Competition named after Babel tyranny of taste long list. Doomed to freedom
The shortlist for the Odessa International Literary Prize named after Isaac Babel for 2017 (first season) has been announced. The founder of the award is the World Club of Odessa residents. Co-founders: Odessa Literary Museum, literary magazine "Rainbow" (Kyiv), Literary almanac "Deribasovskaya - Richelievskaya" (Odessa), Odessa National Scientific Library, Lydia Isaakovna Babel (daughter of the writer, USA). The prize was established with the aim of identifying and supporting the best examples of modern literary fiction in the genre of short stories (short stories), written in Russian in Ukraine, Russia and other countries of the world. It is awarded annually for the best story (novel) in Russian. However, there are no restrictions for authors of works based on age, citizenship, place of residence and place of publication. Amount of monetary reward Prize: 1st place - 60 thousand UAH, 2nd place - 30 thousand UAH, 3rd place - 15 thousand UAH.
Of the 57 authors included in the Long List (Long List) of the Babel Prize, the following were included in the Short List (Short List):
1. Berdichevskaya Anna (Russia)
2. Birshtein Alexander (Ukraine, Odessa)
3. Bossart Alla (Russia, Israel)
4. Brevis Vitya (Ukraine, Odessa)
5. Volodarsky Alexander (Ukraine, Kyiv)
6. Alexey Gedeonov (Ukraine, Kyiv)
7. Mike Gelprin (USA)
8. Goncharova Marianna (Ukraine, Chernivtsi)
9. Kazakov Valery (Russia)
10. Alexey Kurilko (Ukraine, Kyiv)
11. Matkovsky Maxim (Ukraine, Kyiv)
12. Nikitinsky Yuri (Ukraine, Kyiv)
13. Fedenko Alexander (Russia)
14. Khanzina Valentina (Canada)
15. Shanin Moshe (Russia)
The works of the Prize winners will be translated into Ukrainian.
The Isaac Babel International Literary Prize will find its winner on July 13. And a member of the Prize jury, a famous writer, editor-in-chief of the humorous magazine "Fontan" Valery Khait told ZN.UA why the author of "Odessa Stories" is valuable and important for the modern world.
First Odessa International The Isaac Babel Literary Prize will find its winner on July 13. A member of the Prize jury, a famous writer, editor-in-chief of a humor magazine "Fountain" Valery Khait told ZN.UA why the author of "Odessa Stories" is valuable and important for the modern world.
— Valery Isaakovich, how did the idea of the Babel Prize come about?
— The idea was born several years ago, after the opening of the monument to Babel in Odessa. It was like a continuation, development of the project to perpetuate the memory of Isaac Babel, who, in my opinion, is the leader of the Odessa school of writers.
And this idea, which is important, was announced before the war.
At the present time, when chaos reigns in many ways, when guidelines have been knocked down and absolutely every person is thinking about looking for a way out, it is necessary to rely on some values. And if we proceed from the fact that art is eternal, we should rely, for example, on Babel. He won't let you down.
Babel is an outstanding writer on a global scale. He has long been one of the ten outstanding writers in the world - there are such calculations.
Of the writers of the Soviet era, he was the most famous in Europe and the world back in the thirties.
By the way, I am sure: if Babel had not been killed, he might have been the only Odessa writer who would have been awarded the Nobel Prize.
Babel is one of the demiurge writers who create worlds. Just as Marquez created his Macondo, so Babel created his Odessa.
In the living literary world he created there are no absolute coincidences with reality; special laws apply there.
Of course, Babel created his “Odessa Stories”, looking back at his childhood and the people around him. But this was only the real basis of the artistic world he created.
If I may say so, not life, but the quintessence of life. Only people who don’t understand anything about literature can say that Babel “glorified bandits.”
The laws by which life goes in the world created by the imagination of a true artist differ from real laws.
Therefore, I think that all our actions and efforts to perpetuate the memory of an outstanding fellow countryman are something that could not be avoided. There can be no doubt about the correctness of this.
I repeat: in our time we have to doubt a lot: it is difficult to be sure of anything. But here I have no doubt: caring for the outstanding cultural heritage of Odessa, strengthening and developing its great literary traditions is a right thing.
