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even their names and the titles of their work were unfamiliar. In the course of that same academic year the position of Russian emigre literature changed dramatically. A s a result of the liberalization of the cultural climate in the Soviet Union, the work of many emigre authors—strictly banned until 1986—could now for the first time be (legally) printed and distributed, attracting attention on a scale hitherto thought impossible.
Understandably, the reading public in the emigration had necessarily always been very limited.
What seemed unthinkable only a few years ago has by now become almost standard procedure and has gained such a dazzling pace that it has become difficult for us in the West to keep up with. Soviet literary journals now devote much of their space to reprinting the work of emigre authors and publications in book form—with work of, among others, Remizov, Chodasevic, Georgi Ivanov, Aldanov, and Nabokov, —have also seen the light. But in spite of all this, the work of many emigre writers is still not available to the public, neither in Soviet nor in Western editions. A n d among this group are truly important authors.
In 1987 Petra Couvee, the editor of the present book, wrote her Mas ter's thesis on the poet A n n a Prismanova (1892-1960), wife of the poet Aleksandr Ginger (1897-1965). Her research work brought her into con tact with Anna Prismanova's son, Basile Ginger, who still lives in Paris.
Thanks also to information provided by M r Ginger during conversations and in letters, she was able to reconstruct for the first time a reliable biographical picture of A n n a Prismanova. Apart from being an attempt at reconstructing the life of A n n a Prismanova, Petra Couvee's thesis also tried to get to the heart of Prismanova's hermetic poetry.
The present text edition of Prismanova's work has grown out of this thesis. It brings together all of Prismanova's known work: the poems from the four collections published during Prismanova's lifetime as well as uncollected poems from a number of periodicals and a short story.
Also included are two short stories which were published in French under the name Anne Ginger. The text is preceded by an introduction, in which practically all secondary literature on Prismanova has been in­ corporated.
To date no substantial publication of Prismanova's work, or about Prismanova, has come my way, neither from the Soviet Union nor from the West. Hence the necessity of this edition, which for the first time makes available the complete oeuvre of a little known but very original poet. The need is even more evident when one realizes that the four col­ lections of poetry, published over the years 1937-1960, have for a long time been out of print and in second-hand shops too they are almost impossible to find.
That A n n a Prismanova is not well-known as a poet has its cause not only in the poor availability of her work—only few libraries have all four Prismanova's collections of verse—but is also due to the fact that during her life she occupied an isolated position in the Russian literary monde of Paris, which caused very few people to refer to her. This is true both for works of literary criticism and for memoirs. Prismanova completely missed the spectacular life of a Marina Cvetaeva, which certainly contributed to her enormous posthumous fame, while in a sense Cvetaeva stood just as isolated in the Parisian literary world.
Prismanova's poetry, with its strong voice and sometimes grotesque imagery which is not always easily grasped, is far removed from the sim­ ple, subdued and pessimistic tone of the poets belonging to the " P a r i ­ sian N o t e ", such as G. Adamovic, A. Stejger, and L. Cervinskaja.
Prismanova also worked independently from great Parisian poets such as V. Chodasevic, and G. Ivanov. She was virtually immune to outside influences. Rejecting compromise, either with herself or her readers, she opened up her own poetic universe, which makes her one of the most interesting poets in the emigration.
Русский Монпарнас в Париже относился к Александру Гингеру и Анне Присмановой благодушно, но все же их не принимал всерьез. Но в их па­ тетике, смешанной с комизмом, во всех их нелепицах куда больше поэзии, чем во многих очень „средних", дюжинных стихах поэтов, писавших не­ плохо, но очень уж аккуратно-меланхолично, как того требовала Парижская нота.
"Pochvala Rossijskoj Poezii", Novyj Zurnal 162 (1986), 116.
''Cependant, j ' a i entendu un jour ma mere dire, dans ses dernieres an nees, que ca ne l'interessait plus d'ecrire en russe a Paris pour un petit cercle et qu'elle aimerait bien etre lue en Russie."
