Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov was a Russian poet, essayist, and editor, one of the founders and leading members of Russian Symbolism.
Background
Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov was born on December 13, 1873 in Moscow. His maternal grandfather, Alexander Yakovlevich Bakulin, was a famous fabulist poet and merchant. His paternal grandfather, Kuzma Andreevich, was a serf who, having gained his freedom, was engaged in trade. Valery's father, Yakov Kuzmich, shared the ideas of the Narodniks revolutionaries. Because of the hobby for racing, Yakov squandered the whole family fortune on bets.
Parents paid little attention to the son, because of that the boy was on his own. From early childhood, he wasn't allowed to read religious literature, as his family supported materialism and atheism. Bryusov read books on natural sciences, scientific articles, French novels, because of which he had a fairly broad outlook. Valery got a good education: he studied at two Moscow gymnasiums.
Education
Valery received his primary education at home. In 1885, he became a student at the F. Kraiman gymnasium, being enrolled to the second grade. He was expelled in 1889 for promoting atheistic ideas. In 1890, Bryusov continued his studies at the gymnasium of L. Polivanov.
From 1893 to 1899, Valery was a student of the historical and philological faculty of Moscow University. At first, he studied at the Department of Classical Philology, and then at the Department of History. Bryusov graduated with honours.
Career
Valery Bryusov wrote his first poem in 1881 when he was 8 years old. His first publication (1884) is considered to be Letter to the Editor, in which the boy talked about his passion for horse racing. The letter was sent to the children's magazine by Valery's father.
While studying at the gymnasium, in 1886-1887, Bryusov wrote short stories in the spirit of youthful adventure fiction for the gymnasium magazine. From 1889, he became the author of the manuscript newspaper Leaflet of the Fifth Grade, in which he criticized gymnasium rules.
With the transition to a new educational institution, Bryusov entered the next period of his literary work. In the 1990s, he discovered the French Symbolists for himself and became interested in decadence, wanting to lead this movement. Also during this period, he wrote numerous love lyrics for his beloved.
Having entered the university, Valery went even deeper into symbolism. In 1894-1895 he published 3 collections of Russian Symbolists lyrics, in which he published his poems (including those written under pseudonyms), as well as verses by A. Mirapolsky in his editing. He also planned to involve V. Gippius and A. Dobrolubov, who shared his decadent views but could not do this. With the publication of these poems, Bryusov proclaimed his desire to create a school of symbolist poetry. In the same period, he turned to the works of foreign symbolists - in 1884 a collection of French poet Paul Verlaine's poems translated by Valery was published.
Russian Symbolists received negative critics' reviews. They were considered an inept imitation of the French decadents. Some critics even noted that Bryusov surprisingly accurately conveyed all the weaknesses of symbolism.
Despite the negative reaction of the public, Bryusov continued to adhere to his position. He deliberately shocked the established literary tastes and ideas, believing that in this way he would fight for the adoption of new aesthetic principles. He released his first collection of poems, entitled Chefs d'oeuvre (Masterpieces) in 1895. This book, permeated with egocentrism, addressed exotic images and plots, the theme of the city and its temptations, and also touched on erotic motifs. The collection again received negative reviews.
In the collection Me eum esse, published in 1897, Bryusov became more restrained in his poems. His poetry acquired a decadent-individualistic mood, as well as a shade of pessimism. Critics found this book rather eccentric.
During this period, Valery also engaged in prose, but he did not complete most of his works. In 1895-1899 he wrote a science fiction adventure novel Star Mountain, which was published only in 1975. He also planned to begin work on the History of Russian Lyrics, but this plan was never realized.
In 1896, Bryusov went to the Crimea and the Caucasus, and a year later he first went abroad - to Germany. The poet spent the spring of 1898 and the summer of 1899 in Crimea, where he wrote a series of poems Pictures of Crimea and was engaged in translations. The works of this period were published with the I. Bunin's backing in 1899, and this became Bryusov's first appearance in mass periodicals.
In 1898, Bryusov met P. Bartenev, the editor of the Russian Archive magazine, in which his articles and historical and literary works since that were published regularly. In his articles, Bryusov paid particular attention to A. Pushkin and E. Baratynsky. In 1900-1903 he became an official employee of this magazine. While working for the Russian Archive Bryusov acquired publishing, editorial and commentary skills. He also got many useful acquaintances: with V. Kallash, N. Lerner, S. Vengerov, etc. Even after leaving the magazine, Bryusov continued to work in the field of historical literature: he published Letters of Pushkin to Pushkin: New Materials (1903), Lyceum Lyrics by Pushkin: According to the manuscripts of the Moscow Rumyantsev Museum and other sources (1907).