As well as, for example, a project to publish books of Odessa literary humor. For more than ten years I have been compiling these books, so to speak, to my taste. And they are successfully published. So it's time to trust yourself...
But let's go back to the beginning. I remember I turned to the editor-in-chief of the literary magazine “October” Irina Barmetova (let me emphasize once again, this was before the 2013 revolution and everything that followed it) and proposed to do the Prize together. Then, for various reasons, I gave it up.
Some time later, when Mikheil Saakashvili became the governor of Odessa, I again returned to the idea of the Babel Prize - and shared it with him.
It must be said that Saakashvili was enthusiastic about this, and even initiated the approval of the project at a session of the regional council.
But events, alas, developed slowly. In addition, I realized: you can’t put a strain on the regional budget (which is not very large anyway) when funds are needed for more pressing expenses. And I decided that since the founder of the prize is the World Club of Odessa residents (a public organization), then it would be best to find a philanthropist to finance the Prize. Moreover, in this situation there were fewer fears, reproaches and obstacles.
“Today a lot of people are making noise about decommunization. Can she touch upon Babel’s legacy? What do you think?
— Decommunization cannot have anything to do with Babel. Who knows what will come to mind for people who are captive of false attitudes?
I am not against decommunization as such, I am against turning it into de-Russification, and even more so into forced Ukrainization.
— Are Babel’s descendants involved in matters related to the Prize?
— The writer’s daughter, Lydia Isaakovna, and grandson, Andrei Malaev-Babel, were at the opening of the monument. Moreover, Isaac Babel’s eleven-year-old great-grandson Nikolai was also with them. I would like to say that the design of the monument (let me remind you that its author was the famous sculptor Georgy Frangulyan, he worked on the project together with Mikhail Reva) was seen and approved by Babel’s widow, Antonina Nikolaevna Pirozhkova, who passed away at the age of 101. As for the Prize, Lidia Isaakovna Babel is a co-founder of the Prize, and Andrey is a member of the jury of the first season. So we work closely with this family.
Monument to Babel in Odessa
— Of the 57 authors included in the longlist (long list), 15 authors were shortlisted: Alla Bossart (Russia, Israel), Anna Berdichevskaya (Russia), Odessa residents Alexander Birshtein and Vitya Brevis, Chernivtsi Marianna Goncharova, Kiev residents Alexander Volodarsky, Alexey Gedeonov, Alexey Kurilko, Maxim Matkovsky, Yuri Nikitinsky, as well as Mike Gelprin (USA), Valery Kazakov (Russia), Alexander Fedenko (Russia), Valentina Khanzina (Canada), Moshe Shanin (Russia). The co-founder of the International Literary Festival in Berlin, Ulrich Schreiber, announced that the winner of the First Babel Prize will be invited to Berlin in the fall.
Jury member Andrey Dmitriev and other worthy writers noted the high level of submitted materials.
It is all the more difficult to choose a winner who has not yet been determined.
— There have been no productions of Babel in Odessa theaters for a long time. Apart from the long-standing "Sunset" in Russian drama, there is nothing to remember. Why is that?
— In my opinion, in Odessa the situation with the “theater” itself has not been the best for a long time. The artistic level of the performances, with rare exceptions, is quite low.
So, maybe it’s even good that Babel is not being staged on the city’s stages now.
“Against this background, achievements in another form of art—fine art—look very successful. An example of this is, say, the wonderful works of the Children's Art Studio of Klavdia Bogolyubova based on Babel's Odessa Stories.
— Regarding the fact that this exhibition appeared just on the eve of the Babel holiday in Odessa, I can say that there were many such coincidences associated with Babel. I remember when we were working on the monument, many difficulties of various kinds arose that seemed insurmountable. But at some point we felt as if someone had started helping us.
And it is possible that Isaac Emmanuilovich himself...
It is known that he was a modest man; at first he (up there!) was probably embarrassed by the close attention to his personality. And then, apparently, I realized that our thoughts were pure, and everything seemed to be in order with the taste. And he started helping.
