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"I am a Phenomenon Quite out of the Ordinary": The Notebooks, Diaries, and Letters of Daniil Kharms
In addition to his numerous works in prose and poetry for both children and adults, Daniil Kharms (1905-42), one of the founders of Russia's "lost literature of the absurd," wrote notebooks and a diary for most of his adult life. Published for the first time in recent years in Russian, these notebooks provide an intimate look at the daily life and struggles of one of the central figures of the literary avant-garde in Post-Revolutionary Leningrad. While Kharms's stories have been translated and published in English, these diaries represents an invaluable source for English-language readers who, having already discovered Kharms in translation, desire to learn about the life and times of an avant-garde writer in the first decades of Soviet power.
588 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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About the author
Daniil Kharms
237 books410 followersDaniil Ivanovich Yuvachev (Даниил Хармс) was born in St. Petersburg, into the family of Ivan Yuvachev, a well known member of the revolutionary group, The People's Will. By this time the elder Yuvachev had already been imprisoned for his involvement in subversive acts against the tsar Alexander III and had become a religious philosopher, acquaintance of Anton Chekhov during the latter's trip to Sakhalin.
Daniil invented the pseudonym Kharms while attending high school at the prestigious German "Peterschule". While at the Peterschule, he learned the rudiments of both English and German, and it may have been the English "harm" and "charm" that he incorporated into "Kharms". Throughout his career Kharms used variations on his name and the pseudonyms DanDan, Khorms, Charms, Shardam, and Kharms-Shardam, among others. It is rumored that he scribbled the name Kharms directly into his passport.
In 1924, he entered the Leningrad Electrotechnicum, from which he was expelled for "lack of activity in social activities". After his expulsion, he gave himself over entirely to literature. He joined the circle of Aleksandr Tufanov, a sound-poet, and follower of Velemir Khlebnikov's ideas of zaum (or trans-sense) poetry. He met the young poet Alexander Vvedensky at this time, and the two became close friends and inseparable collaborators.
In 1927, the Association of Writers of Children's Literature was formed, and Kharms was invited to be a member. From 1928 until 1941, Kharms continually produced children's works and had a great success.
In 1928, Daniil Kharms founded the avant-garde collective OBERIU, or Union of Real Art. He embraced the new movements of Russian Futurism laid out by his idols, Khlebnikov, Kazimir Malevich, and Igor Terentiev, among others. Their ideas served as a springboard. His aesthetic centered around a belief in the autonomy of art from real world rules and logic, and the intrinsic meaning to be found in objects and words outside of their practical function.
By the late 1920s, his antirational verse, nonlinear theatrical performances, and public displays of decadent and illogical behavior earned Kharms — who always dressed like an English dandy with a calabash pipe — the reputation of being a talented but highly eccentric “fool” or “crazy-man” in Leningrad cultural circles.
Even then, in the late 20s, despite rising criticism of the OBERIU performances and diatribes against the avant-garde in the press, Kharms nurtured a fantasy of uniting the progressive artists and writers of the time (Malevich, Filonov, Terentiev, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Kaverin, Zamyatin) with leading Russian Formalist critics (Tynianov, Shklovsky, Eikhenbaum, Ginzburg, etc.,) and a younger generation of writers (all from the OBERIU crowd—Alexander Vvedensky, Konstantin Vaginov, Nikolai Zabolotsky, Igor Bakhterev), to form a cohesive cultural movement of Left Art. Needless to say it didn't happen that way.
Kharms was arrested in 1931 together with Vvedensky, Tufanov and some other writers, and was in exile from his hometown (forced to live in the city of Kursk) for most of a year. He was arrested as a member of "a group of anti-Soviet children's writers", and some of his works were used as an evidence. Soviet authorities, having become increasingly hostile toward the avant-garde in general, deemed Kharms’ writing for children anti-Soviet because of its absurd logic and its refusal to instill materialist and social Soviet values.
He continued to write for children's magazines when he returned from exile, though his name would appear in the credits less often. His plans for more performances and plays were curtailed, the OBERIU disbanded, and Kharms receded into a very private writing life. He wrote for the desk drawer, for his wife, Marina Malich, and for a small group of friends, the “
Daniil invented the pseudonym Kharms while attending high school at the prestigious German "Peterschule". While at the Peterschule, he learned the rudiments of both English and German, and it may have been the English "harm" and "charm" that he incorporated into "Kharms". Throughout his career Kharms used variations on his name and the pseudonyms DanDan, Khorms, Charms, Shardam, and Kharms-Shardam, among others. It is rumored that he scribbled the name Kharms directly into his passport.
In 1924, he entered the Leningrad Electrotechnicum, from which he was expelled for "lack of activity in social activities". After his expulsion, he gave himself over entirely to literature. He joined the circle of Aleksandr Tufanov, a sound-poet, and follower of Velemir Khlebnikov's ideas of zaum (or trans-sense) poetry. He met the young poet Alexander Vvedensky at this time, and the two became close friends and inseparable collaborators.
In 1927, the Association of Writers of Children's Literature was formed, and Kharms was invited to be a member. From 1928 until 1941, Kharms continually produced children's works and had a great success.
In 1928, Daniil Kharms founded the avant-garde collective OBERIU, or Union of Real Art. He embraced the new movements of Russian Futurism laid out by his idols, Khlebnikov, Kazimir Malevich, and Igor Terentiev, among others. Their ideas served as a springboard. His aesthetic centered around a belief in the autonomy of art from real world rules and logic, and the intrinsic meaning to be found in objects and words outside of their practical function.