Over the years this atmosphere of emptiness and indifference has vanished to be replaced with a more receptive climate which permits a serious reception of the work of A n n a Prismanova. I hope this edition will make its contribution, toward a better availability and appreciation of Prismanova's oeuvre, both in and outside the Soviet U n i o n.
Здесь вдоль булыжной набережной текла мутная бутылочного цвета вода, и мучные лабазы чередовались с угольными складами. Л е т о м беловатые камни лабазов покрывались черной пароходной копотью, зимой на чер­ ные угольные дворы стелилась снежная пелена. Все шло рука об руку и приятно дополнялось одно другим.
these numbers refer to the numbers of the pdems as used in this edition) the metaphor "gorlo iz metalla—strasnej kinzala" suddenly turns into reality as she recalls: " A c h, s etim gorlom nadobno lezat'!/Tak, urhira ja, mat' moja lezala." In Prismanova's oeuvre we find several instances of a cortege following the mother's bier, as, for example, in "Fleurs et Couronnes", one of her two short stories in,French: "... le char qui em portait la dame d'en face corrodee par le cancer. U n jeune medecin au visage consume se tenait a la tete du convoi. Cette femme qu'il avait soignee en vain etait la sienne." Shortly after his wife's death, Prismanova's father reitiarried, giving his daughters a new mother.
Latvia, her birthplace Libau and her childhood spent there,, were all to have a considerable influence on Prismanova's artistic work. The sand, sea, wind and dunes, the deserted boulevards, fishermen, the northern light, the lighthouses, amber, the scent of fir trees, they would be a lifelong source of inspiration for Prismanova. ("Pesok", 92) The general unrest and uncertainty following the outbreak of the Rus­ sian revolution and the proclamation of an independent Latvian state caused the Prismanova family to move to Moscow. In Literaturnaja zizn' russkogo Pariza zapolveka Terapiano mentions that Prismanova published her first poems in Moscow in this period. I have not found any evidence to corroborate this fact, however.
the universities were closed, social life was paralyzed and food was scarce. A t the beginning of the twenties the three Prismanova sisters fled Moscow by jumping on the roof of an already moving, overcrowded carriage of the train to Berlin. The publication of two poems in Andrej Bely's Berlin-based journal Epopeja in 1923 may be taken as an indica­ tion that Prismanova lived and worked in the German capital during this period. It is reported that she took an active part in Russian literary life there and published in several journals and almanacs.
By 1924 Prismanova must have arrived in Paris, because it is there that she met her husband-to-be and companion, Aleksandr Ginger whom she married in 1926. They were to have two sons, Basile (1925) and Serge (1928).
In the few references to Prismanova and Ginger which I have been able to find, the couple are often described as 'cudaki' or 'cudesnaja para'. Z. Sachovskaja writes: " O b l i k o m pochodili oni neskol'ko na chimer, no po svoemu duchovnomu obliku suscestva byli seraficeskie, vecno iscuscie."
" O n a dvuch izmerinij—figura iz Model' jani—on pochodil na star'evsika s gomed'skoj baracholki."
Prismanova belonged to the first 'wave' of emigres. They included not only many aristocrats, but also intellectuals, writers and artists who had fled the severe censorship and other restrictions imposed by the new regime. The authors belonging to this first 'wave' can be divided into two groups. The 'older' writers, such as Bunin, Gippius, Merezkovskij and Teffi, had already established a name back in Russia. The group of 'younger' writers, sometimes referred to as 'nezamecennoe pokolenie', consisted of those who had begun their careers in exile. The living conditions of this second group were on the whole miserable. The younger authors found it hard if not impossible to muster attention for their work and received only scanty support from their 'older' col­ leagues. In 1925 they joined forces in the "Sojuz molodych pisatelej i poetov". This 'union' organized literary soirees, where members recited from their work or debated all sorts of literary issues. Although they held differing views on life and art, they felt they had one aim in com­ mon: the preservation and enrichment of the Russian culture.
it supported the group of younger writers and did not think very highly of the established, older generation.
