Every intellectual who often discovers something new for himself will sooner or later want to read the poetry of poets Silver Age, which they tried to introduce into a standard and disciplined Soviet life something of our own, living, natural and new. Each of them, in their own way, wanted to change this world, open a window and let in a fresh wind of inspiration. Give confidence in business, feelings, relationships, etc.
Silver
One of these representatives is Igor Severyanin (his biography will be presented below). He had to work hard before becoming “Russian intellectual baggage,” as teacher Dmitry Bykov said about him. The avant-garde artists who came in the wake of the Golden Age began to boldly call for “throwing Pushkin and Dostoevsky off the steamship of modernity,” and with them various literary movements and groups. The works of the Silver Age really excite minds, since they mainly relate to pressing issues of love poetry.
Many still quote favorite and popular lines from the poems of Pasternak, Mayakovsky, Akhmatova, Blok, Maldenstam, Tsvetaeva, etc. Igor Severyanin is one of them. In his biography there are not accidental, very important and fateful moments, about which further and we'll talk. This is a true master of the pen. It was very popular not only among adults, but also among young people. However, a whole volume could be compiled from the articles constantly criticizing him. But be that as it may, at his performances he collected huge crowd grateful listeners. His famous poems are “Pineapples in Champagne”, “I am a Genius”, “It Was by the Sea”, etc.
Igor Severyanin. Biography (briefly and most importantly about the poet’s family and childhood)
It is impossible to unequivocally relate to him literary heritage. The most important thing in his short biography is that he worked and published exclusively under a pseudonym. His real name was Lotarev. He was born in St. Petersburg on May 4, 1887. The whole family lived on Gorokhovaya Street in house number 66, which was the central fashionable thoroughfare Northern capital. Igor was brought up in a cultured and very wealthy family.
His father was Vasily Petrovich Lotarev, a tradesman who rose to senior rank- Staff captain of the railway battalion. Mother, Natalya Stepanovna Lotareva, was a distant relative of Afanasy Fet. She came from noble family Shenshinykh.
In 1896, Igor’s parents divorced and decided to go their own ways. What caused their divorce remains unknown.
Changes
As a boy, he began to live on the estate with his father’s relatives, who lived in the Cherepovets region in the village of Vladimirovka, where his father went to live after his resignation and divorce. And then Vasily Petrovich went to the city of Dalniy in Manchuria, accepting the position of commercial agent.
In Cherepovets, Igor was able to complete only four classes of school, and then, when he turned 16, he moved to his father (in 1904). He certainly wanted to see this wonderful region with his own eyes. He was inspired by the beautiful and harsh nature of the Far Eastern region, which is why he later took the pseudonym Northerner, in imitation of Mamin-Sibiryak. But in the same year before the Russo-Japanese War, his father dies, and Igor is sent back to his mother in St. Petersburg.
First successes in poetry
From childhood, Igor Vasilyevich showed his remarkable literary talent. He began writing his first poems at the age of 7-8. In his early youth he was inspired by Zhenechka Gutsan, and therefore his poems were lyrical. Then the war began, and a military-patriotic note began to appear in his works. Since 1904, his poems began to be published in periodicals. This was influenced by his favorite writer Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy. Igor most of all wanted to get a response from the editors, but the poems did not cause much delight among the readers, so his works were returned to him.
Noting the most important thing in the biography of Igor Severyanin, one cannot help but say that he began to publish under the pseudonyms “Count Evgraf d’Axangraf”, “Igla”, “Mimosa”. Around this time, he took his final pseudonym Igor Severyanin. In 1905 he published his poem “The Death of Rurik”.
In 1907, the poet met Konstantin Fofanov, who was the first to appreciate the talent of the young writer and became his mentor.
Aspiring poet
In 1909, a poetry circle began to form, thanks precisely to Igor Severyanin. By 1911, a whole creative association egofuturists. This was a new movement, which was characterized by refined sensations, neologisms, selfishness and a cult of personality. They tried to show all this off. But the founder of this new literary movement soon left him, found himself in Symbolist circles and began performing solo.