The most difficult, seemingly insoluble issues began to be resolved almost miraculously. So it is with this children's exhibition. As someone involved in the Babel Prize, I received a call and came to take a look. To say that she delighted me is to say nothing. She touched me! These children are from 5 to 14 years old! So much imagination, understanding, humor!... And I also thought that the children’s work is another confirmation of the correctness of what we at the World Club of Odessa residents are doing. The children not only drew the plots of the stories, but also read Babel’s texts aloud, and this is the best argument in favor of the fact that Babel is a classic, that he is alive. That his magical skill, his humanism heard in every line, is still needed, pleases and gives hope.
— What theatrical and cinematic readings of Babel’s texts could you note?
— Actually, I don’t really like theater. I believe that theater is a crude art, and it rarely manages to adequately, through theatrical means, preserve and show the power of a literary text. Great literature is nuanced. And it is rare that a theater is concerned and puzzled by such subtle things as fidelity to the text. I saw various performances based on Babel, I saw Alenikov’s film “The Bandit and the King,” where, I think, the lion’s share of success was ensured by the actors. Especially Zinovy Gerdt and Armen Dzhigarkhanyan.
If we talk about theatrical impressions that are not directly related to Babel’s texts, I can’t remember too many performances that amazed me. A real director, like a great writer, creates a special world, a special space - the space of art. Kama Ginkas' long-standing play "The Carriage", "Music Lessons" by Roman Viktyuk based on Petrushevskaya, "Serso" by Anatoly Vasilyev based on the play by Viktor Slavkin - all this was the Theater. Theater with a capital T. The way he should be. Well, to have the right to be called art...
— At almost every cultural event in the city you can hear Odessa being called the cultural capital...
— I think calling Odessa the cultural capital of the country is at least immodest. It’s just that if Odessa manages to continue to carry out its mission, play its role, which it has played for a long time, and not only maintain its original Europeanness, its cultural traditions, but also significantly develop them, this will be enough. At the same time, I want to say that our dream of Odessa becoming a city of festivals is literally coming true before our eyes. And, in my opinion, the city should simply not interfere with this.
By the way
Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel (1894-1940), according to some sources, “taught Odessa to speak,” and his birthday (July 13) is a holiday for the city. On July 12 at 19:00 in Odessa the world's first literary flash mob "Odessa is reading. Odessa is being read" will take place, during which hundreds, or even thousands of people will simultaneously read excerpts from the works of Odessa writers. It is already known that “Odessa will be read” in Ukrainian, Russian, Moldavian, Armenian, English, German, French, Georgian, Estonian, Spanish, Lithuanian, Greek and other languages. Famous Odessa residents, friends of the city, journalists from around the world and Odessa writers, actors, and musicians will come especially to the event. The flash mob will be filmed from the ground and air so that the video about the action will spread throughout the world. The action will be a warm-up for the next anniversary of the birth of Isaac Babel.
The Isaac Babel International Literary Prize for the best short story (novel) is a continuation of the project to perpetuate the literary heritage of the outstanding writer.
THE IDEA belongs to Valery Khait - vice-president of the World Club of Odessa residents, laureate of the municipal literary prize named after Konstantin Paustovsky, compiler of the volume “Odessa Humor” in the “Anthology of Satire and Humor of Russia of the 20th Century” (Moscow, “Eksmo”, 2004) and the volume “Odessa Humor” . Century 21" (Moscow, "EXMO", 2015). Valery Khait is the initiator and editor of the literary project “Books of Marianna Goncharova” (More than 10 books; for the story “Dragon from Perkalab” M. Goncharova was awarded the title of winner of the International Literary Competition “Russian Prize” 2013); author of the idea of a nationwide fundraising and project manager for the installation of a monument to Isaac Babel in Odessa (the monument was opened on September 4, 2011); editor-in-chief of the Odessa humorous magazine "Fontan".
The founders of the award are the Odessa Regional State Administration and the World Club of Odessa Citizens. Co-founders are the Odessa Literary Museum, the Rainbow magazine (Kyiv), the almanac “Deribasovskaya - Richelievskaya” (Odessa), the Odessa National Scientific Library, as well as the writer’s daughter Lydia Isaakovna Babel (USA).
