Vasily Ivanovich Gnedov ( rus, Васи́лий Ива́нович Гне́дов, p=vɐˈsʲilʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡnʲedəf, a=Vasiliy Ivanovich Gnyedov.ru.vorb.oga), better known by the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Vasilisk Gnedov ( rus, Васили́ск Гне́дов, p=vəsʲɪˈlʲizɡ ˈɡnʲedəf, a=Vasilisk Gnyedov.ru.vorb.oga; 3 March 1890 — November 20, 1978), was one of the most radically experimental poets 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, ...

, though not as prolific as his peers. 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 Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (

's painting '' Black Square'' (1915),

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

’s silent composition 4'33" (1952), and to

Minimalism In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

in general. Although part of the Ego-Futurist group, Gnedov’s poetry was much closer in style to the better-known Hylaea or Cubo-Futurist group, which included Velimir Khlebnikov,

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky ( – 14 April 1930) was a Russian poet, playwright, artist, and actor. During his early, Russian Revolution, pre-Revolution period leading into 1917, Mayakovsky became renowned as a prominent figure of the Ru ...

, and Aleksei Kruchenykh. His other works were characterised by experimental language (including zaum-like

neologisms In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...

), 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 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, shellshock from fighting in the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

, 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 In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

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 Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

External links

An article on the Egofuturist collection ''Zasakhare kry'', including analysis of Gnedov
(Russian)

(Russian)

(Russian)
Poem "A LA tyr'"
(Russian)

* ttp://pcccwriting.blogspot.com/2013/03/national-translation-month-four.html English translation of poembr> Includes English translations of two poems, 123-124
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gnedov, Vasilisk 1890 births Russian avant-garde Russian male poets 20th-century Russian poets 20th-century Russian male writers 1978 deaths