Why did I make this Zamyatin homepage? Why do I care so much about Zamyatin?
I first ran across Zamyatin while doing research for a paper on 1984 and BRAVE NEW WORLD, and soon discovered that I could not find a single criticism comparing the two which did not at least mention WE. I sought out this mysterious work which neither the librarian nor my teachers had ever heard of. I tracked it down, read it, adored it. The language, the story, the vision, the message, all were perfect. To my dismay, however, no one had ever heard of him, not even the president of the local Writers' Association. As I did more and more research and discovered more and more of his wonderful philosophy and work, it became increasingly clear to me that, though Zamyatin's dystopian legacy as transmitted through Orwell and others has formed a profound contribution to modern thought, creating a new mental vocabulary we all employ, almost no one knows where 'dystopia' and its sub-concepts truly originated. So, after completing my second term paper on him, I resolved to work to spread information about him as much as I could, and I could think of no better way to begin than by putting him on the internet.
I study the history of ideas, the way man's mental vocabulary has changed over time. My goal in this site is partly just to make information available, but partly to show people where distopia truly originated and how its origins were influenced by the First World War, Stalinism and other early twentieth-century historical events.
Help me in any way you can. Try to find more information about him, and tell me. Tell me that you are helping, that you will help. If enough people try, perhaps we can correct the oversight history has made here.
I would like to thank those of you who have e-mailed me to let me know that you enjoyed the site. I have had this site up for six years now, and these past two years I have received roughly one e-mail every three weeks. It's nice to know that this page is succeeding in spreading information about Zamyatin and dystopia.
Links to other sites on the Web
Anime Central
Benedict's Home Page
Thank You.
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