The category of reader’s literacy in Sergei Tret’yakov’s “literature of fact”

Abstract

The article deals with identifying the specifics of applying the category of reader’s literacy in Sergei Tret’yakov’s theory “literature of fact” and its role in deconstructing traditional notions of artistic creation and authorship. It shows how an expanded understanding of literacy becomes an instrument for the functionalization of literature as a means of recording and transforming social reality, particularly in overcoming the boundaries between author and reader. To this end, the evolution of the concept of literacy is analyzed. The main focus is on Tret’yakov’s important theoretical theses, and it is revealed that a key role in his theory is played by the idea of involving the reading masses in active writing as a condition for recording facts. The role of technological tools, including photography, as instruments for simplifying the writing of non-professionals is also considered. Beside it sees into the connection between practical literacy and the rejection of fiction, as well as the blurring of boundaries between writer and reader. Following Mikhail Bakhtin’s ideas, the author analyzes the consequences of Tret’yakov’s reinterpretation of the concept of literacy, which turn out to be destructive moments in the effacement of the boundaries of aesthetics. The article emphasizes the importance of problematizing the “literature of fact” for literary theory in the context of the “crisis of authorship” in the 20th century and the search for new literary practices.