Georgy Vladimirovich Ivanov (; – 26 August 1958) was a Russian poet and essayist of the Russian emigration between the 1930s and 1950s. As a banker's son, Ivanov spent his young manhood in the elite circle of Russian golden youth. is father actually was a military officer, with a rank of lieutenant colonel, retiring in 1902 He started writing verses, imitative of

Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics, an ...

and the French Symbolists, at a precocious age. Although his technique of versification was impeccable, he had no life experience to draw upon. The favourite subjects of his early poetry were

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

mannerisms and gallant festivals. He named two of his books ''The Embarkment for Cythera'', alluding to Watteau's painting. After practicing a variety of

Russian Futurism Russian Futurism is the broad term for a movement of Russian poets and artists who adopted the principles of Filippo Marinetti's "Futurist Manifesto, Manifesto of Futurism", which espoused the rejection of the past, and a celebration of speed, ...

, as promoted by

Igor Severyanin Igor Severyanin (; pen name, real name Igor Vasilyevich Lotaryov: И́горь Васи́льевич Лотарёв; May 16, 1887 – December 20, 1941) was a Russian poet who presided over the circle of the so-called Ego-Futurists. Igor wa ...

, Ivanov came to associate himself with the

Acmeism Acmeism, or the Guild of Poets, was a modernist transient poetic school, which emerged or in 1912 in Russia under the leadership of Nikolay Gumilev and Sergei Gorodetsky. Their ideals were compactness of form and clarity of expression. The term w ...

movement. Although not considered a major talent, the 20-year-old was addressed or mentioned in poems by

Osip Mandelshtam Osip Emilyevich Mandelstam (, ; – 27 December 1938) was a Russian and Soviet poet. He was one of the foremost members of the Acmeist school. Osip Mandelstam was arrested during the repressions of the 1930s and sent into internal exile wi ...

and

Anna Akhmatova Anna Andreyevna Gorenko rus, А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко, p=ˈanːə ɐnˈdrʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈrʲɛnkə, a=Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.ru.oga, links=yes; , . ( – 5 March 1966), better known by the pen name Anna Akhmatova,. ...

. He was also considered to be one of the best pupils of the informal "Guild of Poets" school organized by

Nikolay Gumilyov Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilev (also Gumilyov; , ; – August 26, 1921) was a Russian poet, literary critic, traveler, and military officer. He was a co-founder of the Acmeist poetry, Acmeist movement. He was the husband of Anna Akhmatova and the ...

and

Sergei Gorodetsky Sergey Mitrofanovich Gorodetsky (; – June 8, 1967) was a Russian poet. He was one of the founders (together with Nikolay Gumilev) of "Guild of Poets" (). He was born in Saint Petersburg, and died in Obninsk. Gorodetsky entered the literary ...

. Ivanov was the only prominent member of this circle who emigrated westward. His natural arrogance and peremptory judgements easily won him respect and admiration of his younger contemporaries. He promoted himself as the only remnant of the highly sophisticated milieu of the

Russian Silver Age Silver Age (Сере́бряный век) is a term traditionally applied by Russian philologists to the last decade of the 19th century and first two or three decades of the 20th century. It was an exceptionally creative period in the history of ...

. To augment his standing, he issued a book of memoirs, entitled ''Petersburg Winters'', which contained a fictionalized or exaggerated account of his experiences with the Acmeists. The book alienated Ivanov from his elder contemporaries but won instant acclaim from his disciples. Together with his wife

Irina Odoyevtseva Iraida Heinike (15 June 1895 in poetry, 1895 or 1901 in poetry, 1901 – 14 October 1990 in poetry, 1990), known by the pen name Irina Vladimirovna Odoyevtseva ( rus, Ирина Владимировна Одоевцева, p=ɪˈrʲinə vlɐˈdʲim ...

and his fellow critic

Georgy Adamovich Georgy Viktorovich Adamovich ( rus, Гео́ргий Ви́кторович Адамо́вич, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj ˈvʲiktərəvʲɪtɕ ɐdɐˈmovʲɪtɕ, a=Georgy_Viktorovich_Adamovich.ru.oga; — 21 February 1972) was a Russian poet of the Ac ...

, Ivanov became the principal arbiter of taste of the emigrant society, forging or destroying literary reputations. However, their literary taste was somewhat deficient: they inadvertently dismissed Tsvetayeva's genuine lyrics (when anonymously submitted by her to a poetry contest) as a crude imitation of Tsvetayeva's manner. They enthusiastically feuded with Russian litterateurs in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, with

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov ( ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian and American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Born in Imperial Russia in 1899, Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Rus ...

becoming a favourite target of their attacks. Nabokov revenged himself by satirizing Ivanov in one of his best-known short stories, '' Spring in Fialta'', and by creating a clever mystification which resulted in Adamovich's immoderate praise of Nabokov's verses printed under an alias. In 1938 he published a prose poem ''Disintegration of the Atom'', which was denounced by most of the ''émigrés'' (including Nabokov and

Vladislav Khodasevich Vladislav Felitsianovich Khodasevich (; 16 May (28 May) 1886 – 14 June 1939) was an influential Russian poet and literary critic who presided over the Berlin circle of Russian emigre litterateurs. Life and career Khodasevich was born in Mosco ...

) and praised by his admirer V. Zlobin and

Zinaida Gippius Zinaida Nikolayevna Gippius (; – 9 September 1945), a Russian poet, playwright, novelist, editor and religious thinker, became one of the major figures in Russian symbolism. She began writing at an early age, and by the time she met Dmitry ...

. Afflicted with alcoholism and suffering from despondency, Ivanov sank ever lower. It was in conditions of abject penury and total despair that Ivanov's best poems were created. His art culminated in his last cycle of poems, written in the days preceding his death. In one of his last pieces, Ivanov prophetically promised "to return to Russia as poems". His wife returned to

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

during

Perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...

and died there in 1990. Following Ivanov's death, his reputation has been steadily augmented. His "poetry of brilliant despair", as one critic put it, is taken by some to presage the tenets of French Existentialism.Вторая волна русской эмиграции
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References

Editions

* Georgy Ivanov

Translated and Annotated by Jerome Katsell and Stanislav Shvabrin. Introduction by Stanislav Shvabrin.

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

Perceval Press Perceval Press is actor/artist Viggo Mortensen's publishing company, established in 2002 with partner Pilar Perez. Based in Santa Monica, California, the press specializes in books of art, critical writing, and poetry. History Mortensen started ...

, 2011 (bilingual Russian-English edition, 532 pages, ).

References

Editions

External links