Bryusov welcomed the appearance of such a master of the pen as Severyanin in Russian poetry. And from that moment on, 35 poetry collections by the poet Severyanin were published. One of his manuscripts, “Habanera II,” thanks to the writer Ivan Nazhivin, fell into the hands of Leo Tolstoy himself, who mercilessly criticized the postmodernist Severyanin to smithereens. But this fact did not break him, but on the contrary, promoted his name, albeit “in a black way.” He became famous.
King of Poets
Magazines, which found a sensation in this, began to willingly publish his works. In 1913, his famous collection was published, which brought him fame - “The Thundering Cup”. The northerner began to travel with his performances throughout the country and attracted full houses. The poet had a magnificent performing gift. Boris Pasternak said about him that in pop recitation of poetry he could compete only with the poet Mayakovsky.
He took part in 48 national poetry concerts and gave 87 personally. By participating in poetry competition in Moscow, he received the title of “King of Poets”. In terms of points, he beat his main rival, Vladimir Mayakovsky. A huge number of fans gathered in a spacious auditorium Polytechnic Institute, where poets read their works. The conversations were heated, and there were even fights between fans.
Personal life
IN personal life Igor Severyanin was not very lucky. One can add to his biography that from his youth he loved his cousin Lisa Lotareva, who was 5 years older than him. As children, they spent the summer together in Cherepovets, played and talked a lot. But then Elizabeth was married off. Igor was beside himself with grief and even almost lost consciousness at the wedding ceremony in the church.
When he turned 18, he met Zhenechka Gutsan. She simply drove him crazy. He called her Zlata (because of her golden hair) and gave her poems every day. They were not destined to become a married couple, but from this relationship Zhenechka had a daughter, Tamara, whom the poet saw only 16 years later.
Then he will have many fleeting novels, as well as common-law wives. With one of them, the previously mentioned Maria Volnyanskaya, a singer of gypsy romances, he developed an long term relationship. In 1912, the poet liked the Estonian city of Toila, which he once visited. In 1918, he transported his sick mother there, and then his wife Maria Volnyanskaya arrived. At first they lived there on her fees. However, in 1921 their family broke up.
The only and official
However, he soon married the Lutheran Felissa Kruut, who accepted for his sake Orthodox faith. She gave birth to Igor's son Bacchus, but did not tolerate him for long and in 1935 kicked him out of the house.
The Northerner was constantly cheating on her, and Felissa knew about it. Each of his tours ended with a new passion for the poet.
His last woman was a school teacher, Vera Borisovna Korendi, who bore him a daughter, Valeria. Later, she admitted that she had recorded it under a different name and patronymic, naming it in honor of Bryusov.
In 1940 they moved to the city of Paide, where Korendi began working as a teacher. Severyanin’s health condition has deteriorated greatly. Soon they moved to Tallinn. He died of a heart attack in 1941 on December 20th. The funeral procession was modest; the poet was interred at the Alexander Nevsky cemetery.
Famous Poems
Such a restless and loving poet Igor Severyanin was. On his grave there are still prophetic words written by him during his lifetime: “How good, how fresh will be the roses, thrown into my coffin by my country!”
The most famous works The poet's works were "The Thundering Cup" (1913), "Zlatolira" (1914), "Pineapples in Champagne" (1915), "Collected Poets" (1915-1918), "Behind the String Fence of the Lyre" ( 1918), “Vervena” (1920), “Minstrel. The Newest Poets" (1921), "Mirrelia" (1922), "The Nightingale" (1923), "The Dew of the Orange Hour" (poem in 3 parts, 1925), " Classic roses"(1922-1930), "Adriatic. Lyrics" (1932), "Medallions" (1934), "Leandra's Piano (Lugne)" (1935).