Funding for the award is provided from the regional budget and charitable contributions from citizens, organizations and enterprises (trust funds: Isaac Babel Foundation). Amount of monetary reward: 1st place - 60 thousand UAH, 2nd place - 30 thousand UAH, 3rd place - 15 thousand UAH.
“Regulations on the Isaac Babel International Literary Prize” explains the conditions of the competition. The prize was established as an annual one with the aim of identifying and supporting the best examples of modern literary fiction in the genre of short stories (short stories), written in Russian in Ukraine and other countries of the world. Acceptance of works for the competition is from January 15 to April 15.
The Prize Directorate is appointed to perform organizational functions on a paid basis. A Council of Experts is elected, consisting of writers, critics, literary scholars, philologists, library staff, and journalists. Members of the expert council, working on a paid basis, compile a “Long List” of pre-selected works, which is announced no later than May 15 of each year and published on the website and in the media.
The prize laureates are determined by a six-member Jury formed by the Prize Directorate, who elect a chairman. The “Short List” is formed by the jury from the works of the “Long List” and is announced no later than June 10 of the current year. The decision of the jury is documented in a protocol, announced at the award ceremony, and posted on the website and in the media.
The award ceremony takes place annually on July 13, the birthday of Isaac Babel, in the Golden Hall of the Odessa Literary Museum.
The winners of the competition are awarded the title of laureate of the Isaac Babel International Literary Prize, awarded a corresponding diploma and paid a monetary reward. The winner of the First Prize is paid a monetary reward, awarded a diploma and the Grand Prix - a miniature figurine “Wheel of Fate” (sculptors G. Frangulyan and M. Reva).
The Jury of the first award season, along with Valery KHAIT, included: Andrey DMITRIEV (chairman of the jury, Kiev) - writer and screenwriter, laureate of the Apollo Grigoriev Prize, Znamya and Oktyabr magazines, Yasnaya Polyana and Yasnaya Polyana awards Russian Booker"; Yuri KOVALSKY - editor-in-chief of the literary magazine "Rainbow" (Kiev), laureate of the Vladimir Dahl literary prize; awarded the medal “Honorary Distinction” of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine and the honorary badge of the Union of Writers of Belarus; Andrey MALAEV-BABEL - grandson of Isaac Babel, actor, director, teacher, writer (USA); Sergey MAKHOTIN (St. Petersburg) - author of works for children, laureate of the Marshak and Chukovsky prizes, laureate of the Scarlet Sails prize, holder of the Honorary Diploma named after. Andersen International Council on Children's and Young People's Books; Boris MINAEV (Moscow) - writer and journalist, laureate of the “Treasured Dream” award for the best book for children and youth, laureate of the “October” magazine award.
It's time to leave other cities...
it's time to return home to Odessa,
rent a house in Near Mills,
make up stories there, grow old...
Isaac Babel
POSITION
about the Odessa International Literary Prize
named after Isaac Babel
The Odessa International Literary Prize named after Isaac Babel (hereinafter referred to as the Prize) for a short story (novel) is a logical continuation of a unique project to perpetuate the memory and popularize the literary heritage of an outstanding writer. The monument to Isaac Babel erected in Odessa and the Prize named after him should support and strengthen the international status of Odessa as a city with deep cultural traditions, capable of modernization and a new mentality. The award provides educational and educational aspects and is aimed at creating a new cultural context in the life of the city; it should become an innovative creative platform and claim to form the aesthetic and artistic tastes of modern society.
1. General questions
1.1. The founder of the Odessa International Literary Prize named after Isaac Babel is the World Club of Odessa residents.
1.2. The co-founders of the Prize are: Odessa Literary Museum, literary magazine "Rainbow" (Kyiv), literary almanac "Deribasovskaya - Richelievskaya" (Odessa), Odessa National Scientific Library, Lydia Isaakovna Babel (daughter of the writer, USA).
1.3. The prize was established with the aim of identifying and supporting the best examples of modern literary fiction in the genre of short stories (short stories), written in Russian in Ukraine, Russia and other countries of the world.
1.4. The prize is awarded annually for the best short story (novel) in Russian.
1.5. The prize does not establish restrictions for authors of works based on age, citizenship, place of residence and place of publication.