In the second half of the 1890s, Valery met K. Sluchevsky, K. Fofanov, F. Sologub, Z. Gippius, K. Balmont and other symbolist poets. In co-authorship with Balmont and other Symbolists in 1899 Bryusov published Book of Thoughts. In the late 1890s, he began to communicate with Moscow modernists.
In 1899, Valery Bryusov and S. Polyakov founded the Scorpio publishing house. Its appearance marked the formation of symbolism as an integral and independent genre.
In 1900, in the Scorpio Bruce published Tertia vigilia (The Third Guard), in which he collected the lyrics of 1897-1900. In this collection, Valery moved away from decadence and egocentrism, expanding the thematic horizons (he touched on the themes of history, mythology and modernity). Critics praised the departure from extreme positions and positively commented on the novelty of Bryusov's lyrics.
In 1903, Bryusov delivered a lecture, Keys of Secrets, which became a manifesto of Russian symbolism. Later, he followed up a success with the article Unnecessary Truth, where he condemned the naturalism of the theatre. The prestige of the poet in the writing community was growing rapidly: from 1902 he was a member of the literary commission of the Moscow Literary and Art Circle (and from 1908, he was the chairman of the board of directors of this circle); the same year he became a secretary of the New Way magazine, where he published political articles, but cooperation with the magazine was terminated due to creative disagreements with Z. Gippius and D. Merezhskovsky, and also because of his unwillingness to move to Saint Petersburg.
May and June 1902 Bryusov spent in Italy, studying the culture of the Renaissance. There he wrote a number of poems on an Italian theme. In 1903, in Paris, the poet met V. Ivanov. Poems of Valery Bryusov of this period were collected in Urbi et orbi (To city and world), published in 1903. In addition to urban and socially coloured poems, this collection contained love and meditative lyrics, historical ballads. Here, for the first time, Bryusov's unique style appeared: oratory, with odic intonations and picturesque plastic. In the preface to this collection, he indicated that the collection of poems should be united by a common thought. Other symbolists later began to adhere to this position. The collection received twofold reviews: some critics spoke negatively about folk motifs in the lyrics, but younger symbolists (for example, A. Blok) considered it an unprecedented brilliant revelation.
In 1904-1908, Bryusov became the creator, lead author and actual director of the magazine Libra (also jointly with Polyakov), which quickly became the main periodical of Russian symbolism. The poet supposed this magazine to consolidate the symbolists and contribute to the development of an aesthetic platform for this genre. Together with V. Ivanov, K. Balmont, M. Voloshin and other employees of the magazine, Bryusov substantiated the ideological and aesthetic canons of symbolism. He became a recognized leader of symbolism and a mentor to young poets.
Once a year, from 1905 to 1909, Bryusov went to travel, and these trips were captured in verses that were included in the collection Stephanos (Wreath: Poems 1903-1905). Also, one of the key places in this collection was taken by intimate lyrics. The reaction of critics to this book was purely positive: they noted the ideality of rhyme, rhythm, style. Bryusov began to be published in the magazines Russian Thought, Modern World and other well-known periodicals. In the same period, the historical novel The Fiery Angel was published, telling about the life of Germany during the Reformation. Written in 1907, the novel The Earth Axis, the fantastic-symbolic drama Earth and a number of other stories were regarded by critics as the poet's prose - an interesting but imperfect phenomenon.
In 1907-1908 Bryusov became close to V. Komissarzhevskaya, for whose theatre he translated the plays Pelléas and Mélisande and Francesca da Rimini.
Published in 1909, the book All Strains was regarded by Bryusov himself as completion of a certain stage of his work. This collection was warmly received by critics: they noted even more perfection and reminiscences of Bryusov's earlier lyrics. In the same year, the poet departed from active participation in Libra magazine.
From 1910 to 1912, Bryusov was in charge of the literary and critical department of the Russian Thought. The poet resigned due to disagreements with the editor-in-chief. Valery gradually began to separate himself from symbolism, criticizing V. Ivanov and A. Blok for the mysticism of their works. From the emperor of symbolism, Bryusov became an authoritative cultural figure, writer of national importance, many-sided in his aspirations and experiences.
From 1911 he began to engage in playwrighting: in Russian Thought, his plays Traveler (1911) and Protesilai the Dead (1913) were published. The Roman theme became central in the author's work: the novels Altar of Victory: A Tale of the 4th Century (1911-1912) and Jupiter Downed (1912) were published in the same period. Critics began to worry that there was more the past than present in the works of Bryusov. Despite the opinion of critics, Bryusov continued his work with the history of Rome, hoping to make a large book reflecting his lectures on Rome and the World.
In 1912, Bryusov published the collection Mirror of Shadows, in which, as critics noted, the author’s crisis and fatigue became apparent. These moods were preserved in the next collection - Seven Colors of the Rainbow (1916). The Seven Colors of the Rainbow included poems from 1212-1915 on war, everyday life, as well as landscape lyrics. According to critics, the poet was fed up with his work and forced himself to work further. The Bryusov-man, as they noted, was freed from the Bryusov-poet.
