SERGEI DOVLATOV
407
She said things like , "In this passage you write, 'the kinship of
silence and frost'. It's inaccurate. Frost and silence are two different
kinds of phenomena. You should write, 'In the forest it was cold and
quiet'. Without making it fancy .... "
"How can you say that-"in the forest'?" I said in surprise. "The
action takes place in a penal isolator."
"Ah, yes," she would say.
Those were the years that she was put in charge of the Con–
solidation, which chose new manuscripts for publication . As a re–
sult, many good writers were published, such as Gansovski and
Pikul.
Among others, Joseph Brodsky submitted a manuscript to the
Consolidation. My aunt did not accept it. She spoke of his poems
this way: "the ravings of a madman." (Actually, Brodsky's poems do
have something of that , too.)
They rejected Brodsky , but they accepted many others. In
Leningrad there are a great many poets . There are even three dif–
ferent Nekrasovs: Vladimir , Georgi, and Boris.
My aunt was a member of the Party. I don't fault her for this
either. Many worthy and honest people joined the ranks of the Com–
munist Party . They were not to blame . They simply wanted to live
better , hold higher positions ....
Of course, my aunt took it very badly when they persecuted
Akhmatova and Zoshchenko. And when they hounded Pasternak to
his grave, she became so upset that she even got sick. She said, "This
is a politically unsound step. We will lose our prestige in the West.
We are partially cancelling out the achievements of the Twentieth
Party Congress .... "
Over many years, my aunt collected a very fine library . The
majority of the books had personal inscriptions from the authors,
often touching and tender ones. Valentin Pikul's colorful inscription
began with the words , "To the midwife of our souls .... "
The inscription that the science-fiction writer Gansovski wrote
said: "Across time and space, I give my hand to you!" Not long ago it
became known that Gansovski was an informer who denounced his
own friends.
Pikul also distinguished himself in this field. At the trial of Kiril
Vladimirovich Uspensky, he addressed the defendant this way:
"Kiril! All of us here wish only what is good for you, but you con–
tinue to lie! " Since the trial took place during a time when liberalism
was at its height , Uspensky was given only five years in labor camp.
Pikul , though, got an apartment in Riga.
