«A notebook with different poems of various authors» of N. N. Naumov
as a reflection of his reader interests (1900–1901)

The personal collection of the writer N. I. Naumov (1838–1901), a native of Tobolsk, who
has lived most of his life in Tomsk, is kept in the collection of the manuscripts department of the
Tomsk State University Scientific Library. «A notebook with different poems of various authors»
that has not yet attracted the attention of researchers is a part of the archive and is owned by the
eldest son of the writer – Nikolai Nikolaevich Naumov (1876–1937). There are 47 sheets,
with most of them completed. The comparison with autographs of N. N. Naumov proved that
all the notes were made by the author. The handwriting comparison with autographs
of N. N. Naumov proved that he made all the notes. There are a few dated entries: «Schedule
of lectures for 1900/1» is on the 1st page, «Rehearsal Schedule» – on the 16th page dated:
«Okt.». Then the dates are given: «August 17», «23 August 1901», «29 August 1901».
These dates allow us to date the entries: from 1900 to August 1901.
Being somewhat between a literary album and a reader's diary N. N. Naumov’s notebook, like
many other autodocumental texts, is characterized by syncretic nature of the genre, making
it possible to speak about its multifunctional and polysemantic nature. In particular, Naumov’s
notebook contains some rewritten works of Russian and foreign writers (often with the name
of the author shown) which almost exactly follow the author's texts (a comparative analysis
showed some discrepancies in punctuation and a few in vocabulary), as well as the owner's opinions.
It demonstrates not only the reader tastes and practices of a representative of the young Siberian
intelligentsia, who happened to be at the turn of the century among the students of the capital,
but also the interaction of the two literary and more broadly cultural flows: all-Russian and Siberian
– in his reception.
The paper studies the structure-forming texts of the notebook. A quote from the novel
of H. Sienkiewicz «Family Palanecki» – the song about spring sung by the artist Svirskiy opens
the notebook, and the song from «The Nightingale» by P.-J. Beranger closes it. The poems obviously
resonate not only in the genre level but also in the image of the lyric hero and his mood. The composition
of the notebook, including some author's poetic intertexts of S. Y. Nadson,
P.-J. Beranger, Y. P. Polonsky, and I. S. Nikitin is studied. The poems of these poets occupy
a large part of the notebook. The other entries are the separate works of different authors – poets
and prose writers which are combined in complementary subject groups. The most important
for Naumov-reader are the themes of the poet and poetry, unattainable ideal, province, dissatisfaction
with life which is full of people's suffering, and the problem of love and the image
of a woman.