1.6. The Prize is financed at the expense of the patron of arts in accordance with the estimate presented by the Prize directorate.
1.7. Amount of monetary reward Prize: 1st place – 60 thousand UAH, 2nd place – 30 thousand UAH, 3rd place – 15 thousand UAH.
1.8. The announcement of the beginning of the award season, the procedure and conditions for nominating works for the Prize, the amount of the Prize's monetary reward (I, II and III place), the procedure and timing for announcing the laureates are published in the media and on the Prize's website babel-premia-odessa.org. ua.
1.9. The premium season is announced no earlier than January 15 of each year. Acceptance of works for the Prize begins on the day the award season is announced and ends on April 15 of each year.
1.10. The main criterion for selecting works for the Prize should be, according to Babel, “the tyranny of taste.”
1.11. All stories that are winners of the Prize will be translated into Ukrainian and proposed for publication in literary magazines and anthologies of Ukraine.
2. Directorate of the Prize
2.1. The Directorate of the Prize is appointed and dismissed from duties by the decision of the founder and consists of the Prize coordinator, director, administrator and press secretary.
2.2. The Directorate of the Prize determines the procedure for nominating works and processing documents.
2.3. The Directorate of the Prize nominates members of the jury.
2.4. The Directorate of the Prize presents a sketch (layout) of the main prize, the form of the Prize diploma; approves the form of the score sheet and makes an announcement about the start of the next bonus season.
2.5. The Directorate of the Prize organizes the work of the jury, forms the secretariat of the Prize, searches for the best works of authors writing in the genre of short stories (short stories), organizes the publication of books, almanacs, round tables, master classes, creative evenings, meetings, concerts, scientific conferences, “ Babel readings”, etc.
2.6. A representative of the Directorate may be a member of the Prize jury.
3. Procedure for nomination for the Prize
3.1. Works for the Prize are nominated by the author (authors) of the work, publishing houses, the media, creative unions, and literary critics.
3.2. When nominating for the Prize, the following information is provided to the Directorate:
- information about the nominee (person or organization) who nominates the work for the Prize;
- necessary contact numbers, address;
- a brief creative biography of the author (co-authors, if the work was written in collaboration);
- written consent of the author of the work for nomination and consent to the collection and processing of personal data, in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of Personal Data”.
3.3. Works for the Prize are nominated from among those published:
- in literary magazines and literary and artistic almanacs of Ukraine, Russia and other countries of the world;
- publishing houses of Ukraine, Russia and other countries of the world;
- in the media, including electronic ones, in Ukraine, Russia and other countries of the world.
3.4. Works that were published between March 1 of the previous season and March 1 of the award season are nominated for the Prize. (Works published before March 1 of the previous year (no more than five years old) may be nominated for the Prize in the First Award Season, if at least three members of the jury agree to this.)
3.5. Works cannot be nominated for the Prize again.
3.6. One author may be represented by no more than two works (including those written in co-authorship), if the date of their publication complies with the terms of this provision.
3.7. The volume of a story (novel) is no less than 0.25 and no more than 1 author’s sheet (an author’s sheet is a text of 40 thousand printed characters, including spaces). A cycle of short stories under a general title, with a volume of at least 0.25 and no more than 1 author, can also be nominated for the prize. sheet
3.8. In the absence of a complete package of documents, the Directorate of the Prize has the right to withdraw the work from consideration.
3.9. Works nominated for the Prize are sent by email to the Prize. [email protected]. Font - any, font size 12, spacing - 1.5. Works must be delivered to the Prize no earlier than January 15 and no later than April 15 of the award year.
3.10. All works nominated for the Prize are registered with the Prize secretariat and receive registration numbers. Authors are informed of receipt of texts and documents.
3.11. Works nominated for the Prize are not reviewed and are not returned. There is no correspondence with the authors.
4. Prize jury
4.1. The Prize winners are determined by a jury.
4.2. The jury consists of six people, including the chairman. The candidacy of the Chairman of the Jury is proposed by the Directorate of the Prize.
