Reader’s Space: Tsvetaeva’s Bonfires in the Light of the Cultural Scene Concept

Abstract

The article examines Tsvetaeva’s Bonfires, a contemporary urban ritual of reading the poet’s poems, singing songs, and presenting new research, an essential part of which is live or symbolic fire. Tsvetaeva’s Bonfires emerged in the 1980s and are held in places most often associated with the biographies of Marina or Anastasia Tsvetaeva. Observations allow us to conclude that, despite the same name, these events are organized differently in different cities. We describe the phenomenon of bonfires through the concept of a cultural scene, developed by W. Straw and A. Bennet, and adapted to Russian realities by E. Omelchenko. This approach lets us consider the emotional content of group practices of reading poetry, taking into account a specific place of gatherings: in this way, the requirement of “sincerity” or a symbolic event that links certain emotions and the space of the gathering can be made the object of analysis (the dove is interpreted as the soul of Marina Tsvetaeva, and the good weather as the blessing of her sister Anastasia). As a cultural scene, Tsvetaeva’s Bonfire reproduces the implicit rules and meanings enabling the participants to immerse themselves in authentic experiences, share common values, maintaining at the same time the individual status of their experience.