Vasilisk Gnedov

Vasilisk Gnedov (Russian: Василиск Гнедов, pseudonym of Vasilii Ivanovich Gnedov (March 3 1890November 20 1978) was one of the most radically experimental poets of Russian Futurism. Gnedov is chiefly known for his Poem of the End, which consisted of its title alone on a blank page, and which the poet performed on stage using a silent gesture. The collection from which it came, Death to Art (1913), contained fifteen very short poems that gradually reduced in size from one line, to one word, one letter, and ultimately to Poem of the End. The poem has been compared to Kazimir Malevich's painting Black Square(1915), John Cage’s silent composition 4'33" (1952), and to Minimalism in general. Although part of the Egofuturist group, Gnedov’s poetry was much closer in style to the better-known Hylaea or Cubofuturist group, which included Velemir Khlebnikov, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and Aleksei Kruchenykh. His other works were characterised by experimental language (including zaum-like neologisms), the use of colloquial, dialect, and Ukrainian words, and a defiant and strident lyric subject. Numerous incidents reported in the Russian press in 1913–14 earned Gnedov the reputation of being a scandal-monger. However, his stated intent at the time was “to invert and renew literature, to show new paths”. Illness, military service in World War I, shellshock from fighting in the 1917 Revolution, and political repression in the 1930s, virtually silenced him. After his release from Soviet camps in 1956, Gnedov continued to write but was not published again before his death in 1978. Contemporary avant-garde poets such as Serge Segay (who has written about Gnedov and published his work) and Rea Nikonova regard him as an important forerunner of and contributor to Russian Modernism.

External links

Gnedov, Vasilisk Gnedov, Vasilisk

 

<< PreviousWord BrowserNext >>
pegasus class hydrofoil
history of brain imaging
dziady (poem)
alexander fraser tytler
brent hayden
iturup
thomas francis smith
communist league (uk)
bear's son tales
bernard lee
evan dorkin
andrew hurd
list of state leaders in 1221
washington state route 599
density (disambiguation)
compstat
thomas vernor smith
monofin
tha alkaholiks
eugene roche
yoxford
chena river
king tee
krzysztof wielicki
robert brown (actor)
shikotan
yoxford (disambiguation)
barry bucknell
works righteousness
james freeman
william james thompson
israel philharmonic orchestra
collateral
agumo
franz von hipper
roy fuller
u.s. 77th infantry division
collateral (property)
euro asia division of seventh day adventists
kumabito
philip plait
madeira park, british columbia
u.s. 81st infantry division
juvenile dermatomyositis