Collected Works

Khlebnikov is often considered a poet ahead of his time. This book presents 192 poems in the third volume of his collected works, ranging from the lyrical to the epic. Dubbed a Columbus of new poetic continents, Khlebnikov's work is sometimes surreal, sometimes esoteric and always innovative.

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Khlebnikov is often considered a poet ahead of his time. Dubbed a Columbus of new poetic continents because of his search for a poetics as diverse as the universe itself, Velimir Khlebnikov is the creator of some of the most extraordinary poems in the Russian language. Sometimes surreal, sometimes esoteric, but always innovative, the 192 poems in this volume range broadly from the lyrical to the epic. One of the founders of Russian futurism, Khlebnikov spent his entire brief life searching for a new poetic language to express his convictions about the rhythm of history and the connection between the truth of a poet's language and the cosmic truth about the universe. His poetry is characterized by often radical experimentation with language and words, a forceful utopian vision, complex theories of time and history, and multiple poetic personae: from an infantry commander to a Carthaginian war hero, from Cleopatra's paramour to the letters of the alphabet. Completing the "Collected Works of Velimir Khlebnikov", this volume aims to provide insight into the imagination of an artist.
Paul Schmidt is the winner of the Max Hayward Prize for his translation of Velimir Khlebnikov, "The King of Time: Selected Writings of the Russian Futurian" (Harvard).