4.3. The jury is formed by the Directorate of the Prize on the principle of broad public representation. Professional writers, literary scholars, cultural figures, and journalists may be invited to join the jury. (In 2017, members of the jury were Boris Minaev (Moscow), Valery Khait (Odessa), Sergey Makhotin (St. Petersburg), Andrey Malaev-Babel (USA), Yuri Kovalsky (Kiev).. Chairman of the jury - Andrey Dmitriev (Kyiv) .)
4.4. Members of the jury select works for the “Long List,” which is announced no later than May 15 of the current year.
4.5. The “Short List” is formed by the Prize jury from the works of the “Long List” and is announced no later than June 10 of the current year.
4.6. Based on the “Short List”, the jury members determine the winners of the Prize - holders of 1st, 2nd and 3rd places.
4.7. Each jury member has one vote. In case of equality of votes, the chairman of the jury – two votes. Jury members have the right to vote both in person and by submitting appropriate letters.
4.8. If a jury member wishes to participate in the competition, he must refuse membership in the jury and a new one must be invited to take his place.
4.9. The term of office of the jury is one award season. The next season's jury may remain the same, be partially replaced, or be completely renewed.
4.10. The list of jury members is published in the media and on the official website of the Award.
4.11. The decision of the jury is documented in a protocol, announced at the award ceremony, and posted on the Prize website and in the media.
4.12. The jury's voting decision is final and cannot be revised.
5. Award ceremony
5.1. The Award ceremony takes place annually on July 13, the birthday of Isaac Babel, in the Golden Hall of the Odessa Literary Museum.
5.2. Persons who are awarded the Prize are given the title of laureate of the Odessa International Literary Prize named after Isaac Babel, awarded a corresponding diploma and paid a monetary reward. The winner of the Prize (1st place), in addition to a diploma and a monetary reward, is awarded the main prize - a miniature figurine of the “Wheel of Fate” (sculptors G. Frangulyan and M. Reva).
5.3. If a work written in co-authorship becomes a Prize laureate, the monetary reward is divided between the co-authors in equal shares, and if they take first place, the main prize and diploma are given to each.
Sergei Ostashko, “Odessa Life”: The elite gathered at the Odessa Literary Museum. The award ceremony for the winners of the first season of the Odessa International Literary Prize took place there.
On Thursday, July 13, the elite gathered at the Odessa Literary Museum. The award ceremony for the winners of the first season of the Odessa International Literary Prize named after Isaac Babel took place there.
The Golden Hall was crowded. Writers, musicians, artists, actors, journalists, and playwrights gathered for the ceremony. There were guests from Kyiv, Lvov, Moscow, other cities and another woman from Rostov-on-Don. Although this is not from Babel, but from Ilf-Petrov.
In the front row was the President of the World Club of Odessa residents, Mikhail Mikhailovich Zhvanetsky, who came to Odessa especially for this purpose. This, however, is not surprising, since VKO is the founder of this award.
How the Babel Prize was presented Four of the six jury members took pride of place on the Presidium. These were the writer, winner of the Russian Booker and Yasnaya Polyana awards (Moscow - Kyiv) - chairman of the jury; writer, laureate of the Marshak and Chukovsky prizes, holder of an honorary diploma named after Andersen Sergei Makhotin (St. Petersburg); writer, editor-in-chief of the literary magazine "Rainbow", laureate of the Vladimir Dahl literary prize Yuri Kovalsky (Kyiv); writer, playwright, vice-president of the World Club of Odessa residents, author of the idea of the Babel Prize Valery Khait (Odessa).
For good reason, the writer and journalist (Moscow) and the grandson of Isaac Babel, actor and director Andrei Malaev-Babel (USA) were absent.
The ceremony was opened by People's Artist of Ukraine Alexey Botvinov and his piano. Together they performed Sergei Prokofiev’s “Prelude,” as the host announced, or rather Rachmaninoff, as the musician corrected him.
We will not provide the notes of the prelude; those interested can find them on the Internet, but the maestro’s virtuosic performance still cannot be conveyed on paper.
Valery Khait announced the welcoming speech that came to the ceremony from the daughter of the writer Lydia Isaakovna Babel, one of the founders of the award.
