The Ardis anthology of Russian futurism [Hardcover]

Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: Ardis (1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882334697
• ISBN-13: 978-0882334691
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,115,314 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Slap in the Face of Public taste!, September 8, 2001

By 

Anita Fix (Alcazar in the Land of Enchantment) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ardis anthology of Russian futurism (Hardcover)

Elena Guro, velimir Khlebnikov, Nikolai & David Burlyuk, Osip Brik, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Evgeny Zamayatin, Boris Pasternak, & several other Russian Futurians (in exact contradistinction to their alien Italian counter-productives) championing "ZAUM" (Trans-Rational poetics, pronounced "Za-oom") grace this compilation; and at over 400 pages with about 50 priceless photos & illustrations, this is simply the best translated and most complete anthology of Russian Futurism ever compiled. Both Proffers'are heroes, they established the legendary ARDIS press decades ago, which has done for Russian Literature what Dedalus Press does for English translated Decadent & Symbolist Lit., Atlas Press does for German Expressionist & experimental Lit., and Exact Change Press does for late 19th-early 20th cen. Lit....etcetera. It's nothing less than criminal such compilations as this, labours of fantastic love affairs, to be out of print; No less tragic that ARDIS Press is in agonized death throes, and's going out of "the business of healing words", with little or no funereal wake besides a few congregated lovers of Russian Lit. that have subscribed to their unequalled dedicated genius for having birthed such exemplary tomes as their ANTHOLOGY OF RUSSIAN FUTURISM.
"It's been Mayakovsky Street for thousands of years: he who shot himself here at the door of his beloved." Such did Mayakovsky pen these prophetic stanzas in one of this book's greatest contributions: the autobio poem "A Man". here is KHLEBNIKOV, The King Of Time with his blaring Trumpet of the Martians calling all poets to arm themselves with divine laughter and mousetraps to catch the dirty politicians of today as well as Russia in the 1920's, perhaps the most experimentally rich era in ALL literary history, which several ARDIS ANTHOLOGY'S explore in a manner befitting of the Artists Lives & works; divulged fully no matter how intellectually bloody such a feat may be when the assassin's knives, previously buried to the hilt in history's back almost a century ago are drawn from old swollen wounds...Poetry's life blood drenches these pages, especially the first half of the book, as the second part covers their aesthetics and philosophy, a treasure-trove for the historian and academians. The reader is privvy to rare photos of Khlebnikov wearing a basket for a hat; Mayakovsky dressed in his yellow dress fitted with pistols and topped off with his immense witch-hat, which is how he comported himself in those revolutionary days; Futurist assemblies with animals etched on their cheeks in true Indian war-paint tradition; Filonov's cosmic paintings in constant cellular metamorphosis; the legendary books themselves which the Futurists ressurected in beautiful hand-crafted editions. And of course their writings, often making more famous surreal and dada works seem merely complimentary as far as experimental improv. and breadth of vision is concerned. In short, the book is worth hunting for, and any unbounded Love shown unearthing it I would consider justifiable homicide; any other ARDIS antho. such as "Russian Lit. in the 1920's", which is readily had here in this webbed site, are vast pyramids & literary sphinxes buried in unguarded advanced sands, and I would hail them from this Amazonian encampment as loud as my screams could carry...