It is not unusual for a writer to be pigeonholed, but few great writers have suffered from this more than Teffi. For all their flashes of wit, many of her best stories are extremely bleak. Nevertheless, she is still commonly thought of as a light humorist; many Russians know only the comic and satirical sketches she wrote during her first years as a professional writer, from 1909 until the First World War.

Teffi was well aware how often her work was misunderstood. Her preface to one of her best collections, Nezhivoi zver’ (The Lifeless Beast, 1916), begins:

Teffi was well aware how often her work was misunderstood. Her preface to one of her best collections,

Nezhivoi zver’

(

The Lifeless Beast

, 1916), begins:

I do not like prefaces. […] I would not be writing a preface now were it not

2051 words

Citation: Chandler, Robert. "Nezhivoi zver'". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 September 2019 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38911, accessed 28 March 2024.]

38911 Nezhivoi zver' 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.