Conclusion
Igor Severyanin, like many other poets, left his indelible mark on poetry. The biography and work of the poet are studied by those who understand that the creators of the Silver Age, like the Golden Age, drew their inspiration from love for a friend, a woman and the Motherland. Patriotism was not alien to them. They were not indifferent to the events taking place around them, reflecting everything in their poems. Sensitivity and vulnerability predetermined their character, otherwise it is difficult to be a good poet.
Of course, the work and biography of Igor Severyanin, briefly described in this article, may not give many a complete understanding of his true talent, so it is better to read his works yourself, since they contain echoes of his difficult life and manifestations of his amazing poetic gift.
Igor Severyanin (real name and surname Igor Vasilievich Lotarev; 1887-1941). Born in St. Petersburg in the family of an officer, on his mother’s side he was a descendant of Karamzin and a distant relative of Fet. He graduated from a real school in Cherepovets, wrote poetry since childhood, the first poem about the Russian-Japanese War appeared in print in 1905 in the magazine “for soldiers and lower ranks” “Leisure and Business”.
His youthful experiences did not attract the attention of readers and critics, and the poet had to publish more than thirty different booklets-brochures at his own expense, sending them for review to the editors of magazines and eminent people (“Garnings of Thought”, 1908; “Intuitive Colors”, 1908; “Necklace” Princesses"; 1910; "Electric Poems", 1910, etc.).
In 1909, Leo Tolstoy was indignant at the collection “Intuitive Colors” (the great old man was outraged by the lines: “Put a corkscrew into the elasticity of the cork / And the gaze of women will not be timid”) and attacked the poet with a rebuke. "WITH light hand Tolstoy began to be scolded by everyone who was not too lazy. Magazines began to willingly publish my poems, and the organizers of charity evenings actively invited me to take part in them.”
In 1911, together with the poet Kolimpov, the son of Fofanov, he declared himself the creator of a new poetic school - egofuturism. In “Prologue of Ego-Futurism” (1911) he manifested: “We are alive in the sharp and instantaneous... and every word is a surprise”; in his poems, narcissism and self-praise took on hypertrophied - on the verge of parody and vulgarity - forms: “I, the genius Igor Severyanin, am intoxicated with my victory.”
Triumphant fame came to the poet in 1913, after the release of the collection “The Thunder-Boiling Cup”. Soon Igor Severyanin refuses to participate in any literary associations, preferring not to share laurels with anyone. The following collections “Zlatolira”, “Pineapples in Champagne”, “Poesoantrakt” (1915) and others did not add anything new to the established image of the salon-boudoir poet, they disappointed serious readers who pinned hopes on Severyanin for updating the poetic language, but secured his reputation “Idol of high school students.”
In February 1918, in the hall of the Polytechnic Museum, Severyanin was elected “King of Poets” (to the chagrin of his rivals - V. Mayakovsky, K. Balmont). That same year he left for Estonia and, after it was declared an independent state, found himself cut off from his homeland.
During the years of emigration, Severyanin published 17 books, but there were fewer and fewer readers, the circulation of the books was meager, and even they did not sell out. Last years the poet spent his time in poverty and obscurity. Igor Severyanin owns some of the most famous lines in the literature of the Russian diaspora: “How good, how fresh will be the roses, thrown into my coffin by my country!”
Igor Severyanin (real name Igor Vasilievich Lotarev) was born May 4 (16), 1887 In Petersburg. An officer's son. Due to the difficult relationship between his parents, he spent his adolescence in Soyvol near the city of Cherepovets, Novgorod province, where his uncle’s estate was located.
He studied at the Cherepovets real school, then went to Far East, where his father received a position as a commercial agent. Life in the Far East during the Russian-Japanese War contributed to the fact that among the love lyrics that Northerner began to write, poems appeared in patriotic themes. The poem “The Death of Rurik” was published in the magazine “Word and Deed” ( 1905 ). Severyanin’s first collection of poems, Lightnings of Thought, was published in 1908. Considering himself a follower of the “pure lyricism” of K. Fofanov and M. Lokhvitskaya, Severyanin came up with a number of formal innovations in poetry. Some of the word formations he created entered Russian speech (for example, mediocrity), and were suggested by him to V. Mayakovsky (derived verbs “overwhelm”, “oekranit”).
