What do you think?
Listen!
"Mayakovsky's is one of the most compelling voices in twentieth-century Russian poetry. Born in 1893, he joined the Futurist movement in 1912 and soon established himself as one of Russia's major poets. In 1917, he rallied to the Russian Revolution and remained the indisputable leader of its artistic avant-garde until his suicide in 1930." -- City Lights
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1914
About the author
Vladimir Mayakovsky
534 books649 followersVladimir Mayakovsky (Владимир Владимирович Маяковский) was born the last of three children in Baghdati, Russian Empire (now in Georgia) where his father worked as a forest ranger. His father was of Ukrainian Cossack descent and his mother was of Ukrainian descent. Although Mayakovsky spoke Georgian at school and with friends, his family spoke primarily Russian at home. At the age of 14 Mayakovsky took part in socialist demonstrations at the town of Kutaisi, where he attended the local grammar school. After the sudden and premature death of his father in 1906, the family — Mayakovsky, his mother, and his two sisters — moved to Moscow, where he attended School No. 5.
In Moscow, Mayakovsky developed a passion for Marxist literature and took part in numerous activities of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party; he was to later become an RSDLP (Bolshevik) member. In 1908, he was dismissed from the grammar school because his mother was no longer able to afford the tuition fees.
Around this time, Mayakovsky was imprisoned on three occasions for subversive political activities but, being underage, he avoided transportation. During a period of solitary confinement in Butyrka prison in 1909, he began to write poetry, but his poems were confiscated. On his release from prison, he continued working within the socialist movement, and in 1911 he joined the Moscow Art School where he became acquainted with members of the Russian Futurist movement. He became a leading spokesman for the group Gileas (Гилея), and a close friend of David Burlyuk, whom he saw as his mentor.
The 1912 Futurist publication A Slap in the Face of Public Taste (Пощёчина общественному вкусу) contained Mayakovsky's first published poems: Night (Ночь) and Morning (Утро). Because of their political activities, Burlyuk and Mayakovsky were expelled from the Moscow Art School in 1914.
His work continued in the Futurist vein until 1914. His artistic development then shifted increasingly in the direction of narrative and it was this work, published during the period immediately preceding the Russian Revolution, which was to establish his reputation as a poet in Russia and abroad.
Mayakovsky was rejected as a volunteer at the beginning of WWI, and during 1915-1917 worked at the Petrograd Military Automobile School as a draftsman. At the onset of the Russian Revolution, Mayakovsky was in Smolny, Petrograd. There he witnessed the October Revolution.
After moving back to Moscow, Mayakovsky worked for the Russian State Telegraph Agency (ROSTA) creating — both graphic and text — satirical Agitprop posters. In 1919, he published his first collection of poems Collected Works 1909-1919 (Все сочиненное Владимиром Маяковским). In the cultural climate of the early Soviet Union, his popularity grew rapidly. As one of the few Soviet writers who were allowed to travel freely, his voyages to Latvia, Britain, Germany, the United States, Mexico and Cuba influenced works like My Discovery of America (Мое открытие Америки, 1925). He also travelled extensively throughout the Soviet Union.
The relevance of Mayakovsky's influence cannot be limited to Soviet poetry. While for years he was considered the Soviet poet par excellence, he also changed the perceptions of poetry in wider 20th century culture. His political activism as a propagandistic agitator was rarely understood and often looked upon unfavourably by contemporaries, even close friends like Boris Pasternak. Near the end of the 1920s, Mayakovsky became increasingly disillusioned with the course the Soviet Union was taking under Joseph Stalin: his satirical plays The Bedbug (Клоп, 1929) and The Bathhouse (Баня, 1930), which deal with the Soviet philistinism and bureaucracy, illustrate this development.
On the evening of April 14, 1930, Mayakovsky shot himself.
In Moscow, Mayakovsky developed a passion for Marxist literature and took part in numerous activities of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party; he was to later become an RSDLP (Bolshevik) member. In 1908, he was dismissed from the grammar school because his mother was no longer able to afford the tuition fees.
Around this time, Mayakovsky was imprisoned on three occasions for subversive political activities but, being underage, he avoided transportation. During a period of solitary confinement in Butyrka prison in 1909, he began to write poetry, but his poems were confiscated. On his release from prison, he continued working within the socialist movement, and in 1911 he joined the Moscow Art School where he became acquainted with members of the Russian Futurist movement. He became a leading spokesman for the group Gileas (Гилея), and a close friend of David Burlyuk, whom he saw as his mentor.
