collection of modern russian
poetry by Igor Fedorov, Mikhail Kukin and Konstantin Gadaev,
Alexandr Strakhov
Moscow, 2005, N.Filimonov publishers
about the poetry
Despite
all their
stylistic differences, the poets share a devotion to the living
tradition of Russian poetry, its (quoting Hodasevich) “stern freedom
and sinuous rules”. The
poets Kukin, Fedorov and Gadaev, while trying to avoid exploiting
the conventional poetic games, seek
that «blissful
precision»
which Timur Kibirov implores Calliope to bestow to him in the
beginning of the poem “Sortiry”. The general trend of their literary
experiments allowed the publisher to unite these three poetry
collections into a single series.
about the authors
Mikhail Kukin (Philology
BA) was born in 1962 in Moscow. He began writing his poetry
at the early age of 13. Since 1992 he has been published in various
magazines (or journals) such as the Znamiya, Noviy Mir, Druzhba
Narodov, and Arion. Throughout the 90s, he has given lectures in
various Moscow universities and taught in state schools. He is
currently employed as an editor.
Konstantin Gadaev
was born in 1967 in Moscow. One could obtain details of his
bibliography from the book «Opyt Schastya».
Fedorov, Igor Vitalievich. Born in
1963. A Russian poet. Height: above average. Dark hair. Brown eyes.
Eyes: dark, narrow. Marital status: single. Drinks occasionally.
Konstantin Gadaev, Mikhail Kukin and Igor Fedorov are three modern
Russian poets (originally from Moscow), who have been bound together
by long-standing creative collaboration and strong ties of
friendship. Several critics have called them the “Konkovskaya Shkola”.
Firstly, due to their frequent meetings at Mikhail’s place in the
Moscow region called Konkovo, and secondly, as a result of the
evident resemblance in their approach to poetry.
This
resemblance could, perhaps, be identified in the combination of
self-irony and tragedy in the authors’ view of the world, their
loyalty to the traditions of Russian classical poetry, their
humanism and mutual interest in the contemporary ordinary man and
the “ordinary contemporary world” that surrounds him and the poets
themselves. This is a renunciation of the post-modern strategies, an
attempt to truly communicate with the reader – at times, in a
humorous or a confessional manner - but without the deception of the
pastiche or the intellectual games.
And
yet, according to the critics, Kukin, Fedorov and Gadaev are
noticeably diverse and totally independent poets, each with his own
unique favourite themes and touches, and with a highly distinctive
poetical voice.
Their
work is an attempting to convey to the reader their - mostly
positive - experiences of life, love, true happiness, friendship and
a revelation of the beauty of the created world. According to Leonid
Kostyukov (“Nezavisimaya gazeta”, 14th of April 2005),
“the poets of the “Konkov School” possess the peculiar vision,
resulting in every detail of the world (including the most tiny and
primitive details) forming an argument in favour of the
meaningfulness of the whole. Presumably, in finding its place.”
audio files
Historian of literature XX centure Oleg Lekmanov"About authors" (15 ìèíóò,3 Mb, WMA)