ILIAZD (Ilya Zdanevich)
Berlin Khaltura

The sixth volume of the bie bao series presents the first English translation of Ilya Zdanevich’s writings on Berlin—a city he visited at the end of 1922, spending time with Russian emigre writers whom he accused of commodifying and watering down the avant-garde discoveries. Zdanevich dismisses these opportunist writers as “khaltura” writers—using a re-emerged Russian word designating hackwork, sloppiness, or simply kitsch art!

Zdanevich's Berlin report is translated and introduced by Roman Utkin, the author of a monograph on Russian Culture in Weimar Berlin. The volume also includes letters sent by Viktor Shklovsky to Zdanevich, whom he subsequently hosted in Berlin. Translated and introduced by Jyrki Siukonen, these letters, like all other materials are presented with extensive annotations and commentaries. This volume also presents Zdanevich’s 1914 words-in-freedom poem gaROland: translated and introduced by the poet Eugene Ostashevsky, the poem is dedicated to the aviator Roland Garros and marks Zdanevich’s initiation into Futurist poetry. [publishers’ note]

Published by Rab-Rab Press, 2024
Design by Bardhi Haliti
Artists' Writings / Scenes / Poetry / Art History