The 1912 Futurist publication A Slap in the Face of Public Taste (Пощёчина общественному вкусу) contained Mayakovsky's first published poems: Night (Ночь) and Morning (Утро). Because of their political activities, Burlyuk and Mayakovsky were expelled from the Moscow Art School in 1914.
His work continued in the Futurist vein until 1914. His artistic development then shifted increasingly in the direction of narrative and it was this work, published during the period immediately preceding the Russian Revolution, which was to establish his reputation as a poet in Russia and abroad.
Mayakovsky was rejected as a volunteer at the beginning of WWI, and during 1915-1917 worked at the Petrograd Military Automobile School as a draftsman. At the onset of the Russian Revolution, Mayakovsky was in Smolny, Petrograd. There he witnessed the October Revolution.
After moving back to Moscow, Mayakovsky worked for the Russian State Telegraph Agency (ROSTA) creating — both graphic and text — satirical Agitprop posters. In 1919, he published his first collection of poems Collected Works 1909-1919 (Все сочиненное Владимиром Маяковским). In the cultural climate of the early Soviet Union, his popularity grew rapidly. As one of the few Soviet writers who were allowed to travel freely, his voyages to Latvia, Britain, Germany, the United States, Mexico and Cuba influenced works like My Discovery of America (Мое открытие Америки, 1925). He also travelled extensively throughout the Soviet Union.
The relevance of Mayakovsky's influence cannot be limited to Soviet poetry. While for years he was considered the Soviet poet par excellence, he also changed the perceptions of poetry in wider 20th century culture. His political activism as a propagandistic agitator was rarely understood and often looked upon unfavourably by contemporaries, even close friends like Boris Pasternak. Near the end of the 1920s, Mayakovsky became increasingly disillusioned with the course the Soviet Union was taking under Joseph Stalin: his satirical plays The Bedbug (Клоп, 1929) and The Bathhouse (Баня, 1930), which deal with the Soviet philistinism and bureaucracy, illustrate this development.
On the evening of April 14, 1930, Mayakovsky shot himself.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
December 16, 2013
One who listens must hear. Poetry is in the ear of the behearer…
The futuristic period of Vladimir Mayakovsky is his best… He served nobody… He served poetry…
What about You? is my favourite… It is short but it tells all about the world of poetry...
Any true poet should abide in the world within then he will see the world without with new eyes…
Any true poet can paint with words as good as an artist can paint with colours.
Now, listen!
Surely, if the stars are lit
there’s somebody who longs for them,
somebody who wants them to shine a bit,
somebody who calls it, that wee speck of spittle, a gem?
And overridden
by blizzards of midday dust,
tears in to God,
afraid that it’s too late,
and sobbing,
kisses the sinewy hand outthrust,
swears
that he can’t , simply can’t bear a starless fate:
There must be a star, there must!
The futuristic period of Vladimir Mayakovsky is his best… He served nobody… He served poetry…
What about You? is my favourite… It is short but it tells all about the world of poetry...
I splashed some colours from a tumbler
and smeared the drab world with emotion.
I charted on a dish of jelly
the jutting cheekbones of the ocean.
Upon the scales of a tin salmon
I read the calls of lips yet mute.
And you, could you have played a nocturne
with just a drainpipe for a flute?
Any true poet should abide in the world within then he will see the world without with new eyes…
Along the highway
of my soul,
all banged
and battered,
the steps of madmen
weave hard phrases patterns.
Where towns are hanged –
where in a cloud’s grey noose
freeze
towers’
crooked necks,
once prim and glossy,
I go alone
to mourn
policemen
crucified
by crossings.
Any true poet can paint with words as good as an artist can paint with colours.
November 3, 2018
Listen,
if stars are lit
it means - there is someone who needs it.
It means - someone wants them to be,
that someone deems those specks of spit
magnificent.
And overwrought,
in the swirls of afternoon dust,
he bursts in on God,
afraid he might be already late.
In tears,
he kisses God's sinewy hand
and begs him to guarantee
that there will definitely be a star.
He swears
he won't be able to stand
that starless ordeal.
March 1, 2015
''The streets are too narrow for the joyful storm.
Dressed up, the people disperse, enthralled.
I ponder.
Like blood clots, sticky and warm,
My thoughts are slithering out of my skull.''
Vladimir Mayakovsky,born in 1893 in a village in Georgia, which will bear his name after his death in 1930,enthusiastically accepted the October Revolution and put his poetic and artistic talent in its service.He was a part of the Futurist movement and one of its best representatives.As a person he was very rebellious and dynamic and as a poet he was an innovator,he brought explosive language, unusual vocabulary, new genres of poem,staircase verse into poetry.An extraordinary person.