By the late 1920s, his antirational verse, nonlinear theatrical performances, and public displays of decadent and illogical behavior earned Kharms — who always dressed like an English dandy with a calabash pipe — the reputation of being a talented but highly eccentric “fool” or “crazy-man” in Leningrad cultural circles.
Even then, in the late 20s, despite rising criticism of the OBERIU performances and diatribes against the avant-garde in the press, Kharms nurtured a fantasy of uniting the progressive artists and writers of the time (Malevich, Filonov, Terentiev, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Kaverin, Zamyatin) with leading Russian Formalist critics (Tynianov, Shklovsky, Eikhenbaum, Ginzburg, etc.,) and a younger generation of writers (all from the OBERIU crowd—Alexander Vvedensky, Konstantin Vaginov, Nikolai Zabolotsky, Igor Bakhterev), to form a cohesive cultural movement of Left Art. Needless to say it didn't happen that way.
Kharms was arrested in 1931 together with Vvedensky, Tufanov and some other writers, and was in exile from his hometown (forced to live in the city of Kursk) for most of a year. He was arrested as a member of "a group of anti-Soviet children's writers", and some of his works were used as an evidence. Soviet authorities, having become increasingly hostile toward the avant-garde in general, deemed Kharms’ writing for children anti-Soviet because of its absurd logic and its refusal to instill materialist and social Soviet values.
He continued to write for children's magazines when he returned from exile, though his name would appear in the credits less often. His plans for more performances and plays were curtailed, the OBERIU disbanded, and Kharms receded into a very private writing life. He wrote for the desk drawer, for his wife, Marina Malich, and for a small group of friends, the “
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 4, 2021
Five stars worth of sufferings
August 2, 2020
men are all the same. tedious.
look at these fantastic insights:
"A woman who gives off no smell is revolting. A woman whose sexual organs give off a smell is attractive: she is arousing. A woman should not wash herself so often that the smell of her sexual organs is washed away: the stronger the smell of her sexual organs, the better. But a woman must take care that her sexual organs not smell of urine."
"A man whose mouth is dry is repulsive. O, how much more repulsive is a woman with dried out sex organs! One of the most powerful ways a woman acts on a man is through the smell of her sex organs. O, how foolish are those modern women who, through frequent washing, eradicate their own beautiful smell. A woman should wash only her thighs, and that only occasionally. She should never wash the insides of her sex organs! No matter how strong the smell."
also look at this taxonomy of women:
"Brunettes.
1. Short. Plump. Proportionate. Harmonious.
2. Short. Plump. With inordinately large breasts.
3. Short. Plump. With large breasts and thin legs.
4. Short. Plump. Waist too wide.
5. Short. Medium complexion. Harmonious.
6. Short. Medium complexion. Breasts too small.
7. Short. Medium complexion. Breasts too large.
8. Short. Medium complexion. Legs too thin.
9. Short. Medium complexion. Legs too fat.
A = brunette. B = blonde. C = Auburn hair.
m = short. r = medium height. h = tall. S = redhead.
z = plump. x = medium. y = thin.
Amz, Ahx, Crz - Bad
Bhy - good.
Az
By
Amz2?"
how people manage to convince themselves of the existence of 'male genius' ... beyond me.
look at these fantastic insights:
"A woman who gives off no smell is revolting. A woman whose sexual organs give off a smell is attractive: she is arousing. A woman should not wash herself so often that the smell of her sexual organs is washed away: the stronger the smell of her sexual organs, the better. But a woman must take care that her sexual organs not smell of urine."
"A man whose mouth is dry is repulsive. O, how much more repulsive is a woman with dried out sex organs! One of the most powerful ways a woman acts on a man is through the smell of her sex organs. O, how foolish are those modern women who, through frequent washing, eradicate their own beautiful smell. A woman should wash only her thighs, and that only occasionally. She should never wash the insides of her sex organs! No matter how strong the smell."
also look at this taxonomy of women:
"Brunettes.
1. Short. Plump. Proportionate. Harmonious.
2. Short. Plump. With inordinately large breasts.
3. Short. Plump. With large breasts and thin legs.
4. Short. Plump. Waist too wide.
5. Short. Medium complexion. Harmonious.
6. Short. Medium complexion. Breasts too small.
7. Short. Medium complexion. Breasts too large.
8. Short. Medium complexion. Legs too thin.
9. Short. Medium complexion. Legs too fat.
A = brunette. B = blonde. C = Auburn hair.
m = short. r = medium height. h = tall. S = redhead.
z = plump. x = medium. y = thin.
Amz, Ahx, Crz - Bad
Bhy - good.
Az
By
Amz2?"
how people manage to convince themselves of the existence of 'male genius' ... beyond me.
April 2, 2018
In one of his many startling letters, Daniil Kharms made the following remark concerning the Russian spirit, to a German, Dr. Iosif Scheindels: 'The Russian spirit is either the singing of a choir or the nasal droning of a deacon. It’s always either Divine or ridiculous. But the Germanic Geist is an organ. You, Doctor, can say of nature: “I love nature. That cedar, how beautiful it is. Beneath that tree a knight could stand, while on that mountain a monk might wander.” Feelings like that are inaccessible to me. For me, be it a table, a cupboard, a house, a meadow, a wooded grove, a butterfl y, a grasshopper, it’s all one and the same. . . .' - Kharms is divine.
March 5, 2025
Oh Daniil, you've broken my heart with your sincerity & misunderstood self. What a tragic life, what a beautiful man.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews