Reception of Thomas Wolfe's Work in Soviet Literary Criticism

The article analyzes the reception of the American writer Thomas Wolfe's work in Soviet literary criticism. The study traces the complex and non-linear path of assimilating Wolfe's legacy in the USSR, which was shaped by the ideological frameworks and cultural policies of the era. The article highlights the key stages in this process: from the first fragmentary translations in the 1930s–1950s to the “translation boom” of the late 1960s–1970s, which enabled the systematic study of the writer's oeuvre. Particular attention is paid to the shift in scholarly paradigms: whereas the 1960s–70s were dominated by an approach viewing Wolfe as a critical realist, and his creative evolution was often interpreted as a linear transition from romanticism to realism, the 1980s saw a turn towards analyzing the romantic roots of his artistic world and the problems of his generic originality. It is demonstrated that Soviet stereotypes (excessive sociologism, attribution to the "Southern school," interpreting Wolfe's work through the "romanticism/realism" opposition) began to be overcome in the late Soviet period in the works of A. M. Zverev, N. A. Anastasyev, V. M. Tolmatchoff. The methodological framework is based on historical-literary and comparative-typological analysis, allowing for the reconstruction of the logic behind the development of scholarly thought within the context of the Soviet era. The relevance of this research stems from the need to understand the history of Russian American studies as part of the global literary scholarly process, as well as the increased interest in Wolfe's work in recent decades, whose legacy has long remained on the periphery of Russian researchers' attention. The article argues that contemporary Wolfe studies require abandoning the ideologically charged concepts of "literary movement" and "artistic method." As an alternative, the category of "artistic vision" is proposed, which allows considering Wolfe as a writer-visionary. This approach, rooted in the Romantic tradition and the philosophy of F. Nietzsche, opens perspectives for analyzing Wolfe's biography as the foundation of a deeply personal myth, his dialogue with J. Joyce, W. Faulkner, his critique of the "Lost Generation" and expatriates, as well as the problem of artistic language.