Aleksey Remizov
Encyclopedia
Aleksei Mikhailovich Remizov ' onMouseout='HidePop("82910")' href="/topics/Moscow">Moscow
— November 26, 1957, Paris
) was a Russia
n modernist writer whose creative imagination veered to the fantastic and bizarre. Apart from literary works, Remizov was an expert calligrapher who sought to revive this medieval art in Russia.
n exile. At that time, he developed a keen interest in Russian folklore and married a student of ancient Russian art, who brought him in contact with the Roerichs
.
In 1905, he settled in Saint Petersburg
and started to imitate medieval folk tales. His self-professed ambition was to catch "the bitterness and absurdity of folklore imagination". Remizov's whimsical stylizations of the saints' lives were ignored at first, partly due to their florid and turgid language, but his more traditional prose works set in the underworld of Russian cities gained him a great deal of publicity.
In his satirical novel The Indefatigable Cymbal (1910) Remizov depicted the eccentricities and superstitions of rural sectarians. Another striking work of this period is The Sacrifice, a Gothic horror story in which "a ghostly double of a father comes to kill his innocent daughter in the mistaken belief that she is a chicken".
By the time of the Russian Revolution
, Remizov had concentrated on imitating more or less obscure works of medieval Russian literature. He responded to the revolution by the Lay of the Ruin of the Russian Land, a paraphrase of the 13th-century work bemoaning the Mongol invasion of Russia. In 1921 he emigrated to Paris, where he published an account of his attitudes towards the revolution under the title Whirlwind Russia (1927).
During his years in exile, Remizov brought out a number of bizarre works, featuring demons and nightmare creatures. Although he was so prolific that many of his works failed to find a publisher, Remizov was also the first Russian modernist author to attract the attention of the luminaries of the Parisian literary world, such as James Joyce
. His reputation suffered a decline when, following World War II
, he announced his interest in returning to the Soviet Union
and even obtained a Soviet passport. After that, Remizov was abhorred by the émigré litterateurs, the most famous of whom, Vladimir Nabokov
, used to say that the only nice thing about Remizov was that he really lived in the world of literature.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
— November 26, 1957, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) was a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n modernist writer whose creative imagination veered to the fantastic and bizarre. Apart from literary works, Remizov was an expert calligrapher who sought to revive this medieval art in Russia.
Biography
Remizov was reared in the merchant milieu of Moscow. As a student of the Moscow University, he was involved in the radical politics and spent eight years in prison and SiberiaSiberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n exile. At that time, he developed a keen interest in Russian folklore and married a student of ancient Russian art, who brought him in contact with the Roerichs
Nicholas Roerich
Nicholas Roerich, also known as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh , was a Russian mystic, painter, philosopher, scientist, writer, traveler, and public figure. A prolific artist, he created thousands of paintings and about 30 literary works...
.
In 1905, he settled in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
and started to imitate medieval folk tales. His self-professed ambition was to catch "the bitterness and absurdity of folklore imagination". Remizov's whimsical stylizations of the saints' lives were ignored at first, partly due to their florid and turgid language, but his more traditional prose works set in the underworld of Russian cities gained him a great deal of publicity.
In his satirical novel The Indefatigable Cymbal (1910) Remizov depicted the eccentricities and superstitions of rural sectarians. Another striking work of this period is The Sacrifice, a Gothic horror story in which "a ghostly double of a father comes to kill his innocent daughter in the mistaken belief that she is a chicken".
By the time of the Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, Remizov had concentrated on imitating more or less obscure works of medieval Russian literature. He responded to the revolution by the Lay of the Ruin of the Russian Land, a paraphrase of the 13th-century work bemoaning the Mongol invasion of Russia. In 1921 he emigrated to Paris, where he published an account of his attitudes towards the revolution under the title Whirlwind Russia (1927).
During his years in exile, Remizov brought out a number of bizarre works, featuring demons and nightmare creatures. Although he was so prolific that many of his works failed to find a publisher, Remizov was also the first Russian modernist author to attract the attention of the luminaries of the Parisian literary world, such as James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
. His reputation suffered a decline when, following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he announced his interest in returning to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and even obtained a Soviet passport. After that, Remizov was abhorred by the émigré litterateurs, the most famous of whom, Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
, used to say that the only nice thing about Remizov was that he really lived in the world of literature.
Books on Remizov
- Friedman, Julia. Beyond Symbolism and Surrealism: Alexei Remizov's Synthetic Art, Northwestern University Press, 2010. ISBN 0-8101-2617-6 (Hardback)
English translations
- The Fifth Pestilence, Together With the History of the Tinkling Cymbal and Sounding Brass, and Ivan Semyonovitch Stratilatov, Wishart, London 1927; also published by Payson & Clarke, Ltd., New York, 1928, and re-published by Hyperion Press.
- The Clock, Chatto and Windus, London, 1924; also published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1924, and re-published by Hyperion Press, 1977.
- On a Field Azure, Lindsay Drummond, London, 1946.
- Selected Prose, Ardis Publishers, Michigan, 1984.
- The Little Devil, from 50 Writers: An Anthology of 20th Century Russian Short Stories, Academic Studies Press, 2011.