I simply adore his poetry and his way with words,his work is definitely a treasure for everyone who enjoys in excellent poetry.
December 13, 2023
He so sad kiss Mayakovsky he’s my “speck of spit”
also really liked this one “longing to lay her healing flowers on the blazing ulcer of my mouth”
also really liked this one “longing to lay her healing flowers on the blazing ulcer of my mouth”
Read
January 25, 2022“…And again,
soaked in blood and sweat, like a slave,
I am rocking my body with madness.
Incidentally,
I found her once — the soul.
She appeared in a florid dressing gown and said:
‘Please be seated. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time Would you like a cup of tea?..”
Excerpt From
Listen!
Vladimir Mayakovsky
This material may be protected by copyright.
soaked in blood and sweat, like a slave,
I am rocking my body with madness.
Incidentally,
I found her once — the soul.
She appeared in a florid dressing gown and said:
‘Please be seated. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time Would you like a cup of tea?..”
Excerpt From
Listen!
Vladimir Mayakovsky
This material may be protected by copyright.
February 10, 2013
I received this as a Christmas gift. At the time when I received it, I thought it was super cool.
January 27, 2025
Most of the work in here is from before the war, those he wrote from 1915 onwards were certainly on another level.
I liked "You!", the Prologue from "The Backbone-Flute", and "Concern for Horses".
I liked "You!", the Prologue from "The Backbone-Flute", and "Concern for Horses".
September 17, 2018
From my Instagram account @Onebookonecountry
#Russia
He dares to burst into God, half afraid half defiant, to fight for our stars. He just won't stand the starless ordeal!
Who tells God to guarantee stars because they can't stand their absence? And if there is always at least only one star, who is it for? The poem ultimately does not give the speaker any assurance of the presence of stars. He finishes his plea trying to comfort others in his trust that there will always be one star around.
This poem spoke to me and I've read it several times. I always get caught up in one lone or another. There's just something about knowing that someone is resisting a starless ordeal that makes my heart stop a little bit.
#Mayakovsky was a Soviet poet and Listen! was part of his attempt to create a new Soviet mythology. He was also, as a tru poet, trying to fill his inner void and that is why his poetry transcends its original propaganda nature to universality.
This edition is by @citylightsbooks
#citylightsbooks and I bought in a recent visit at the #CityLightsBookstore in San Francisco.
More Russian books in #onebookRussia
More European books in #onebookEurope
#RussianLiterature #EuropeanLiterature
#RussianPoetry #RussianPoet #Маяковский #poetry #русскаялитература #литература #поэзия #poemese #dicadelivro #leituradodia #dicadeleitura #poesia #LiteraturaRussa #Maiakovski #russianwriter #стих
#Russia
He dares to burst into God, half afraid half defiant, to fight for our stars. He just won't stand the starless ordeal!
Who tells God to guarantee stars because they can't stand their absence? And if there is always at least only one star, who is it for? The poem ultimately does not give the speaker any assurance of the presence of stars. He finishes his plea trying to comfort others in his trust that there will always be one star around.
This poem spoke to me and I've read it several times. I always get caught up in one lone or another. There's just something about knowing that someone is resisting a starless ordeal that makes my heart stop a little bit.
#Mayakovsky was a Soviet poet and Listen! was part of his attempt to create a new Soviet mythology. He was also, as a tru poet, trying to fill his inner void and that is why his poetry transcends its original propaganda nature to universality.
This edition is by @citylightsbooks
#citylightsbooks and I bought in a recent visit at the #CityLightsBookstore in San Francisco.
More Russian books in #onebookRussia
More European books in #onebookEurope
#RussianLiterature #EuropeanLiterature
#RussianPoetry #RussianPoet #Маяковский #poetry #русскаялитература #литература #поэзия #poemese #dicadelivro #leituradodia #dicadeleitura #poesia #LiteraturaRussa #Maiakovski #russianwriter #стих
February 19, 2017
"Come all to me, / those who loom through silence, / who groan / because the nooses at noon are too tight, / I'll show to you / with words simple as mooing / our new souls / roaring like the arched wrought-iron posts. / I'll only touch your foreheads with my fingers, / and you'll grow lips / for enormous kisses / and a tongue / native to all peoples. / And leaning upon my limping soul, / I'll stagger off towards my throne / with the holes of stars along its tatty dome."
July 5, 2023
“why should you think you are any worse?