The arrival of Igor Severyanin in poetry was welcomed by V. Bryusov. Speaking negatively about Severyanin’s “restaurant-boudoir” theme, M. Gorky appreciated the authenticity of his lyrical talent. In 1911 The northerner led the movement of ego-futurism, uniting the poets who published the newspaper “Petersburg Herald” (K. Olimpov, R. Ivnev, etc.). The program of egofuturists, formulated by Severyanin, provided for self-affirmation of the individual, the search for the new without rejecting the old, bold images, epithets, assonances and dissonances, meaningful neologisms, etc. Later he joined the Cubo-Futurists. In 1913 published the collection “The Thundering Cup” (with a foreword by F. Sologub), which went through seven editions in two years. After performances in Crimea with V. Mayakovsky, D. Burliuk, V. Kamensky, he parted ways with the Cubo-Futurists.
Poems from the collections “Zlatolir” ( 1914 ), "Pineapples in champagne" ( 1915 ), "Victoria Regia" ( 1915 ), "Poetic interlude" ( 1915 ) and others are predominantly decadent in nature, their language is distinguished by pretentiousness, mannerism, deliberateness, bordering on tastelessness. Using a variety of sizes that were almost never used before, Severyanin boldly introduced new ones and, combining them, invented a series poetic forms: garland, triplets, square of squares, mignonette, diesel, etc. Northerner’s poetry was a success in the pre-revolutionary years. In the spring of 1918 at an evening at the Polytechnic Museum he was elected “king of poets.”
On February revolution Igor Severyanin responded with the verses “Anthem Russian Republic", "To my people", "And this is reality" (March, 1917 ), which were included in the collection “Mirrelia” (Berlin, 1922 ).
Summer 1918 The northerner, who was then living in Estonia, found himself cut off from his homeland. His collections "Vervena" ( 1920 ). In 1922 Northerner performed in Berlin together with Mayakovsky and A.N. Tolstoy; here he published the collections “Mirrelia”, “Minstrel” ( 1922 ), a novel in verse “Falling Rapids” ( 1922 ), in 1923– collections “The Nightingale”, “The Tragedy of the Titan”. In 1925 an autobiographical novel in verse “Bells of the Cathedral of Senses” (Yuryev) was published, in 1931– collection “Classical Roses” (Belgrade), in 1934 – collection of sonnets “Medallions” (ibid.), in 1935– “novel in stanzas” “Royal Leandra” (Bucharest). In poems written abroad, Northerner glorified his homeland and spoke in tragic tones about the impossibility of returning.
Poetry last period It is distinguished by lyricism, refusal of pretentiousness, variety of sizes, melodiousness. Poems by Igor Severyanin were set to music by M. Bagrinovsky, A. Vertinsky, N. Golovanov, S. Rachmaninov (“Daisies”) and others.
Igor Severyanin translated from French (C. Baudelaire, P. Verlaine, S. Prudhomme, etc.), German (D. Lilienkron), Polish (A. Mickiewicz), Hebrew (L. Stope), Serbian (J. Ducic), Bulgarian (H. Botev, P. Slaveikov), Romanian (M. Eminescu), Estonian (A. Alle, J. Liiv, F. Tuglas, I. Semper, J. Barbarus, G. Visnapu, M. Under), Lithuanian (S. Neris) languages. In 1928 published an anthology covering 100 years in his translations. Severyanin's poems have been translated into almost all European languages.
