REVIEWS 529 Zubova, L. V. Sovremennaia russkaia poeziia v kontekste istorni iazyka.Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, Moscow, 2000. 432 pp. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Priceunknown. ZUBOVA'S study offers a detailed and provocative analysis of Russian poetry of the I96o-9os. It discusses almost three hundred authors, including leading postmodernist figures such as Joseph Brodsky, Viktor Krivulin, Genrikh Sapgir, Sergei Stratanovskii, Dmitrii Prigov, Elena Shvarts and Viktor Sosnora. Zubova highlights playful and innovative aspects of Russian postmodernistpoetry, arguingthat many linguisticexperimentsembedded in the texts under scrutiny in the present study explore the shortcomings and inadequacyof contemporaryRussianlanguage. Zubova arguesthat linguistic games of Russian postmodernistpoets offeralternativeways of development for phonetic, semantic and grammar structures of the Russian language. Zubova holds an optimisticview that deviations from the standardlanguage, as observed in the texts she studies, do not destroy the language, but help to preserve it, especially because they resurrect from oblivion some forgotten linguistic norms from the past (p. 399). Zubova's main thesis is based on the belief that language 'is a self-correctingsystem as well as a combination of options to express various meanings' (p. 399). The book will be of great interestto linguistsand to studentsof Russianpoetry, since it offersimportant insightsinto today'sstateof the Russianlanguage. The book comprises seven chapters, including an introduction and conclusion. Chapter one outlines the main theoretical frameworkwhich is applied throughout the book; chapter two discusses phonetic aspects of contemporary poetic experiments; chapter three investigates etymological innovations; chapter four is devoted to lexical changes; chapter five talks about archaic aspects of various grammaticaldeviations;chapter six offersa detailed analysis of the linguistic games based around gender; and chapter seven analysessyntacticalstructuresof the texts. In addition, the book offersa briefsummaryof the main conclusions (pp. 398-99), bibliographyand index. To some extent, all the texts Zubova discussesmight be viewed as hypertext, with no significantdifferentiationbetween the language of the i 960S and of the I990s. Furthermore,Zubova revealspostmodernisttendencies in Russian poetry of this period by demonstratinghow the linguisticexpressionis linked to the postmodernist worldview of the authors she discusses. Zubova encouragesher readersto considersome seeminglybad poems and treatthem with a sensitivityto the irony and parodic intentions they display.As Zubova states, 'the most constructivedevices of postmodernisttext include irony, selfirony and linguistic game' (p. i i). Zubova also highlights the authors' balancing acts between high and low cultures. In this respect, such poets as Prigov, Sosnora, Shvartsand Krivulin appear to be particularlyimaginative in their use of language, exploring precarious borders between modern and archaic forms of communication, and between elitist and popular forms of expression. Zubova's findings illustratewell the intrinsicbond between postSoviet poetry and Soviet undergroundliterature.Zubova'sstudyis a welcome additionto the extensiveanalysisof postmodernistfictionundertakenby Mark Lipovetsky (RussianPostmodernist Fiction.Dialoguewith Chaos,Armonk, NY, 530 SEER, 8o, 3, 2002 I999). Zubova is well aware of the metatextual qualities of Russian postmodernism, and points to the intertextualgames of varioustexts. In addition to the more familiarnames, Zubova introducesher audience to lesser known authors, such as Vladimir Strochkov, Ian Satunovskii, and Vladimir Erl'.Unfortunately, Zubova's studydoes not contain any biographical detailsof the authorsshe quotes. Such an appendixwould be a usefultool for assessingthe spreadof linguisticdeviations, from the point of view of age groups, regional variations and the aesthetic preferences of the poets. It is difficultto assess whether some of the deviations from established linguistic norms were intentional, or derive from the contemporary sloppy usage of Russianlanguage that isparticularlynoticeable in post-Soviet Russianmedia. Krivulinand Shvarts,for example, are philologistsby training,and therefore are more inclined to have playful appropriationof some idioms, or absurd examplesof Soviet newspeak. As Zubova's study demonstrates, numerous poetic experiments reflect on the fluid state of the Russian language itself. In this respect, Zubova's discussion of the satirical elements relating to the concept of gender in contemporary Russian poetry is particularlyrewarding. Zubova's examples from Russian poetry reveal, for example, the uncertaintiesrelatingto gender of animals. Thus, some poets use the feminine form of the noun koshka (cat) with the additional note that it is used in their poem as a noun of masculine gender. Such examples are both amusing and obscure. Zubova suggeststhat contemporary Russian poets are struggling to revive the use of the neuter gender that otherwise has been steadily disappearing from the standard language (p. 301...