Darling,
we are all
essentially horses”
Darling,
we are all
essentially horses”
March 30, 2018
from The Backbone-Flute
Serves as a condensed introduction into Mayakovsky, but what a beautiful introduction this is. Strengthens my belief that the Russian typography is so beautifully crafted, almost close to early graphic design, stylistically. At least for someone like me who doesn't understand it. The translated poems are accompanied by Lithographs of the Russian avant-garde futurism school, handwritten notes, a couple of photographs. All in 64 pages. You probably understand now my use of the term condensed.
To all of you —
those I liked or like —
cherished as icons in the cave of my soul,
solemnly, I raise as a goblet of wine
the skull filled with my poetry.
I contemplate —
so often —
ending my days
with the full stop of a bullet.
This evening,
for all of you —
just in case —
I am giving a farewell concert.
Memory,
pack the brain's auditorium
with inexhaustible swarms of beloveds.
Spatter laughter from eye to eye,
sate the night with former weddings' glory.
Fill every soul with a jocular mood
so that this night is forgotten by no one.
Today I shall play the flute —
my backbone.
⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 1915
Serves as a condensed introduction into Mayakovsky, but what a beautiful introduction this is. Strengthens my belief that the Russian typography is so beautifully crafted, almost close to early graphic design, stylistically. At least for someone like me who doesn't understand it. The translated poems are accompanied by Lithographs of the Russian avant-garde futurism school, handwritten notes, a couple of photographs. All in 64 pages. You probably understand now my use of the term condensed.
November 7, 2025
“You wouldn’t understand
why,
cold as an ominous sneer,
I am carrying my soul to be slaughtered
for the dinner of impending years…
I’ll show to you
with words as simple as mooing
our new souls
roaring like arched wrought-iron posts.
I’ll only touch your foreheads with my fingers,
and you’ll grow lips
for enormous kisses
and a tongue
native to all peoples.
And leaning upon my limping soul,
I’ll stagger off towards my throne
with the holes of stars along its tatty dome.”
“I came nearer
and saw
a large tear
roll down the muzzle
glisten,
and disappear…
And some sort of fellow animal pain
splashed out of me
and flowed in whispering:
‘Horse, please…
Horse, listen
why should you think you are any worse?
Darling,
we are all
essentially horses
each and everyone of us is something of a horse.’
Maybe the old one didn’t need my comfort.
maybe my thought was too effete;
only the horse tried hard, neighed loud, rose to its feet, and made a start.
Its tail playing in glittering coat
it trotted indomitably toward its stall.
It suddenly felt it was still a colt
and life was definitely worth living again.”
why,
cold as an ominous sneer,
I am carrying my soul to be slaughtered
for the dinner of impending years…
I’ll show to you
with words as simple as mooing
our new souls
roaring like arched wrought-iron posts.
I’ll only touch your foreheads with my fingers,
and you’ll grow lips
for enormous kisses
and a tongue
native to all peoples.
And leaning upon my limping soul,
I’ll stagger off towards my throne
with the holes of stars along its tatty dome.”
“I came nearer
and saw
a large tear
roll down the muzzle
glisten,
and disappear…
And some sort of fellow animal pain
splashed out of me
and flowed in whispering:
‘Horse, please…
Horse, listen
why should you think you are any worse?
Darling,
we are all
essentially horses
each and everyone of us is something of a horse.’
Maybe the old one didn’t need my comfort.
maybe my thought was too effete;
only the horse tried hard, neighed loud, rose to its feet, and made a start.
Its tail playing in glittering coat
it trotted indomitably toward its stall.
It suddenly felt it was still a colt
and life was definitely worth living again.”
July 19, 2024
Listen! is my first foray into the Pocket Poets’ international authors who aren’t directly related to the Beatnik movement; but Mayakovsky’s influence on the Beats is evident (I’m looking at you Kenneth Patchen).
The Beats appreciated his “Indigenous style” and “affinity with Russian and Oriental primitivism” to create a so-called “Cubo-Futurism” … like girlie … shut the fuck up. Mayakovsky is simply having fun by publishing abstract doodles, writing vaguely horny poems, and taking 1910s fit pics.
The Beats appreciated his “Indigenous style” and “affinity with Russian and Oriental primitivism” to create a so-called “Cubo-Futurism” … like girlie … shut the fuck up. Mayakovsky is simply having fun by publishing abstract doodles, writing vaguely horny poems, and taking 1910s fit pics.
July 18, 2022
To all of you — those I liked or like —
cherished as icons in the eave of my soul, solemnly, I raise as a goblet of wine the skull filled with my poetry.
Memory,
pack the brain’s auditorium
with inexhaustible swarms of beloveds.