(real name and surname - Lotarev Igor Vasilievich)
(1887-1941) Russian poet, essayist, translator
The popularity of Igor Severyanin is viewed differently. Some say that he was nothing more than a talented rhymer of “restaurant-boudoir themes,” while others, on the contrary, consider him a very gifted poet. What remains indisputable is that he devoted his entire life to poetry and lived it, submitting to his once chosen destiny. Even in difficult times pre-war years Igor Severyanin refused to enroll in public service, preferring to be considered only a writer.
Much in a person’s actions, in his attitude towards life values explained by the upbringing received in childhood. The poet's mother, Natalya Semyonovna Shenshina, belonged to an old noble family, one of the branches of which went back to the historian N. Karamzin. My father was a military engineer and came from Vladimir burghers.
The boy received excellent home education, joined the theater early. But then his parents separated, and he lived either with his father or with his mother. At one time he studied at the Cherepovets Real School. Not far from the city there was the estate of his paternal uncle, where Igor Severyanin spent his holidays. When his father retired and received a position as a commercial agent, the boy went with him to the Far East to Manchuria. He was simply captivated by exotic beauties and retained his love for the sea until the end of his life. But in his soul he still remained a supporter of the northern regions, so he soon returned from Manchuria to his mother in Gatchina. Even when choosing a pseudonym, the future poet sought to emphasize the connection of his work with northern nature. True, the spelling of the pseudonym he invented - Igor Severyanin - was never established in the press.
In 1904-1905, Igor Severyanin, using his uncle’s money, published several small poetic brochures with patriotic content. They included the poems “The Death of “Rurik””, “The Feat of “Novik””, “The Capture of “Resolute””, inspired by the events of the Russian-Japanese War.
The poet himself dates the beginning of his literary activity to 1905, when his poem “The Death of Rurik” was published in the magazine for soldiers “Leisure and Business”. Severyanin’s first collection of poetry, Lightning Poems, was published in 1908.
The early poems of the young writer were written under the obvious influence of the then famous poets M. Lokhvitskaya and K. Fofanov. He simply idolized Mirra Lokhvitskaya, reproducing after her the movements of his own soul and dreaming of the unattainable. Konstantin Fofanov attracted him with his ability to convey his own moods through landscape sketches. At the same time, both poets paid tribute to love feelings.
The beginning of the 20th century was a rather unstable time; there was a craving for rapid change and at the same time a desire to do something extraordinary and extravagant. In 1911, Igor Severyanin led the movement of egofuturism, which included young poets R. Ivnev, I. Ignatiev, K. Olimpov. He reflects his feelings as an egotistic poet (universal poet) in the poem “Epilogue” (1912):
I, the genius Igor-Severyanin,
Intoxicated with his victory:
I'm completely screened!
Over time, Igor Severyanin also had his own admirers. These were mainly high school students, students of the Bestuzhev courses, medical students, and exalted young ladies. For them the poet invented special form presentation of his poems: he did not read them, but practically performed them to music. “My creativity began to develop on two main principles: classical banality and melodic musicality,” Severyanin later wrote in his autobiography “Exemplary Fundamentals.”
His fans went crazy over lines like this:
It was by the sea, where the lacy foam
Where a city crew is rarely found...
The Queen played - in the castle tower - Chopin,
And, listening to Chopin, her page fell in love.
Very precise definition Igor Severyanin’s poems were later given credit by the critic G. Adamovich, noting their “rubber-light elegance.” But still, he, following the first critics, confirmed the originality of the poet’s style.
Real fame came to Igor Severyanin after the publication of the collection “The Thunder-Boiling Cup” (1913), which went through seven reprints in two years. However, the poet’s popularity was rather scandalous in nature, which was greatly facilitated by famous figures culture. So, after reading one of early poems Northerner "Habanera II", L. Tolstoy called him immoral. These words were immediately published by all the newspapers, and readers, naturally, themselves wanted to get acquainted with the work of the poet, who was awarded such a categorical assessment. What exactly Tolstoy meant was no longer important; the main thing is that the “wall of silence” of criticism around Igor Severyanin has collapsed once and for all.
