Proroki i predtechi poslednego zaveta. Imazhinisty. Esenin. Kusikov. Mariengof [Prophets and forerunners of the last testament. Imaginists. Esenin. Kusikov. Mariengof] by Grigor'ev, Sergei

[Moscow]: SAAV, [1921]. Octavo (24.7 × 18 cm). Original printed wrappers; 46 pp. Light wear and staining to wrappers; else good or better. This polemical work offers a scathing critique of Imaginism, a movement in avant-garde Russian poetry that polemicized with Futurism (especially with Mayakovsky), and saw the creation of the image as the main objective of poetic art. Sergei Esenin, Anatoli Mariengof, and Vadim Shershenevich are typically named as the founders of the group, with other prominent poets such as Aleksandr Kusikov and Nikolai Erdman taking active part. The group published its manifesto in 1919 and was at its peak of activity in 1920-1922 when this text seems to have been written. In a sarcastic tone, the author, Sergei Grigoriev (1875-1953), makes fun of the absurd imagery that appears in the poems of the Imaginsts and the foppish behavior of the group's members. The work is uncharacteristic for Grigoriev who is best remembered for his writing for children and young adults. In North America, KVK, OCLC show copies at Amherst, Chicago, UNC Chapel Hill, Harvard, University of Iowa, and UC Berkeley.