I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 88 Turgenev's Literary Prophecy
After finally seeing off another young writer, Mikhail, who had been sitting upright in his chair with a smile on his face, suddenly slumped into his office chair, staring blankly at the spacious ceiling and beginning to question the meaning of life.

These past few days, he's been so exhausted he's practically passed out.

In the process of founding the magazine, Mikhail played more of the role of an investor and encourager. On the one hand, he launched a large-scale loan program to ensure that the magazine had no major financial problems. On the other hand, he discussed some important issues of the magazine with Nekrasov and the others, and encouraged them all to maintain their confidence and continue to move forward.

These two tasks weren't particularly complicated. If you had to pick one, Nekrasov and Belinsky were the ones who put in the most effort. Nekrasov was specifically in charge of the magazine's financial affairs and other miscellaneous tasks, including renting their current, decent-looking office space at a low price after making inquiries from various sources.

As for Belinsky, he naturally built the editorial team for the magazine "The Contemporary." You have to understand that editors were not easy to find these days. There were few intellectuals who were willing to work for a magazine, and with the fact that "The Contemporary" magazine had a clearly progressive and radical orientation, there were even fewer people to choose from.

Fortunately, Belinsky had a wide network of connections, and even if he couldn't find anyone for the time being, he would use himself as if he were three or four people...

Mikhail had a few candidates in mind for the editor position, but the timing didn't quite fit.

Among them, the legendary Prince Chernyshevsky, who was exiled for a total of 21 years, will probably not enter the Faculty of Literature and History at St. Petersburg University until next year.

Meanwhile, two other young critics who emerged around the same time and had a profound impact on Russian intellectual circles, Pisarev and Dobrolyubov, were experiencing their relatively carefree childhoods.

But honestly, if these three ever get together and start a fight, the magazine is guaranteed to get a beating...

In short, professional matters should be left to professionals. Mikhail originally only wanted to be an ordinary shareholder in the magazine, but whether it was because he talked too much or because he had an encouraging personality, rumors circulated that Mikhail was the one who created *The Contemporary* magazine, and Nekrasov and Belinsky were merely his employees. Mikhail could only say that this was a complete reversal of the natural order…

Nekrasov and Belinsky did not seem to find anything wrong with this statement, and repeatedly acknowledged it in public, expressing their admiration for Mikhail's decisiveness and excellent vision.

Mikhail: “…”

Oh no, I've managed to govern without lifting a finger and still...

As these rumors spread, more and more writers, poets, and other magazine publishers wanted to meet with Mikhail.

After all, seeing that "Modern Man" is developing better and better, it would be good to show our face in front of the most influential people in "Modern Man" for future exchanges, cooperation or anything else.

Now that things have progressed to this point, Mikhail has no choice but to go.

If a magazine wants to develop healthily, it will inevitably have to deal with writers, poets, critics, and other people. In the eyes of these people, if Mikhail refuses to meet with them, it is undoubtedly a sign that the magazine "The Contemporary" looks down on them.

In conclusion, Mikhail could only quickly buy himself a decent set of clothes, sit in the office Nekrasov had specially reserved for him, and then begin to receive the writers who came to visit him, as well as other influential figures in the cultural circles of St. Petersburg.

Although Mikhail was not used to his new role because he had been poor for too long, fortunately, after a series of events that happened recently, he had already gotten used to it.

Even though he was a little nervous and uneasy inside, it wasn't showing on his face at all. On the one hand, he maintained his composure in front of those so-called influential figures, and even went along with their conversation about the situation of the publishing industry in St. Petersburg, how everyone should get along and cooperate, and reached a certain consensus on some common industry practices...

That sounds impressive, but Mikhail said I was just bragging, and he genuinely didn't understand...

Fortunately, it was just casual conversation, and because people had a preconceived notion about him due to his reputation, some couldn't help but say, "I say Mr. Mikhail is very insightful!"

It sounds really ominous...

The young poets and writers, mostly because they considered Mikhail an authority figure and had his own magazine, always appeared somewhat reserved when they came to see him.

