The Ural school of poetry: An outsider’s view

The article considers the phenomenon of the Ural school of poetry, an umbrella term for verses written by Ural-based poets active in the 1990s–2000s. The author examines legitimacy of the term itself. Contemporary critics’ opinion is still divided about the existence of such a school, as the term ‘Ural school of poetry’ (or USP) may refer to both poets included in Ural regional anthologies as well as Ural-specific poetics. The study proceeds to enumerate key figures defining USP and to explore the school’s characteristic features and historical development. Citing reviews by modern critics of poetry, who at one point or another analyzed the phenomenon of USP, Batalov focuses on clearing up contentious issues. For example, whether B. Ryzhy is a USP poet (it is argued that he is not, as he saw the outside world and the city — the ‘fairytale Sverdlovsk’ — as the embodiment of a cruel paradise on earth, whereas other Ural poets portrayed the city as the realm of death); whether the school’s method has a future and whether USP has any influence on modern poetry in general.