Help With Finding The Source For "Russian Literature is About Good and Evil"

When I was still in university back in Canada, I enrolled in a course called "Literature in Crisis", which was led by Professor Barry Callaghan who is the son of novelist Morley Callaghan. The course focused primarily on the Holocaust and the Gulags. Being an unorthodox and hospitable man, Barry chose to instruct the course in the living room of his Rosedale home where he graciously served us wine and snacks while we discussed books such as Kolyma Tales; This Way For the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen; and The Gulag Archipelago. Barry was a perceptive and insightful instructor, and it was through him that I began to engage with Solzhenitsyn, who remains one of my favorite writers to this day. 

Anyway, to get to the point of this post - I once heard Barry utter a quote from Solzhenitsyn that went something like this - "Western literature is about careers; Russian literature is about good and evil." The quote stuck in my mind, but I have never been able to find its source. The short video below features Barry speaking the quote for those interested.

Does anyone out there know which Solzhenitsyn work, speech, or interview contains the quote above? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 26, 2019 10:45
No comments have been added yet.