Background
Khlebnikov, Velimir was born on November 9, 1885 in Tundutovo (or Malye Derbety) near Astrakhan’. Son of a scientist.
Khlebnikov, Velimir was born on November 9, 1885 in Tundutovo (or Malye Derbety) near Astrakhan’. Son of a scientist.
Studied at Kazan’ University, 1903, and Petersburg University, 1908-1911. Studied at Kazan’ University, 1903, and Petersburg University, 1908-1911.
First poems published, 1908. Soon became one of the leading spirits of futurism in Russia (characteristically coined for the futurists the Russian term ‘budetliane’). His brilliant verbal experiments were highly regarded by most of his contemporaries, from Gumilev to Mayakovsky.
Took part in many futurist happenings in different parts of Russia. Differed from his colleagues in the complete absence in him of any element of publicity-snatching or self-promotion, exhibiting instead a sort of serious naivete even in his utopian projects of global and cosmic reforms (Truba marsian, Lebedia budushchego), which survived even his attempts to call himself President of the Globe (‘president zemnogo shara’). Apart from grammatical experimenting, he introduced primitivist, archaic and exotic elements into his poetry (Lesnaia Deva, Shaman i Venera, Truba Gul-Mully, 1921, Zangezi, 1922).
Identified himself with revolution, but not in any political sense. In practical terms, became a homeless vagrant, showing complete disregard not only to any career possibilities, but to any settled, and thus restricted, form of life. Much too esoteric to become truly and widely popular, he is regarded by some as by far the greatest futurist poet in Russia.
According to available information, he died of hunger and neglect in the village of Santalovo, near Novgorod. His 5-volume collected works were published posthumously in Leningrad, 1928-1933. Lately has become the subject of great interest both in Russia and abroad.