Thomas Ort: Art and Life in Modernist Prague: Karel Čapek and his Generation, 1911-1938 (2013)

“In most histories of Europe before the First World War, modern life in Habsburg Mitteleuropa takes on a decidedly gloomy cast. Centering on Vienna in the twilight years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, such accounts describe the failure of rationalism and the rise of a dangerous politics of fantasy. This book tells a different story, highlighting a generation of Czech writers and artists distinguished by their affirmative encounter with the modern world in the first decades of the twentieth century. Novelist and playwright Karel Čapek, along with other members of his cohort, embraced the possibilities of the post-Habsburg era. Tracing the roots of Čapek’s generation to cubist art and turn-of-the-century philosophy, author Thomas Ort shows that the form of modernism they championed led not into the thickets of fascism or communism but in fact closer to liberal political ideals.”

Publisher Palgrave Macmillan, 2013
Palgrave Studies in Cultural and Intellectual History series
ISBN 1137188863, 9781137188861
276 pages

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Magnus Ljunggren: The Russian Mephisto: A Study of the Life and Work of Emilii Medtner (1994)

Emilii (Emil) Medtner is an undeservedly forgotten key figure in early twentieth-century European culture. He had a central position in the Russian Symbolist movement, where he made it his mission to bind the young writers (especially Andrei Belyi) closer to German literature, philosophy, and music. After the out­break of World War I he moved to Zurich, where he became a patient, friend, and—later—colleague of Carl Gustav Jung. Through his unique Russian experi­ence he confirmed and corroborated vital aspects of Jung’s new psychological the­ory. As his role of intermediary demonstrates, there is a strong kinship between Russian Symbolism and Jungian analytical psychology. The letters and most of the photographs in this volume have never been published before.

Almqvist & Wiksell, Stockholm, 1994
Stockholm Studies in Russian Literature series, Vol. 27
ISBN 9122016562
240 pp

Review (Avril Pyman, The Slavonic and East European Review)

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Vladimir Majakovskij: Memoirs and Essays (1975)

“This collection of materials on Majakovskij is the result of Swedish-Russian cooperation, with the Russian side represented by such prominent contributors as Lilja Brik, Elsa Triolet, N. Xardziev, and V. Katanjan. As the highlight, the reader will unquestionably single out the memoirs by Lilja Brik and Elsa Triolet. Written in 1956, both were originally intended for the ill-fated second volume of materials on Majakovskij which was to appear in the series Literaturnoe nasledstvo and which Central Committee banned from publication in 1958.” (from a review by Halina Stephan)

Edited by Bengt Jangfeldt and Nils Åke Nilsson
Publisher Almqvist & Wiksell International, Stockholm, 1975
ISBN 9122000275
196 pages

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PDF (updated on 2013-12-8)

See also:
Bengt Jangfeldt: Majakovskij and Futurism, 1917-1921 (133pp, 1976, updated on 2013-12-8)
VV Majakovskij, LJ Brik: Correspondence 1915-1930 (in Russian, 299pp, 1982) — the link is dead, anyone has a backup?