As an 'older' writer among 'younger' colleagues Prismanova had an authority which she did not always exercise in as stimulating a manner as possible: her criticism was frank and straightforward, at times unrelenting. Terapiano tells us of her habit of trying to persuade young female poets to give up their literary ambitions. Quite often she did not succeed, but Terapiano recalls one case of a young poetess who took Prismanova's advice to heart. With barely suppressed irritation he writes: " N o vse-ze ne mogu prostit' Prismanovoj togo, cto imenno po sle takich razgovorov odna junaja, no ocen' odarennaja nacinavsaja, N.
Z-a, brosila pisat' stichi—brosila, konecno, sovsem naprasno." Pris­ manova's attitude probably originated from her own poetic struggle, a struggle which she took so seriously but which earned her so little.
("Lekarstvo", 67) The Sunday afternoon gatherings at the house of M r and Mrs Merezkovskij-Gippius, where subjects of a philosophical, religious or literary nature were discussed, were attended by writers of both the younger and the older generation. Even though Prismanova and Ginger were evidently interested in these matters, they took no part in the meetings. This, according to Terapiano, had to do with a rather painful incident which had taken place during the couple's first and only visit.
A t some point in the conversation Merezkovskij had stated that 'a per­ son's outward appearance, his face in particular, is expressive of his innermost being'. Fascinated by the uncommon appearances of Prisma­ nova and Ginger, he must have put forward his views with too much fer­ vour and too little tact, because the couple were insulted and left immediately.
In town the family found a place to live in the 15th Arrondisement.
Among the best friends of Ginger and Prismanova were painters as well as writers: Sarsun, who had been a friend of Ginger's since his early youth, Tereskovic, Sutin, Karskij, Karskaja, Kotlar and B l j u m. A particularly close friendship grew between Prismanova and the paintress Karskaja which lasted their entire lives. A portrait of Prismanova painted by Karskaja still remains as a tribute to this friendship.
There never existed anything like a real family life. Normally Prismanova's days began around noon, because she used to stay up through the night. She could only work in the silence which the night afforded her. Obviously this had its effect on the way Prismanova func tioned in her role of mother. When the children returned from school, she prepared them a meal which they ate seated at the kitchen table, while she herself used to watch them eat. A s soon as the children were old enough, Prismanova taught them the essentials of cooking so that they would be able to take care of themselves when their mother was in spired by her Muse. The family rarely observed public or religious holidays, neither Russian or French. O n Sundays the children were en trusted to the care of grandmother Ginger or friends: Mme Bljum or Mme Karskaja.
Unlike most other emigre writers arriving in Paris, Ginger was for tunate in that he could appeal to relatives who were reasonably well-off.
He found employment as a bookkeeper in a chemical firm which was managed by an uncle of his. From 1929 to 1932 the family lived in Ser quigny, a small village in Normandy, where a local branch of the chemical firm was situated. In this way the family were assured of a regular source of income.
' A d d to this that Aleksandr Ginger was one of these persons whose lives sometimes seem to be favoured by chance. Standing on the rear platform of a bus that came to an abrupt halt, Ginger suffered a shin injury. He vus awarded 6000 francs damages from the bus company— quite a sum in those days. With this money the family bought a minuscule country house on Villenes-sur-Seine, an island in the river Seine. The house was situated on a stretch of land which was run by two gentlemen with Utopian inclinations. Rumour had it that people went around naked there, but in actual fact they wore bathing suits and simply loved the outdoors. Here the family spent their weekends and holidays.
The beginning of the 1930s witnessed the rise of a number of different literary groups within the emigre movement. The most important among them was the "Parizskaja N o t a ", a group of writers loosely gathered around Adamovic, the poet and critic. Humanity and simplici ty were key notions to this group, which produced a 'diary-like poetry' in which a 'subtle web' of parentheses and periods concealed intimate outpourings concerning eternal themes as love, death and native land.
V. Chodasevic was the driving force behind another group, "Perekre stok", which emphasized the poet's craftsmanship: instead of wasting time theorizing, one had better 'write good verse'. A third group, known as the "Formists", consisted of Korvin-Piotrovskij and Prismanova. They were irreconcilable opponents of D. Merezkovskij's and Z. Gippius's Sunday afternoon club and the "Perekrestok" group.
