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Soviet Texts, Calculations, Other Writings
Poetry. Fiction. Translated by Simon Schuchat and Ainsley Morse. With nearly 300 pages of prose and poetry, SOVIET TEXTS is the first representative selected volume of Prigov's poetry and experimental prose texts to appear in English. It includes short stories about amazing heroes of the revolution and after, and poetic sequences that expose literature, history, and culture to the stark light of a post-modern Gogolian laughter, some of which became cult-classics for his generation--such as the cycle "Image of Reagan in Soviet Literature." A selection of post-Soviet writings, concerned with human mortality and human sinfulness, is also included. While Prigov's writing is very definitely of the Soviet and post-Soviet world, it is consonant with contemporaneous avant-garde writing elsewhere.
Dmitri Alexandrovich Prigov (1940-2007) was a leading writer of the late Soviet and early post-Soviet era. Almost until the collapse of the Soviet Union, his writing circulated solely in unofficial samizdat editions and overseas publications. He was briefly detained in a Soviet psychiatric hospital in 1986 but released after protests from establishment literary figures. A founder of Moscow Conceptualism, Prigov was a prolific writer, in all genres, as well as an accomplished visual artist. Described by some critics as Russia's ultimate post-modern trickster, Prigov mastered many personas all of which come together in what is finally an enigmatic, Warhol-esque artistic mask. Indeed, during the late Soviet period he mounted a critique of ideological culture in a similar manner to western Pop Art's engagement with consumer culture. His performative work lay the seeds for much contemporary Russian socially-engaged art, and Prigov directly encouraged and inspired the next generation of conceptual dissident artists, such as the well-known Voina (War) group and, later, Pussy Riot, who dedicated their intervention at the 2018 World Cup in Moscow to Prigov's memory. Prigov died in Moscow in 2007, at the age of 66; a lifespan longer than average for a Russian male of his generation. En route to a performance with the Voina group--for which he planned to read poems inside a wardrobe while being carried up the stairs of Moscow University--he collapsed in the subway after a heart attack.
Dmitri Alexandrovich Prigov (1940-2007) was a leading writer of the late Soviet and early post-Soviet era. Almost until the collapse of the Soviet Union, his writing circulated solely in unofficial samizdat editions and overseas publications. He was briefly detained in a Soviet psychiatric hospital in 1986 but released after protests from establishment literary figures. A founder of Moscow Conceptualism, Prigov was a prolific writer, in all genres, as well as an accomplished visual artist. Described by some critics as Russia's ultimate post-modern trickster, Prigov mastered many personas all of which come together in what is finally an enigmatic, Warhol-esque artistic mask. Indeed, during the late Soviet period he mounted a critique of ideological culture in a similar manner to western Pop Art's engagement with consumer culture. His performative work lay the seeds for much contemporary Russian socially-engaged art, and Prigov directly encouraged and inspired the next generation of conceptual dissident artists, such as the well-known Voina (War) group and, later, Pussy Riot, who dedicated their intervention at the 2018 World Cup in Moscow to Prigov's memory. Prigov died in Moscow in 2007, at the age of 66; a lifespan longer than average for a Russian male of his generation. En route to a performance with the Voina group--for which he planned to read poems inside a wardrobe while being carried up the stairs of Moscow University--he collapsed in the subway after a heart attack.
- GenresPoetry
296 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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About the author
Dmitri Prigov
29 books14 followersDmitri Aleksandrovich Prigov (Russian: Дмитрий Александрович Пригов) was a Russian dissident writer and artist.
He was a prolific poet having written nearly 36,000 poems.
He was a prolific poet having written nearly 36,000 poems.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 6, 2020
When I lived in Russia studying contemporary Russian poetry, Prigov was among a handful of poets who completely blew my mind. I ended up interviewing him in 1996, which led to further mind-blowing, and translated a number of his poems for publication over the years. Very grateful to have this quite comprehensive selection of a poet who was said to have written about 20-30,000 poems in his lifetime. The translation is very good, and shows Prigov's incredible parodic humor intermixed with his mystical heart. That's what makes him a genius.
