![]() ![]() How have lyrical authors and works of literature participated in the cultural consolidation and identity-building? What role have lyric production and practices played in a given literary culture at different periods of time? What critical and historiographic attention has been given to that role? What defines the lyric in terms of forms, themes, modes of expression, cognitive, communicative and social functions? Papers are invited to address the following issues: At the same time, theoretical questions about the nature of lyrical poetry, its main elements, formal constitution, emotional influence and social function in the globalizing world call for further discussion. The conference calls for exploring the self-representations of various literary cultures and their interaction in that field of tension. This claim can be confirmed with arguments provided by the long tradition of lyrical folksong in Balto-Finnic cultures, as well as in many other literary cultures in the entire world. Focusing not as much on the narrative plot as on descriptions, situations and feelings, lyrical poetry and song has had its role in shaping the national identity and consolidating the nation to an even greater degree than the epic genre. Thus, relatively little attention has been paid to lyrical poetry, despite the fact of its noticeable presence in the formation of small literatures and the awakening of cultural and national self-awareness. These epic works often acquired the intended cultural function and prestige without reducing the importance of other poetic practices, but have overshadowed them as an object of study. As poetic models, theoretical concepts and literary practices were adopted from the dominant model culture(s), epics were also invented or (re)constructed relying on lyrical-epic folksong, in case traditional epic sources were scarce or absent. Such has been the case for many literary cultures developed under some major, dominant (often colonial) influence. In other literary cultures, however, this connection has not emerged from their original epic tradition and has been, in some instances, conceptualized as late as the 19th century. The concepts of “epic” and “nation” have been perceived as interconnected and the extension of this connection to the genre of novel has been reaffirmed by contemporary theoreticians of culture. The genre originated in traditional oral epic, which has long been considered an important factor in cultural consolidation and identity-building. Until recently histories of literature have emphasised the seminal role of epic poetry in the development of literary cultures. The Factor of Lyrical Poetry in the Formation of Literary Cultures 14 th International Conference of the Estonian Association of Comparative Literature
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