The "Formists" sought to achieve a sharpening and perfection of form, radically opposing anything resembling metaphysics or literary ideology.
To what extent the group operated independently or was identical to " K o c e v ' e ", a group founded by M. Slonim in the twenties, or should perhaps be regarded as continuation of " K o c e v ' e ", I have not been able to establish. Slonim claims that " K o c e v ' e ", after 104 sessions held over a period of ten years, ceased to exist in 1938. Terapiano, who offers the most comprehensive account of this subject but informs us con­ tradictorily about the time of foundation of the "Formists", does, however, treat both groups separately. He is the only one to mention that the "Formists" were the only group that continued to exist until after the war, adding that this is probably due to the group's small number of adherents and its lack of ideology.
G. Struve sees the "Formists" as forming part of " K o c e v ' e " : " V sostave ее (Kocev'e) naibolee charakternymi "formistami" byli Aleksandr Ginger i A n n a Prismanova, otcasti Boris Poplavskij, no for mal'no к nej prinadlezali i nepochozie na nich Antonin Ladinskij i Vadim Andreev, vo mnogom bolee blizkie к " P e r e k r e s t k u ". " M.
Slonim describes them as a group of young supporters of " K o c e v ' e " but does not use the word "Formists". According to Slonim, this group did not mix with those gathered around Adamovic, showed a keen in­ terest in Soviet poetry and questions related to form, and felt affinity with poets, like Pasternak and Cvetaeva.
Присманова кидается нам навстречу. Ей и в голову не приходит, что из-за нас может произойти какое-нибудь недоразумение. Она вообще вряд ли знает о взаимоотношениях своих друзей и знакомых. Э т о ее не интере­ сует. Она выше всего этого, постоянно витая в заоблачных сферах с н е й.
We know for certain, however, that Prismanova admired Cvetaeva's poetry. Janovskij mentions how Cvetaeva sold him her son's leather jacket before departing for the Soviet Union. Prismanova acted as an intermediary in the transaction, so Janovskij and Cvetaeva both went to visit Prismanova in her hotel on the Boulevard Pasteur. When the deal was done and Cvetaeva lingered on for a while in Prismanova's room, Prismanova caught up with Janovskij, who was already downstairs, and quite 'dobrosovestno' began to praise Cvetaeva's poems. " К а к budto stichi iscerpyvajut z i z n ' ".
If a friendship between Prismanova and Cvetaeva ever existed, it never was a very intimate one. Losskaja speaks about the relationship between the " P r i s m a n o v y " and Cvetaeva in the most articulate terms.
they were on friendly terms, not very close, and did not see each other very frequently.
Prismanova's first collection Ten' i telo saw the light in 1937.
In the summer of 1939 Ginger and Prismanova spent their holidays together with their children in Fournols, a small village in the Auvergne.
With the war impending, they postponed their return to Paris at the end of the season. Prismanova stayed behind with the children, who also went to school there. She was at times assisted by M m e Bljum. Ginger went back, however, to resume work in Paris.
Back in Paris Ginger refused to wear the Star of David. Not for fear, as his son explains, but because he thought it wrong to classify human beings according to race, like animals. Ginger's mother, whom he had not been able to win over to his point of view, did wear her Star. During a razzia she was captured by the Germans and deported to Auschwitz where she died in 1942. Ginger, Prismanova and the children survived the war unscathed.
the "Porazency" adopted a more passive attitude, more or less hoping that the two warring parties—nazis and communists—would slaughter each other.
After the war the ideas of the former resulted in the founding of so called Repatriate-unions—"Sojuzy vozvrascencev". It goes without saying that the Russian community then was easy prey to Soviet prop aganda, which took advantage of the upsurge of patriotism during and following the war. Repatriates would be welcomed as brothers in their native country!
Among writers and artists these feelings were also very much alive.
Prismanova and Ginger too felt sympathetic toward the repatriates.
