Alexander Vvedensky: An Invitation for Me to Think, Vvedensky Alexander

I raise d] my hand against concepts, wrote Alexander Vvedensky, I enacted a poetic critique of reason. This weirdly and wonderfully philosophical poet was born in 1904, grew up in the midst of war and revolution, and reached his artistic maturity as Stalin was twisting the meaning of words in grotesque and lethal ways. Vvedensky--with Daniil Kharms the major figure in the short-lived underground avant-garde group OBERIU (a neologism for the union for real art)--responded with a poetry that explodes stable meaning into shimmering streams of provocation and invention. A Vvedensky poem is like a crazy party full of theater, film, magic tricks, jugglery, and feasting. Curious characters appear and disappear, euphoria keeps company with despair, outrageous assertions lead to epic shouting matches, and perhaps it all breaks off with one lonely person singing a song.