WE:
Zamyatin's distopian novel about a totalitarian future in which all buildings are made of glass, there is no privacy and the people walk, dress and even eat in unison. It was the first modern distopia and inspired all those following. It is richer in beauty of language than its progeny, and in many ways its conclusion is more terrifying than that of 1984 and more disturbing than that of BRAVE NEW WORLD. It is currently in print and available in 9 languages, including English, Czeck and the original Russian, although it has never been published in Russia. If you want it now you can get it through Amazon.com or any other online book store. My favorite English translation is that of Mirra Ginsburg. To learn more about it look for the book Zamyatin's We : A Collection of Critical Essay, by: Kern, Gary (Edt) Publisher: Ardis, or try Reviews of Zamyatin's Works, Essay on Zamyatin's Life and Philosophy which discusses the impacts of WE's publication on Zamyatin's life, An Essay on 1984, BRAVE NEW WORLD and WE or What is Distopia? More related sites are coming soon.
The Play The Tragedy of Atilla and the novel ATILLA
I believe this work has been lost. I know that the story of Atilla was very important to Zamyatin and that the censorship of the play was a great blow to him. In an autobiography he described the writing of the play as "In Atilla I was at the verge of poetry."(from his autobiographies in the collection A Soviet Heteric.)
The Collection A SOVIET HETERIC- editor and translator: Mirra Ginsburg:
A Soviet Hetetic is a spectacular work for which Ginsburg has my undying gratitude. It begins with a collection of brief autobiographies which he reluctantly wrote at his publisher's request to preface his works, then contains many of his own essays, criticisms and book reviews, which contain both his brilliant poetic style and provide a perfect window into his activities in the literary resistance. It ends with his letter of resegnation from the All Russian Writers' Union and his letter to Stalin requesting to emigrate. This work is not officially out of print but is not being printed and is unavailable most everywhere. If you know where I could het a copy, Please please please e-mail me!
The Collection THE DRAGON- editor and translator Mirra Ginsburg:
THE DRAGON, named for one of the stories it contains, is a collection of many of Zamyatin's short stories and one of his novellas, as well as his letter to Stalin. For it again I am gratefull to Ginsburg who made it possible to get some of his fiction other than WE. As far as I know it is the only other work by Zamyatin currently in print, and can be obtained throgh most book stores. It contains many beautifully crafted tales which give a good sense of Zamyatin's folk-tale style. It contains the novella A PROVINCIAL TALE which he described as his first really good work, and the short stories THE DRAGON, THE PROTECTRESS OF SINNERS, TWO TALES FOR GROWN UP CHILDREN: THE CHURCH OF GOD & THE IVANS, THE NORTH, THE CAVE, THE HEALING OF THE NOVICE ERASMUS, IN OLD RUSSIA, A STORY ABOUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, THE MIRACLE OF ASH WEDNESDAY, X, COMRADE CHURYGIN HAS THE FLOOR, THE FLOOD and THE LION.
THE ISLANDERS:
This is Zamyatin's famous satire on the English which he wrote reflecting on his stay in England as en engineer during the First World War. I have finally tracked down a copy of the Islanders. Hopefully I will get to read it sometime soon, but right now I have manuscripts to edit
AT THE WORLD'S END:
This I have not yet found. It is a satire on the life of a military officer and its attempted publication brought him to trial for the only time in his life. He was aquitted but the work was confiscated anyway.
If you find any other works I should list, please e-mail me!
Links to other sites on the Web
Zamyatin's Letter to Stalin describing his suffering under censorship
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