According to Kasack and Berberova Prismanova and Ginger ac quired Soviet passports in 1946. Let me go into this a little deeper. As mentioned above, Ginger's situation in France was stabler than that of most other emigres. His uncle, the manager of the chemical firm, had seen to it that Ginger and his mother had been able to enter France legal ly on Soviet passports in 1919. Ginger, however, forgot to renew his passport on time and acquired a so-called 'Nansen passport'. Shortly before the war he had submitted a request to obtain French nationality, but he considered the required sum of 50,000 francs too high. The children had adopted French nationality already at the beginning of the thirties. Unfortunately very little is known about Prismanova's na tionality. After the war Ginger and Prismanova take on Soviet passports and nationality, incited by fierce propaganda which tried to persuade emigres to return to their homeland. But the nationalistic sen timents would not last very long. According to Prismanova's son, Basile Ginger, his parents have never seriously considered returning to the Soviet Union for good. Prismanova's sister did go back to the Soviet Union, but her return was first of all prompted by her wish to join her son who had left for the Soviet Union at an earlier stage.
A substantial part of Prismanova's literary production was realized in the years immediately following the war. Her second collection of verse Bliznecy was published in 1946 while the third collection Sol' appeared in 1949. During the last years of her life Prismanova worked j on Vera, a "liriceskaja povest'", devoted to the revolutionary/ aristocrat Vera Figner. Vera was published in 1960, the year of Prismanova's death.
As the years went by, Prismanova became more and more inclined to conceal her real age. When asked about her age, she answered evasively or pretended to be younger than she was in reality. She refused to let herself be photographed and cut photographs of herself into pieces or spilt ink on them.
Although Prismanova was known to suffer from a heart condition in those last years, her death came unexpectedly in the morning of November 1960. Prismanova was lying quietly on her bed and when Ginger came back home, she was gone. She was buried at Thiers, a cemetery south of Paris. Prismanova's death was an incredible blow to Aleksandr Ginger. His zest for living gradually left him and he became sick. He died in 1965, five years after A n n a.
Anna Prismanova's oeuvre comprises four volumes of 193 poems altogether, some 20 poems that were only published in journals or almanacs, one short story in Russian and two in French.
Her entire work, including both poetry and prose, shows a strong in ternal coherence. It is because of the multitude of images continually referring to each other on different levels, the allitterations, the frequent ly used iambic pentameters, that we have to consider Prismanova's oeuvre as a whole, with the Poet and the Muse figuring as the principal characters. A s far as I know, Prismanova has not left behind any letters or critical writings in which she could have stated her views on poetry and art. Thus all that can be said about Prismanova's thoughts and ideas about poetry can only be distilled from the poetry itself.
As regards her themes, Prismanova finds herself at a considerable distance from the poets of the "Parizskaja N o t a ". This group of poets produced a humanistically tinged sort of poetry which dealt with eternal themes such as love, death, homeland and so on, subjects which concern any of us. Prismanova on the other hand keeps asking herself the same questions over and over again, throughout her entire work. H o w to be be a poet? A n d, more specific, how to be a poet in the emigration? For the most part her poems are concerned with the poet himself and the creative act of writing poetry.
" N e na pustyne derzitsja iskusstvo,/ a na rabote strazduscej dusi."
or, to use Prismanova's own words, to free the blood from the bone, the 'uzkij skelet'. Prismanova never abandons this theme. In her extreme efforts to fathom her own depths she wants her voice to sound as pure, as uni­ que as possible.
poetic musicality comes in second place. She speaks through her images: grotesque, alienating, sometimes brutal or comical. She is fond of sudden and unexpected changes of style. She builds her images with highly unusual, far-fetched words, many of them archaic. For example, this is how she conjures up a picture of an old piano teacher and spinster.