June 28, 2021
I’m not exactly sure who this was translated for; to understand the underlying humor (which is lovely), I feel you need to be incredibly acquainted with the culture - and a person with that level of acquaintance, I assume, would also have a grasp of Russian.
I also don’t exactly buy that Prigov is particularly radical. Perhaps he was radical in the same way that Warhol was radical. But compared to the futurists it’s tough.
That being said, I think Prigov is absolutely hilarious. His wit and mysticism and ability to parody Soviet language and Soviet culture is something I’ve never seen on this level. It’s so different from Dovlatov type parody, but it is a must read for someone interested in late Soviet thought.
And despite my question about who needs the translation, I can still say the translation is very good.
A little poem from the text, albeit in the original Russian:
На Западе террористы убивают людей
Либо из-за денег, либо из-за возвышенных идей
А у нас если и склонятся к такому —
Так по простой человеческой обиде или по злопамятству какому
Без всяких там денег, не прикидываясь борцом
И это будет терроризм с человеческим лицом
I also don’t exactly buy that Prigov is particularly radical. Perhaps he was radical in the same way that Warhol was radical. But compared to the futurists it’s tough.
That being said, I think Prigov is absolutely hilarious. His wit and mysticism and ability to parody Soviet language and Soviet culture is something I’ve never seen on this level. It’s so different from Dovlatov type parody, but it is a must read for someone interested in late Soviet thought.
And despite my question about who needs the translation, I can still say the translation is very good.
A little poem from the text, albeit in the original Russian:
На Западе террористы убивают людей
Либо из-за денег, либо из-за возвышенных идей
А у нас если и склонятся к такому —
Так по простой человеческой обиде или по злопамятству какому
Без всяких там денег, не прикидываясь борцом
И это будет терроризм с человеческим лицом
November 27, 2020
A woman kicked me in the subway
Well, pushing and shoving, what can you do
But in this case she obviously crossed
The line and the whole thing shifted
Into an unnecessarily personal interaction
Naturally, I kicked her back
But immediately begged her pardon
Simply because I was a superior person
—from “Terrorism with a Human Face”
Poet of the ate/post-Soviet era, meaning (1) Prigov's works tended to have few formal, legal distribution systems for his works (which in no way diminished his reputation) and that, (2) during the Soviet era poets had little difficulty provoking the authorities, even when—and perhaps especially when, as here—the poet writes in the language of the authorities themselves. (American writers Vanessa Place and Peter Sotos do similar things in their investigations of rhetoric, and probably aren’t invited to the smart parties, either.)
In some ways, Prigov’s works satisfy the list held by every American of a certain age, regarding the miseries of Soviet lives: A sclerotic government inherited from a mass murderer, long lines, poor apartments, etc. And, apart from theory, Soviet people don’t much like each other, either.
Well, pushing and shoving, what can you do
But in this case she obviously crossed
The line and the whole thing shifted
Into an unnecessarily personal interaction
Naturally, I kicked her back
But immediately begged her pardon
Simply because I was a superior person
—from “Terrorism with a Human Face”
Poet of the ate/post-Soviet era, meaning (1) Prigov's works tended to have few formal, legal distribution systems for his works (which in no way diminished his reputation) and that, (2) during the Soviet era poets had little difficulty provoking the authorities, even when—and perhaps especially when, as here—the poet writes in the language of the authorities themselves. (American writers Vanessa Place and Peter Sotos do similar things in their investigations of rhetoric, and probably aren’t invited to the smart parties, either.)
In some ways, Prigov’s works satisfy the list held by every American of a certain age, regarding the miseries of Soviet lives: A sclerotic government inherited from a mass murderer, long lines, poor apartments, etc. And, apart from theory, Soviet people don’t much like each other, either.
March 12, 2021
Kind of repetitive but that world is so alien watching flowers through concrete of alien sidewalk
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews