Kopia.” Nasekomoe. Al'manakh. M.-Kaliningrad-SPb., 2002. (Novel).
14. Aleksandr Kuznetsov. ”Deti moria.” Kontinent 2 (No. 112 in consecutive order), 2002. (Short story).
15. Andrei Levkin. Golem, russkaia versiia. M.: OLMA Press, 2002.
16. Igor' Nepomniashchii. Znak perenosa. Briansk, 2002. (Poems).
17. Dmirtii Polishchuk. Gippogrif. M.: Graal', 2002. (Poems).
18. Valerii Popov. ”Ocharovatel'noe zakholust'e.” Novyi mir 1, 2002. (Novella).
19. Elena Skul'skaia. ”Nashi mamy pokupali veshchi, chtoby ne bylo voiny.” Zvezda (St. Petersburg) 6, 2002.
20. Sergei Soloukh. Raznoe. M.: OGI, 2002. (Cycle of stories).
21. Vladimir Sorokin. Led. M.: Ad Marginem, 2002. (Novel).
22. Sergei Stratanovskii. Riadom s Chechnei. SPb.: Pushkinskii fond, 2002. (Poems).
23. Vladimir Sharov. Vozkreshenie Lazaria. Znamia 8-9, 2002. (Novel).

* The Apollon Grigor'ev Prize Laureate has become Marina Vishnevetskaia “A.K.S. (Opyt liubvi),”.

© Andrei Vasilevskii

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