The poet is advised to stand as close to the light as possible for the con­ tours of his shadow to be as sharp as can be: "poblize k svetu stan', poet/ostanes'sja chot' siluetom." (46) A figure Prismanova frequently employs is the replacement of one image in an antithetical pair with another image derived from the original one. In the poem " T e n ' i telo" for instance we see how the op­ positions " n o c ' - d e n ' " and "snovidenie-jav'" remain nicely in step with each other until the expected " d u s a " (as the counterpart of "telo") fails to appear. Instead " t e n " ' is introduced to counterbalance " d u s a ", which not only has an alienating effect, but also gives greater depth to the image. This is the sort of figure which Prismanova uses on a large scale. Throughout her work words seem to lead lives of their own, developing new symbolic meanings. The opposing worlds of the poet are reflected in " r o z a " (day)—"roz"' (night). The poet herself is rep­ resented as a drudge (sluzanka)—gypsy woman (cyganka), Cinderella (Zoluska)—fortune-teller (gadalka). The autumn leaf (osennij list) stands for dying off, a loathing for life, death. "Pero-krylo-ptica" represents the poetical instrument and inspiration.
time and again we see a shift in imagery when a thematical change oc­ curs, while the basic oppositions remain intact. The pair of images "sluzanka" (telo)—"cyganka" (ten') of Ten* i telo transforms into " c i n o v n i k " (kosf)—"kusnec" (krov') in Bliznecy.
In this collection Prismanova develops into an 'imaginary' poetess.
Original, funny and fairy-like is the dancing soul walking the tightrope in undersized boots (10), the soul that has outgrown her dress (14) and the dream walking about in seven-league boots (13). The image of the gypsy-woman is surely one of the finest in the collection: "Pjata ее v zole i zolotye/pustye busy v zolobe kljucic" ("Cyganka", 23).
A highlight is also the poem "Razve pomnit sadovnik, otkinuvsij stekla к vesne", dedicated to Vladislav Chodasevic (27). Exceptional through its anapestic foot, its closing stanza captures the essence of Prismanova's outlook on life in this terse image: " V e d ' i chram ne us lysit, как padaet telo sveci,/otdavavsej po kaple sebja na s"eden'e molitve."
The structure of this collection is not yet as well thought-out as is the case with her later volumes. Some poems have no title and the collection is not subdivided into cycles, nor does it have an opening or concluding poem. Most poems in this collection are dated and have been written in the period between 1931 and 1936. (With the exception of the "Zelenyj dvorik" (8) and "Napugany voron'im graem" (36), written in 1929.) They have not been arranged in chronological order but accord­ ing to content. For instance, the three poems containing references to the poet Lermontov ("Nedolgovecna polnaja l u n a " (28), " D o r o g a " (29), "Najdja mesok nezdesnego dobra" (30)) have been grouped together although they were written in different periods. The opening lines of " G o b e l e n ", written in 1936, seem to react directly to the open­ ing of the preceding poem: " N e oscuscaja sobstvennogo gruza", a poem composed in 1932.
an opening and closing poem embrace six cycles of equal length.
In Bliznecy Prismanova employs the antithetical pair of images " k r o v ' " — " k o s f ", or, as she states in the opening poem of this collec­ tion: "kost' trezvosti i krov' ognja."
There are frequent references to biblical imagery and parables, such as the miraculous draught of fishes and the seed on the rock. The theme of the original sin is dealt with in " Z m e j " (70) and " J a d " (71). The symbol 'blood' is replaced with snake poison (venom), which Prisma— nova, unlike the bible, regards not so much as a source of evil, but of poetic inspiration.
A poem with which Prismanova was quite successful in public readings was " L o s a d " ', (115). It gives us visions from a dream, rep resented as an enormous, living phantom horse rattling down the boulevard with milk cans that for a moment makes us forget the worries and hassle of the day. Then the poet suddenly and almost rudely inter rupts: " M n e kazetsja togda, cto ja/okoncus' v dome sumassedsich."