However, he was supported by V. Bryusov, who at that time was already a leading critic and master of poetry. He noted that Northerner tried to update poetic language, introducing into it argot, neologisms and unusually bold metaphors. Although, according to Bryusov, he did not always succeed, he hoped that “over time, his muddy splash could turn into a clear and strong stream.” A correspondence began between them, and Bryusov was one of the first to welcome Igor Severyanin as the head of the new poetic school.
The third connoisseur of his poetry was F. Sologub. Although he criticized the egofuturism program, soon after the meeting they read their works together for the first time at an evening and even went on a joint tour. Between the two poets there arose friendly relations, and subsequently it was Northerner who persuaded Sologub to leave the country, as if foreseeing his future personal tragedy.
The strength of Igor Severyanin’s lyrical talent was also noted by A. Blok, N. Gumilyov, and M. Gorky. Like many other poets of that time, Severyanin was constantly engaged in word formation. He created whole line neologisms - “to look up”, “mediocrity”, “to stun”, “rogue eye”, “flaxjet”; was fond of creating words with the prefix “without” - without remorse, hopelessness, without question; formed verbs from nouns - wing, thunder, wind, nurse. His metaphors are also interesting: “dreams of claret”, “lilies of liqueurs”, “champagne polonaise”. You can’t ignore his “lilac ice cream” or “pineapples in champagne”...
Step by step Igor Severyanin created his image outstanding poet, which enjoyed incredible success with women and the love of the public. He didn’t even call his lovers by their names, but came up with his own poetic name for each.
Igor Severyanin always numbered his poems, calling even small books “volumes.” However, everything in the world comes to an end, and fame began to gradually leave him. Over time, his futurist friends left him, and he joined the Cubo-Futurists. Publishers also gradually lost interest in his poems, and the poet had to print them with his own money.
However, Severyanin was not going to give up, and 1918 became the year of his triumph. He gains the upper hand in the creative rivalry with Mayakovsky and becomes the king of poets. But at this time, the living Russian classic is already forced to live in exile, in Estonia.
The subsequent years of the poet's life were uneventful. He even continued to publish, sometimes he was invited to give readings of his works. But now he for the most part I just had to fight for survival. Igor Severyanin never served, so his main source of income was his literary activity. In exile, he published thirteen books, almost the same number as he had previously published in Russia.
Literary income, of course, was not enough, and Igor Severyanin lived by fishing or what he collected in the forest. The poet settled in the village of Toila, where he found family happiness by marrying the Estonian F. Kruut. For the sake of their common well-being, he accepts Estonian citizenship. In 1922, Severyanin had a son, whom the happy father named...Bacchus, in honor of the ancient god. But the poet also sang his wife as Ariadne the Emerald.
The Estonian period of Severyanin’s work is somewhat different: poet more attention devotes landscape lyrics, sometimes even responds to contemporary events, although one should not look for overtly political poems in his poetry. The pinnacle of Igor Severyanin’s lyrics of this time was the collection “Classical Roses” (1931), and main theme his poetry is great and spiritual rich Russia. Until the end of his days, the poet did not lose hope of returning here.
Severyanin’s later poems retain the spontaneity inherent in his work, but at the same time they become more traditional in form and manner of presentation.
With the help of his wife, Northerner, who does not speak written Estonian, carries out an unprecedented publication - compiles an anthology own translations“Poets of Estonia” (1928), for which he receives a financial subsidy from the Estonian Ministry of Education. Together they also translate several prose works- books by M. Under “Prosperity” and A. Rankit “In the Window Binding.”
However, twenty years later the happy ending came family life Northerner. He became interested in another woman, V. Korendi, and separated from his wife. Their creative union also fell apart. Now the only source of livelihood for the poet is subsidies from the Cultural Capital fund, which are allocated to him by the Estonian government.