Since 1915, Valery began working as an editor of a collection of Armenian poetry in Russian translation. He made several trips around Armenia, met with the poets of this country, and also actively studied history and culture. He invited many friends-Symbolists to work on the collection and also wrote an introduction to it. The publication of the anthology of Armenian poetry became one of Bryusov's most important cultural missions, for which he was awarded the title of People's Poet of Armenia.
The work on the collection of Armenian poetry was the beginning only: together with M. Gorky, Bryusov worked on the editing of collections of Latvian (1916), Finnish (1917), Ukrainian (1916-1917) literature. At the same time, he returned to historical literature, becoming the largest Pushkinist (82 works on the poet) of his time. He also authored the Short Course on the Science of Poem (1919).
The poet reacted warmly to the October Revolution: he considered it a grandiose change in the history of mankind. Since 1917, he headed the Press Registration Committee; in 1918-1919 served as head of the Moscow library department at the People's Commissariat of Education. In 1919-1921 he was chairman of the Presidium of the All-Russian Union of Poets; since 1921 headed the literary subdepartment of the Department of Art Education at the People's Commissariat of Education. Since the end of 1922, he was in charge of the Department of Art Education of General Directorate of Vocational Education. In 1921, Bryusov founded the Higher Literary and Art Institute and served as its rector until the end of his life.
In 1920, he published the collection Last Dreams, in 1921 - On Such Days, in 1922 - Blink. These and subsequent collections were permeated with love, mythological and philosophical themes, traditional for Bryusov's works. The poet also praised the revolution and the new state. In the collection Mea (Hurry, 1924), the poet destroyed the style and rhythmic harmony, deliberately complicating his lyrics. A number of futuristic scientific plays written during this period were never published during the life of the poet.
Religion
Valery was brought up in a family that adhered to the principles of materialism. In 1899 he was expelled from the gymnasium for the propaganda of atheistic ideas.
Later, he repeatedly condemned Symbolists for their tendency to mysticism.
Politics
After Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), Bryusov became disillusioned with Russian statehood. At the same time, he took the position of anarchist maximalism and rejection of the liberal paths of rebuilding society. The poet accepted the need for a revolution, but at the same time considered it a destructive force, which would put at risk all cultural achievements.
Bryusov welcomed the October Revolution of 1917, taking the side of Soviet power. In 1922 he became a member of the Communist Party.
Views
Back in 1890, carried away by French symbolism, Bryusov declared decadence "a guiding light in the fog" and decided to head Russian symbolism. The poet considered this literary trend to be "poetry of shades," contrasting it with "the former poetry of colours."
In the late 1890s, Bryusov became interested in philosophy. In his studies, he came to the pluralistic-relativistic neo-Leibnizian belief that there were many truths in the world and sometimes they could be even mutually exclusive. This conviction became for Bryusov a source of spiritual versatility and creative pathos.
The aesthetic credo of the poet was the concept of self-valuable creativity, free from submission to other forms of social life. He also believed that art was a way of understanding the world not by reason, but by intuition.
Personality
Contemporaries considered Bryusov a strong-willed and omnipotent writer with a kind of "magic" halo. The support and criticism of the poet paved the way to literature for many authors (K. Chukovsky, N. Gumilev, V. Hoffman, etc.).
The characteristic features of Bryusov-critic were considered concreteness and constructive clarity of analysis, accuracy and validity of conclusions, laconicism of style, the prevalence of the intellectual and logical principle over the subjective impressionism. Thanks to these qualities, Bryusov gained a reputation as the most authoritative and sophisticated writer, the master of poetry.
Quotes from others about the person
V. Solovyov (on Bryusov’s first poetic collections): in the books, there is a desire "to free oneself from censorship of common sense. The weaknesses of symbolism are correctly grasped by Bryusov".
A. Blok (about Urbi et orbi): "A series of unprecedented revelations, insights almost brilliant. Bryusov is now the first poet in Russia. There is a succession from Pushkin".
A. Bely (about Stephanos): "Bryusov is the only great Russian poet of our time".
R. Ivanov-Razumnik (about Stephanos): "At present, V. Bryusov has no rivals in the field of rhyme, rhythm, style, and neatness of verse".
B. Sadovsky (about All strains): "Now we do not have another poet who possessed at least the same understanding of a sense of proportion and harmony as Bryusov".
S. Solovyov (about All strains): "Even greater perfection, but there are reminiscences of his own works".
M. Slonim (about The Seven Colors of the Rainbow): "On the whole, it is inferior in strength and expressiveness to the previous collections of Bryusov's poems".
A. Polyanin (about The Seven Colors of the Rainbow): the collection is written with "the last efforts of a weakening will".