There's not much to say here. Just treat them politely. Mikhail himself is young, so he naturally wouldn't act like some old-fashioned people. He has no interest in manipulating others, even though there are always some people who enjoy it.

Perhaps because some people had often encountered setbacks or been manipulated by other authorities, seeing Mikhail's gentleness and politeness, they were immediately moved, almost to the point of choking up as they grasped Mikhail's hand. It's worth mentioning that Turgenev's later rise to literary prominence was also related to this; likely due to his gentle nature, he frequently invited people to meals and was very willing to mentor newcomers. When a new writer read a manuscript to him, even if he thought the manuscript was utterly terrible, he would patiently listen to it and offer some mild comments.

Of course, in private, he would still complain about this issue to others.

However, strictly speaking, Turgenev's predictions about the literary future of his contemporaries have almost never come true.

For example, he once predicted that a law student named Apkhchin would have a reputation no less than that of Pushkin and Lermontov because of his poetic talent.

It turns out that this was indeed nonsense.

Furthermore, Old Tu was indeed a bit unreliable at times. For example, he once excitedly ran to Nekrasov and said that he had heard a young man recite his first work. The work was so beautiful that he had to put down his pen to avoid embarrassing himself in front of this talented man.

And he urged Nekrasov to get the manuscript as soon as possible, as it would bring the magazine an additional five hundred subscribers.

When Nekrasov finally got his hands on it, he discovered that the novel was filled with duchesses and countesses, and while it was full of flowery language, it also contained a lot of obscure philosophical discussions.

Now, Turgenev has made this prediction more than once in front of others:
"Everyone! Just you wait and see! Mikhail, dear Mikhail! He will be one of the most outstanding writers of our time! Not even one of them! In the field of poetry, he will have a reputation no less than that of Pushkin and Lermontov!"

Mikhail: “.”

Seriously, don't actually jinx me.
Or are you trying to salvage your reputation for literary prophecy, Turgenev?
Incidentally, after completing his novel under pressure from Belinsky, Old Tu hurriedly went to the countryside to reflect on his life.

It's said to be a period of settling down, but it's most likely just a way to evade Belinsky's pursuit.

Getting back to the point, Mikhail was being polite, but whether or not a work gets published in a magazine definitely depends on its quality.

Mikhail has some of his own aesthetic sense and judgment on this matter, after all, he has read quite a lot and has been studying hard lately, so he can take a quick look.

The manuscripts delivered to him were either incredibly dull, as if they had been unearthed from the last century, or rather mediocre, neither good nor bad, while others were far too aggressive, making Mikhail's eyelids twitch.

However, strong aggression does not necessarily equate to strong literary quality. Literary works are not propaganda slogans, and when there is too much slogan content, they generally cannot be considered good literary works.

Another memorable experience for Mikhail was his meeting with this highly aggressive young man.

The other person was not intimidated at all, and immediately said, "I came from your work! But perhaps it is that damned censorship that restricts you and prevents you from speaking freely. So I am willing to write down everything I felt from your work."

Mikhail: “.”

Okay, very energetic.
However, if you write it like that, it definitely won't pass the censorship stage.

Regardless, Mikhail accepted the manuscript and planned to send it to Belinsky for review to see if it was even possible to publish it.

As the saying goes, professional matters should be left to more professional people. Therefore, Mikhail never draws conclusions about a manuscript easily. He only discusses it with others and listens to their discussions and opinions. However, in the end, many people will still turn their attention to him and let him make the final decision.

Although Mikhail had a general idea of ​​whether a certain article could be published during discussions and consultations, he still felt uneasy when it came to actually making the decision.
Ultimately, we still have to adapt to our current identity.

After resting for a while in the fairly comfortable office chair, Mikhail finally regained his spirits. Next, he would probably have to receive two more young literary enthusiasts. Thinking that he could go out to eat with his mother and sister after the meeting, Mikhail smiled, but his eyes also suddenly became resolute.

Soon, the knocking sounded again.
(End of this chapter)