Spatter laughter from eye to eye,
sate the night with former weddings’ glory.
Fill every soul with a jocular mood
so that this night is forgotten by no one.
Today, I shall play the flute —
my backbone.
March 10, 2022
The Cloud in Trousers it is not, but who expects it to be? A snappy little intro to the poet via his youthful work. I would say that if you have even a moderate interest in the poet after reading these, by all means move on to his high period and you will be thrilled.
May 17, 2025
When he isn’t writing in the midst of a delusion of grandeur, Mayakovsky’s pre-Revolutionary poems are strikingly tender. He’s the toxic ex-boyfriend who fools you again of 20th Century Russian poetry.
September 25, 2017
Too beautiful. Too short.
Read
February 18, 2022"I am carrying my soul to be slaughtered for the dinner of impending years.
[...]
The sky is crying, inconsolably,
loudly."
Oh my Vlad!
My tender, tender Vlad.
[...]
The sky is crying, inconsolably,
loudly."
Oh my Vlad!
My tender, tender Vlad.
February 15, 2023
Listen,
If stars are lit,
It means there is someone who needs it.
If stars are lit,
It means there is someone who needs it.
December 31, 2023
what morrissey is to toxic men, mayakovsky is to me.
January 8, 2025
Ou algo se perdeu entre o russo e o inglês, ou algo se perdeu daquele século a este. Desiludido mas é uma proveta da sua obra, ainda falta mergulhar a fundo.
April 22, 2025
“someone deems those speckles of spit
magnificent.”
magnificent.”
February 13, 2026
Also read in the wake of a nap
September 11, 2026
Darling, we are all essentially horses, each and every one of us is something of a horse.
February 3, 2013
Послушайте!
Ведь, если звезды зажигают -
значит - это кому-нибудь нужно?
Значит - кто-то хочет, чтобы они были?
Значит - кто-то называет эти плевочки
жемчужиной?
(stylistic remark: allusion "Le Petit Prince")
******
Послушайте!
Ведь, если звезды
зажигают -
значит - это кому-нибудь нужно?
Значит - это необходимо,
чтобы каждый вечер
над крышами
загоралась хоть одна звезда?!
---
Если бы я был
Маленький,
как океан, -
на цыпочки волн встал,
приливом ласкался к луне бы.
Где любимую найти мне,
Такую, как и я?
Такая не уместилась бы в крохотное небо!
Ведь, если звезды зажигают -
значит - это кому-нибудь нужно?
Значит - кто-то хочет, чтобы они были?
Значит - кто-то называет эти плевочки
жемчужиной?
(stylistic remark: allusion "Le Petit Prince")
******
Послушайте!
Ведь, если звезды
зажигают -
значит - это кому-нибудь нужно?
Значит - это необходимо,
чтобы каждый вечер
над крышами
загоралась хоть одна звезда?!
---
Если бы я был
Маленький,
как океан, -
на цыпочки волн встал,
приливом ласкался к луне бы.
Где любимую найти мне,
Такую, как и я?
Такая не уместилась бы в крохотное небо!
Read
December 4, 2011From Epilogue: "Sometimes I think/I am a Dutch cock/or/indeed/a Pskov king,/but--/all things considered--/I prefer my own name/Vladimir Mayakovsky."
From The Backbone-Flute Prologue: "To all of you--/those I liked or like--/cherished as icons in the cave of my soul,/solemnly, I raise a goblet of wine/the skull filled with my poetry."
From The Backbone-Flute Prologue: "To all of you--/those I liked or like--/cherished as icons in the cave of my soul,/solemnly, I raise a goblet of wine/the skull filled with my poetry."
November 23, 2009
uh, wow beautiful words. an amazing choice for the pocket poets series. poetry - written b/t 1913-1918 in russia. small gathering of poems with such power, and read beautifully in their english translation. the poem "mayakovsky" owns it.
December 6, 2014
Eh, wasn't that impressed. Although they are only his early poems, I found the vast majority to be quite dull. The one poem I liked was 'Prologue' from The Backbone Flute', but other than that, I was underwhelmed.
January 11, 2015
Among the many raison d'etres of Futurism was their desire to encapsulate the essence of a life that was becoming more and more industrialized, fast-paced and dynamic. Mayakovsky's poetry, perhaps better than any other Futurist artist or poet, managed to capture that feel.
March 28, 2016
The introduction is completely right--this is amazing in light of the stuff Mayakovsky is famous for. Long, sweeping epics are great, but this little word-nuggets are like the Picassos of poetry. They're stripped down, contorted, dissonant, and lovely.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews