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| Title | From the Forgotten Russian Avant-Garde: An Unknown Acrostic by I.A.Aksenov Dedicated to K.A.Bol’shakov. (On IWL RAS Archival Materials) |
| Author(s) | Alessandro Farsetti. |
| Information about the author(s) | Alessandro Farsetti, PhD in Slavic Studies, Lecturer, Faculty of Languages and Literatures of Eastern Europe, Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Dorsoduro 3246–30123 Venice (Italy). E-mail: alessandrofarsetti@unive.it |
| Received | August 02, 2016 |
| Published | September 25, 2016 |
| Issue | Vol. 1, no 1–2 |
| Department | Textology. Materials |
| Pages | 385-395 |
| DOI | DOI:10.22455/ 2500-4247-2016-1-1-2-385-395 |
| UDK | 821.161.1 |
| BBK | 83.3(2Рос=Рус)6 |
| Abstract | This is the first publication of a hitherto unknown acrostic by an avant-garde poet, I. A. Aksenov. The poem was found in the archive of the Russian Union of Soviet Writers (VSSP) in the Manuscript Section of the Institute of World Literature (IWL). This poem dated 1918 is a complex example of Russian avant-garde poetry demonstrating subtle mechanisms of meaning-making. The essay places the poem within the context of Aksenov’s work and relates it to his biography (cf. his friendship with a poet, K.A. Bol’shakov, to whom the poem was dedicated and the participation of both in S.G.Kara-Murza’s literary circle “Tuesdays”). It outlines the basic structure of the acrostic, reveals its main linguistic devices and intertextual connections. The analysis shows that the acrostic was thematically connected with two poems Aksenov and Bol’shakov wrote later the same day at Kara-Murza’s house. All the three texts capture the incubus of the Civil war (more precisely, the so called «Red terror» in the Fall of 1918) but also express hope for the return of the normal life, relying on friendship of like-minded people. In addition to this, the essay reveals possible interrelation between poetic techniques of Bol’shakov and Aksenov; this will enable us to better understand the specificity of these two understudied representatives of Russian avant-garde. |
| Keywords | acrostic, I.A.Aksenov, K.A.Bol’shakov, S.G.Kara-Murza, Red terror. |
| Works cited | 1 Adaskina N.L. Daty i fakty zhizni I.A.Aksenova [Dates and facts of I.A.Aksenov’s life]. Aksenov I.A. Iz tvorcheskogo naslediia [From his literary heritage]. Moscow, RA Publ., 2008, vol. II, pp. 321–335. (In Russ.) 2 Adaskina N.L. Kommentarii [Commentary]. Aksenov I.A. Iz tvorcheskogo naslediia [From his literary heritage]. Moscow, RA Publ., 2008, vol. I, pp. 486–638. (In Russ.) 3 Adaskina N.L. Sodruzhestvo muz. Literaturno-khudozhestvennyi kruzhok Kara-Murzy [A family of muses. Kara-Murza’s literary circle]. Tret’iakovskie chteniia 2012. Materialy otchetnoi nauchnoi konferentsii [Tret’iakov lectures 2012. Conference proceedings]. Moscow, GTG Publ., 2013, pp. 151–176. (In Russ.) 4 Aksenov I.A. Eifelei [Odes to the Tour Eiffel]. Istoricheskaia biblioteka — Otdel redkikh knig [Russian public history library — Rare books department]. Available at: http:// elib.shpl.ru/ru/nodes/3545-aksenov-i-a-eyfelei-pg-1918#page/1/mode/grid/zoom/1 (Accessed 20 July 2016). (In Russ.) 5 Aksenov I.A. Iz tvorcheskogo naslediia v dvukh tomakh. [From artistic heritage in 2 vol.] Moscow, RA Publ., 2008. Vol. 1. 639 p. (In Russ.) 6 Aksenov I.A. Iz tvorcheskogo naslediia v dvukh tomakh. Moscow, RA Publ., 2008. Vol. 2. 462 p. [From artistic heritage in 2 vol.] (In Russ.) 7 Bol’shakov K.A. Poema sobytii [The poem of events]. Moscow, Tsentrifuga Publ., 1916. 16 p. (In Russ.) 8 Gel’perin Iu.M. Bol’shakov Konstantin Aristarkhovich. Russkie pisateli 1800–1917. Biograficheskii slovar’ [Russian writers, 1800-1917. A biographical dictionary]. Moscow, Sovetskaia entsiklopediia Publ., 1989, pp. 308–309. (In Russ.) 9 Ioffe V.V. Pervaia krov’ [The first blood]. Zvezda [Star], 1997, no 8. Available at: http://magazines.russ.ru/zvezda/1997/8/ioff.html (Accessed 20 July 2016). (In Russ.) 10 Farsetti A. Neizvestnaia kniga stikhov Ivana Aksenova «Ody i tantsy»: popytka rekonstruktsii [The unknown book of verse by Aksenov “Odes and dances”: an attempt of reconstruction]. Tekstologiia i istoriko-literaturnyi protsess: III mezhdunarodnaia konferentsiia molodykh issledovatelei. Sbornik statei. [Textology and historical-literary process: III international conference of young researchers. Conference proceedings]. Moscow, Lider Publ., 2015, pp. 116–124. 11 Farsetti A. La poesia di Ivan Aksenov (1914–1921) nel contesto dell’avanguardia russa: un’interpretazione [The poetry of Ivan Aksenov (1914–1921) in Russian avant-garde culture: an interpretation]: kandidatskaia dissertatsiia [PhD thesis]. Venezia, 2014. 337 p. |
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