Collected Works of Velimir Khlebnikov, Volume I: Letters and Theoretical Writings

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“It is good that Velimir Khlebnikov, too long ignored or neglected by the general literary public…should at last be receiving the recognition he deserves. Called by Mandelshtam ‘a citizen of the whole of history, of the whole system of language and poetry’ and by Mayakovsky ‘a Columbus of new poetic continents,’ he is without a doubt the most exciting and original Russian poet of the twentieth century, and has even been called Russia’s greatest poet since Pushkin… [This is] the first volume, sumptuously produced, and immaculately translated and edited, of a translation into English of Khlebnikov’s complete works… This new edition will…allow poets other than Russians to acquaint themselves with his genius.”—T. J. Binyon, Literary Review

“This first volume of a long-awaited three-volume set of Khlebnikov’s collected works contains selected letters, autobiographical materials, and all his theoretical writings. Khlebnikov (1885–1922) enjoyed the reputation of a poet not of this world, a seer with an extraordinary talent and diversity. This volume starts to give us the reason why. The letters are a fascinating mixture of mundane details and statements about art, time, mathematics, sounds, semantics, and history… A wordsmith of unparalleled complexity, Khlebnikov offers theories on the relationship between sound and meaning, so-called ‘beyonsense’ (zaumny) language, the meaning of time and the relationship between the dates of major world events. This reflects an intimate marriage of a creative imagination to a highly structured scientific methodology. Artists, poets, biologists, historians, and linguists, will all find here an enchanting display from one of the most original minds of the 20th century. Beautifully produced with 22 pages of photographs and drawings, this fine book is highly recommended.”—Choice