After Estonia joined the USSR, Igor Severyanin strives with all his heart to return to his homeland. At this time, he publishes practically nothing and does not even write down his poems, not seeing the point. However, the Second World War soon began World War, and his departure was delayed by indefinite time. In addition, life's difficulties aggravated the poet's painful condition. In December 1941, Severyanin died in Tallinn from a heart attack.
The popularity of Igor Severyanin is easily explained. He always addressed himself directly to his listener, without separating himself from him at any distance.
Igor Severyanin wrote his first poem at the age of eight. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he became the first pop poet, performing his “poetry concerts” in different cities Russia. In 1918, at a poetry evening at the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Museum, Severyanin was declared the “King of Poets” - he beat out all the participants, including Vladimir Mayakovsky.
“I, the genius Igor-Severyanin”
Igor Severyanin (born Igor Lotarev) was born in St. Petersburg. Already at the age of eight he wrote his first poem - “The Star and the Maiden”.
Between his parents - military engineer Vasily Lotarev and Natalya Lotareva, who came from a wealthy noble family of the Shenshins, there were difficult relationships. In 1896 they separated. In the same year, the father of the future poet resigned and together with his son moved to the Soyvole estate near Cherepovets. There Igor graduated from four classes of a real school, and in the spring of 1903 he and his father left for the Far East. The trip across Russia inspired the 16-year-old boy, and he began writing poetry again. At first love lyrics, and with approaching Russo-Japanese War- patriotic texts.
At the end of 1903, Igor Severyanin moved to St. Petersburg to live with his mother, breaking off relations with his father. The Northerner never saw him again: a year later his father died of tuberculosis.
Vadim Bayan, Boris Bogomolov, Anna Chebotarevskaya, Fedor Sologub, Igor Severyanin. 1913. Photo: fsologub.ru
Igor Severyanin. 1933. Photo: stihi-rus.ru
Alexis Rannit and Igor Severyanin. 1930s. Photo: pereprava.org
In 1905, Severyanin’s poem “The Death of Rurik” with the signature “Igor Lotarev” appeared in the soldier’s magazine “Leisure and Business”. With his uncle's money, he began publishing thin brochures of poems and sent them to editors to get feedback. The poet recalled: “One of these little books somehow caught the eye of N. Lukhmanova, who was at that time in the theater of military operations with Japan. I sent 200 copies of “Novik’s Feat” for reading to wounded soldiers. But there were no reviews...” In total, the poet published 35 brochures, which he later decided to combine into “ Complete collection poet."
Soon Severyanin met his main poetic teacher, Konstantin Fofanov, who later introduced him to editors and writers. The day of his first meeting with Fofanov was a holiday for Severyanin, which he celebrated annually.
Then the poet took a pseudonym for himself - Igor-Severyanin. The poet intended just such a spelling - with a hyphen, but it was not fixed in print.
Around this time, the first notes on poetic brochures began to appear: “There weren’t many of them, and the criticism in them began to scold me a little”. Leo Tolstoy also scolded the poet. In 1909, the writer Ivan Nazhivin brought the brochure “Intuitive Colors” to Yasnaya Polyana and read some poems to the count. “What are they doing!.. This is literature! All around are gallows, hordes of the unemployed, murders, incredible drunkenness, and they have the elasticity of a traffic jam!”- Tolstoy said then. Negative review The venerable writer aroused a wave of interest in Severyanin’s work: comments appeared in the press for each of his brochures (not always positive), the poet was invited to charity evenings, and magazines began to publish his poems. Igor Severyanin has become fashionable.
I, the genius Igor-Severyanin,
Intoxicated with his victory:
I'm completely screened!
