Slap in the Face – Four Russian Futurist Manifestos
Translated by Boris Dralyuk
I got very squeally and excited last month when I finally treated myself to a copy of a lovely little book/chapbook/pamphlet/whatever you call it which brought together several pieces of writing involving my beloved Mayakovsky! “A Slap in The Face of Public Taste” was the manifesto of the Russian Futurist movement, first published in 1912; and it’s from that piece of writing that this collection takes its title.
The Russian Futurists were a group of poets and artists who adopted the Futurist movement of Marinetti which “espoused the rejection of the past, and a celebration of speed, machinery, violence, youth and industry; it also advocated the modernization and cultural rejuvenation.” There were a number of sub-groups and one called Hylaea issued “Slap”, which was signed by David Burlyuk, Aleksandr Kruchenykh, Vladimir Mayakovsky and Viktor Khlebnikov. I’d come across “Slap” before in my readings of Mayakovsky, but never the three following manifestos, with the final one “A Drop of Tar” being from December 1915 and signed by Mayakovsky alone.
“Slap” is a fascinating collection of words, showing the gradual development of the Futurist artists over the years, and Dralyuk translates the manifestos with the verve and originality with which Mayakovsky and co wrote them. They were determined to break down the constraints surrounding their art, jettisoning all that had gone before, and declared that Pushkin, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky should be tossed overboard “from the steamship of modernity”. That kind of thinking was symptomatic of the Futurist movement, although some (Mayakovsky in particular) introduced a political element which might well have been missing from the work of some of those poets and artists more interested in formal experimentation.
Entertaining as the manifestos are, much of the appeal of this book comes from the extra material included. For a start, it’s a lovely thing in its own right; printed in colour on quality paper, “Slap” is heavily illustrated with images by Mayakovsky, Goncharova, Larianov, Burlyuk and others, as well as reproductions of the covers of the original journals in which the works appeared. Innovation was at hand everywhere, with one journal even having a wallpaper cover!
The icing on the cake, however, is the conversation reproduced in the back of the book between translator Boris Dralyuk and Saul Alpert-Abrams. The discussion is fascinating and erudite, throwing much light on the futurists’ poetry as well as giving useful context if the reader isn’t familiar with the period. Interestingly, they draw comparisons between translation and issuing a manifesto, and it’s fair to say that both are optimistic acts!
I haven’t come across the publisher Insert Blanc Press before but laudably they seem to focus very much on experimental literature. Here, they’ve produced a fascinating, beautiful and instructive object which I’m so pleased to at last have on my Mayakovsky shelf!
P.S. Did I mention it’s bilingual?? I can’t read Russian but I love looking at the cyrillic! 😀
The richness of a poet’s vocabulary is his justification
Sep 22, 2018 @ 07:39:06
What a find, and evocative review of it, and that unexpected treasure, the conversation shared.
Sep 22, 2018 @ 16:03:23
Thank you! And yes, the conversation was a marvellous bonus, I would have been sold on the content anyway, but it added icing to the cake!
Sep 22, 2018 @ 08:10:18
This is so very you! As a slight aside, have you come across the films of the Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev? If not, you might find his work of interest given your fondness for all things Russian. They’re really bleak but very effective.
Sep 22, 2018 @ 16:02:33
It is, isn’t it? 🤣 And no I haven’t – my love of Russian films extends to Eisenstein, Vertov, Tarkovsky plus the 2005 TV adaptation of The Master and Margarita! I really should extend my horizons….
Sep 22, 2018 @ 17:19:04
He really is an excellent filmmaker. If you ever fancy giving him a try, I would recommend Leviathan which explores the links between power/corruption and some of the social issues in modern-day Russia. The Return is also really powerful but incredibly bleak.
Sep 23, 2018 @ 11:56:00
I will – I’ve heard of Leviathan I think so I’ll check him out!
Sep 22, 2018 @ 17:24:27
I agree with Jacqui it is a very *you* book. Good to hear it was so entertaining. A bilingual edition is quite unusual isn’t it? A lovely find. That cover is slightly alarming though, I mean look at those teeth!
Sep 23, 2018 @ 11:55:35
It definitely *is* me. I’m coming across more and more bilingual editions of things nowadays which is quite fun. And yes, I think the Mayakovsky image was meant to be fierce – he was designing for propaganda posters to be sent out to educate illiterate peasants and so the messages had to be clear. The bad people had to look bad! 🙂
Sep 22, 2018 @ 19:50:14
Here’s news from Muscovy to delight us both:
Aseyev, Khlebnikov, Mayakovsky & Co.,
Those Futurists half a century ago
Cutting new coats regardless of their cloth.
“Throw Pushkin overboard!” I quote them straight
“From the great steamship of modernity!
Cast Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky to the sea!”
In 1912 that sounded up-to-date.
They were poets, and not such bad ones. We may laugh
And say the future was not theirs to read
And yet their image was exquisitely just,
Such emblems as become an epitaph:
That steamship, obsolete as the Futurist creed,
That heap of scrap; their sea, that bowl of dust.
_A.D. Hope
Sep 23, 2018 @ 11:45:48
Lovely! And very apt! 🙂
Sep 23, 2018 @ 15:05:25
Kaggsy, it’s a thrill to see your post about my little labor of love! I’m so glad you found “Slap” to be as much of a blast (from the Futurist past) as I did!
Sep 23, 2018 @ 15:36:48
😀 It’s aesthetically lovely and fascinating to read, which is kind of the perfect combination! So glad I finally got to read it!
Sep 24, 2018 @ 08:29:14
How wonderful that they’ve produced such a fine and rich artefact there.
Sep 24, 2018 @ 14:48:50
It’s absolutely lovely! 😁
Sep 24, 2018 @ 17:05:22
Looks like a gorgeous edition! I like the bilingual feature too (I can’t read a word of Russian but like you, I’d like to see it 🙂 )
Sep 24, 2018 @ 19:30:22
It is indeed very lovely! And yes – Russian text just looks so cool! 🙂
Oct 02, 2018 @ 14:25:31
*squeezes onto the couch between the two of you*
I know, right? So cool.
Oct 02, 2018 @ 15:53:48
LOL! I wish I had an agile enough brain to learn the language!
Out of the Past: The Russian Futurists, a Russian Dinosaur, and the BBC Looks Back – Boris Dralyuk
Sep 25, 2018 @ 23:41:55
Futurist Artist Movement – Art Coronium
Sep 29, 2018 @ 04:17:10