Then the chairman of the jury brought his weighty word into the ceremony. He recalled that the Babel Prize is a genre prize, a prize for the best story written in Russian; noted the high level of works submitted to the competition; said that works from 17 countries from 228 applicants were sent to the competition. Of these, the jury first selected 57 authors for the long list, then 15 for the short list, and finally, the three best ones will be named at the ceremony.
And then, in fact, the awards began. And the first to the microphone - to present the prize for third place - was the famous Odessa polymath, bard and culinary specialist Boris Burda. He came out and immediately identified another of his hypostases - the famous KVN player. That is, he started joking.
Remember in Ilya Ilf’s Notebooks:
“He came in an infantry-style overcoat and immediately, while still in the front hall, began blurting out state secrets.”
Boris didn’t give away secrets, but he joked superbly:
“I am very pleased that I received such an honorable place - third. It seems that the second one is better. And the first one is absolutely wonderful. But those who will award diplomas for second and first places will be second and third.”
And the only secret that he did reveal was that Alexei Gedeonov (Kyiv) received a diploma for third place and the corresponding monetary reward for the story “The Middle of the Snow.”
The diploma for second place and a cash prize were presented by the author of the main prize of the competition, which is called “The Wheel of Fate,” sculptor Mikhail Reva. Mikhail did not joke, but simply quoted Babel’s formulation, which became an axiom for the artist: “If there is a “dictatorship of the proletariat” in society, then in art there must be a “dictatorship of taste.”
And this “dictatorship of taste,” according to the jury, was present in the story “Russian Doctor” by Anna Berdichevskaya from Moscow. The second prize was awarded for this story.
The host of the ceremony, Igor Kneller, drew further intrigue.
“It is impossible that at such a holiday the words of Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel himself would not be heard,” he said and immediately quoted;
“There is a lot of good that can be said about this significant and most charming city in the Russian Empire. Think - a city in which it is easy to live, in which it is clear to live.”
“And from shops, people, air, theater posters, I made up my hometown. I still remember, feel and love him; I feel the way we smell a mother, the smell of affection, words and smiles; I love it because I grew up in it, I was happy, sad and dreamy, passionately and uniquely dreamy... I was a dreamer, it’s true, but with a great appetite.”
“A well-invented story has no need to resemble real life. Life tries its best to resemble a well-crafted story.”
“The jackal groans when he is hungry, every fool has enough stupidity to become despondent, and only a wise man tears apart the veil of existence with laughter.”
“We were born to enjoy work, fight and love. We were born for this and nothing else."
And after these quotes there was nothing left to do but present the winner’s diploma. The “Wheel of Fate” prize and the corresponding cash certificate went to Marianna Goncharova (Chernivtsi) for the story “Yankel, inklotz in drum” by Alexey Botvinov.
In response, Marianna, choking on tears from excitement, said: “I am very pleased that the taste of the jury coincided with the taste of my mother. I'll tell her."
But if anyone thinks that the award ceremony is over, then they are very mistaken. It turns out that the organizers of the competition envisaged the presentation of two more prizes, two more “Wheels of History”. The first “wheel” was, alas, posthumously awarded to the Odessa writer Georgy Golubenko. Valery Khait, who presented the award to the writer’s wife, read out the diploma:
“Georgy Andreevich Golubenko is awarded a special diploma for the development of Babel traditions in the genre of the Odessa story - the book “Red City”.
And the presentation of yet another “Wheel of Fate” was a surprise even for the nominee himself, Mikhail Mikhailovich Zhvanetsky. In the diploma that was presented to him by the chairman of the jury, Andrei Dmitriev, the nomination was “For everything.”
And for the first time, the Golden Hall of the Literary Museum saw that the confused Zhvanetsky, coming to the microphone, did not know what to say.
However, MM recovered quickly enough, blamed the “Odessa” language of Moscow TV series about our city, and gave the following as an example of a real Odessa phrase:
Izya, where are you going?
No, I'm going home!
This concludes the award ceremony for the winners of the first season of the Odessa International Literary Prize named after Isaac Babel. And it ended, again, with Babel’s phrase:
“No iron can enter the human heart as chillingly as a dot placed at the right time.”