I am completely confirmed!Igor Severyanin, excerpt from a poem
"Association of Egofuturism" and poetry concerts
In 1910 the main thing literary movement beginning of the 20th century - symbolism - began to experience a crisis: it was discovered internal contradictions And different views Symbolists on the tasks of art. Igor Severyanin came up with the idea of creating a new direction - egofuturism. The Association of Egofuturism includes poets: Konstantin Olimpov and Ivan Ignatiev, Vadim Bayan and Georgy Ivanov. In an interview with a Belgrade newspaper, Igor Severyanin spoke about the creation of a new direction and emphasized that it “ main goal there was an affirmation of one’s “I” and future. And the main doctrine was “Soul-truth”. The circle of egofuturists did not exist for long: a year after its formation, the poets dispersed, and Igor Severyanin wrote “Epilogue of egofuturism.”
Severyanin gained even greater fame after his first volume of poems, “The Thundering Cup,” was published in 1913, in the publication of which the poet was helped by the writer Fyodor Sologub. In the same year, Northerner, together with Fyodor Sologub and Anastasia Chebotarevskaya, made his first tour of Russia. During these years, the poet’s fame bordered on idolatry: poetry concerts, as the poet himself called them, were literally bursting with audiences, mesmerized by the peculiar musical manner of reading. Igor Severyanin performed in a long black frock coat. Measuring the stage big steps, he recited poetry in a chant manner, without looking into the audience. The poet Abram Argo in his book “With My Own Eyes: A Book of Memories” wrote about Severyanin’s performances:
“With great long strides in a long black frock coat he went out onto the stage A tall man with a horse-like oblong face; with his hands behind his back, his legs spread like scissors and pressing them firmly into the ground, he looked in front of him, not seeing anyone and not wanting to see anyone, and began chanting his chanted caesura stanzas. He didn’t notice the audience, didn’t pay any attention to it, and it was this style of performance that delighted the audience.”
At the height of the First World War, Igor Severyanin began publishing collections one after another: “Pineapples in Champagne”, “Our Days”, “Poetic Intermission”. However, they no longer caused such delight as the “Thundering Goblet”. Critics scolded the poet for shocking the audience and using many foreign and made-up words. The poet Valery Bryusov spoke about him in an article in 1915: “As soon as Igor Severyanin takes on a topic that requires primarily thought... his powerlessness is clearly revealed. Igor Severyanin lacks taste, lacks knowledge".
King of Poets Igor Severyanin
In January 1918, the poet moved from Petrograd with his seriously ill mother, common-law wife Elena Semenova and daughter Valeria to the small village of Toila in Estonia (today Estonia). After some time, he briefly went to Moscow. On February 27, a poetry evening was organized in the Great Auditorium of the Polytechnic Museum. Posters hung all over the city: “Poets! The Constituent Tribunal convenes all of you to compete for the title of King of Poetry. The title of king will be awarded by the public by universal, direct, equal and secret vote. All poets who want to take part in the great, grand festival of poets are asked to register at the box office of the Polytechnic Museum until February 25.”.
The audience was overcrowded: Vladimir Mayakovsky, who was reading “Revolution” that evening, barely had enough space to wave his arms. Igor Severyanin appeared at the end - in his unchanged black frock coat, in his usual manner he intoned verses from famous collection“Thunderous Goblet” won. The public awarded him the title “King of Poets.” Mayakovsky became second, Vasily Kamensky - third. In March, the almanac “Poetry Concerts” was published, on the cover of which it was stated: “The King of Poets Igor Severyanin.”
From now on my cloak is purple,
Beret velvet in silver:
I have been chosen as the king of poets
To the envy of the boring midge.Igor Severyanin, excerpt from the poem “Rescript of the King”
Soon after this, Igor Severyanin finally moved to Estonia. In 1919, his first Estonian poetry concert took place in Reval (today Tallinn) at the Russian Theater. When Estonia declared its independence in 1920, the poet found himself in the status of a forced emigrant. However, he did not return to the USSR. In exile, Northerner translated poetry into Estonian and collaborated with Riga, Tartu, Berlin and Russian newspapers. During his entire emigration, Igor Severyanin gave about 40 poetry concerts, published 17 books, including: “Classical Roses”, “Novel in Stanzas”, “Royal Leandra”, “Zapevka”, “No More Than a Dream”.