One day Gogol came to Pushkin. Jokes about Russian writers

The Russian literary joke is a vast cultural space from the XVIII to the XX century, a parallel history of literature and life in Russia. The history is special - bright, bitter, cheerful, tragic. The writers and poets we have known since school days, who became the heroes and authors of jokes, appear in a completely different light, making us laugh at them, admire them, or empathize with them. Here they are - alive, with their weaknesses and oddities, pride and vanity. And with their troubles. The world of literary jokes is a world of talented natures, sharply noting the unusual traits of their fellow writers and their own. When Pushkin was once asked what he felt when he met Emperor Nicholas I on the street, he, proud and self-loving, honestly answered: "Meanness in all veins." The world of literary jokes is a ruthless world. The monarchist and great skeptic Tyutchev left for posterity such a statement about his homeland: "Russian history before Peter the Great is a continuous requiem, and after Peter the Great - one criminal case." A collection of these stories, amusing cases, episodes, and witticisms from behind the scenes of the great theater of our culture.