Although Prismanova never directly refers to her stay in exile, some of her poems dealing with her feelings of dissociation and detachment, seem to do just that. She is wandering around, or lives in an aquarium where, deprived of her homeland's "sneg, bereza, birjuza, rjabina", she has to be content with the amber-like transparent glass on the bot tom. (41) In Bliznecy this train of thought is followed, for example in " V o d o l a z " (51), where the poet stays alive, like a diver with a snorkel—"trubka"—but deep down under water she is conscious of the solitude and maladjustment. H o w can she, whose name A n n a means blessing, live up to her name in a country where the people do not speak her language?: " N o cto mogu ja otcej pocve dat'?/lis' slovo pomnju vmesto blagodati." ("Pesok", 92). There is more room for reminiscing in this collection, as for example in the cycle Pesok, where people and places of the past play an important role.
the only rumbling she hears is in a thunderstorm. Her struggle takes place within herself and she herself is her own victim. Only twice in her collected work do we come across the city of Paris. ( " C a j ", 153 and "Strelok", 98).
The collection entitled Sol' is not so much founded on antithesis. The notion of 'salt' conveys for Prismanova the elements sorrow (tears) and native ground (the Baltic). Already in the preceding collection she sym bolizes her native soil and the longing for it with the image of an oyster who lives in a salt mixture and gives birth to a pearl—"sijan'e skrytoj b o l i " —, an embodiment of tears. ( " P i s m o ", 77). The poet seeks to give her verse all the salt that is in her, which is "not the salt you buy in the market". O n the whole the mood is gloomy and more laborious, in places apologetic. She is searching for someone to talk to, but, although the tone she has adopted is very human, it is abstractions she addresses as though they were human beings: " N o sobesednika, к nescast'ju net/ja razgovarivaju s pustotoju." (117). The tone of " G o l o d " (138) is almost emotional and its syntax is, very unlike Prismanova, transparent. A sense of realism seems to announce itself.
The search will appear to be in vain, but she gains strength from the lines which she chose as epigraph, written by the female poet Karolina Pavlova: " K t o tscetno iscet—ne bednee/togo, byt'-mozet, kto nasel."
Apart from a number of separated poems, Sol* contains four cycles of poems, the longest of which is dedicated to the moon. Just like herself the moon is no more than a head or part thereof (the moon's sickle). It is the source of her 'lunacy' and inspiration and it is, just as she, in search of the "voploscenija bytija".
It is however, not so much the heroic as the human aspect which fascinates Prismanova in the figure of Figner: " i s k a f v geroe prosto celoveka, gerojskoje ostaviv v storone" (192). In addition she perceives a resemblance between Figner's real imprisonment and her own stay in exile and her sealed-off inner self. Figner is introduced to the reader in fragments: through picturesque descriptions we are given glimpses of the heroine's youth, her personal love and love for her country, her social awakening and involvement in terrorist deeds and her life in prison. Prismanova's preference for this narrative form had already manifested itself in 1947 with the publication of the cycle Epizody, sub­ titled "Detstvo Nekrasova", in the journal Novosel'e. The structure, the character sketch of the protagonist, the description of birthplace and native land and the emphatic presence of the poet lead one to the assumption that " E p i z o d y " can be regarded as a predecessor of Vera.
Surrealism has largely been replaced with a more realistic outlook and a more carefully balanced composition.
In no way can Prismanova be seen as an innovator in rhyme or metre, such as, for example, Marina Cvetaeva or Dovit Knut. Poetic musicality or experiment did not have priority for Prismanova. The use of the disyllabic foot is predominant in all her poems with an extreme preference shown for the iamb: 85% her of work is iambic, 12% trochaic and only 3% is written in a trisyllabic foot.
With these percentages she is easily ahead of anybody in the then popular tendency among the young generation of poets. A few figures illustrate this: in the period 1920-1940 59% of the literary production of this generation of poets is iambic against 48% with the older poets.
The younger poets preferred the iambic pentameter (49%). In this respect as well Prismanova fits in with this group: more than half of her entire poetical work (53%) is composed in iambic pentameters. The col­ lection Bliznecy is in the lead with 67%.
In the last two collections Sol' and Vera Prismanova departs more and more frequently from this strict regime of stanza structure and metre.
In Sol' the quatrain is at times exchanged for an octave, a sextet or even the odd quintet, while in Vera the amount of trochaic verse is reduced to 26% (the use of the iamb goes down to a record low of 71%). Ten' i telo has the highest percentage of trisyllabic feet (8.5%). The anapestic marching rhythm is very adequately employed in: "Nastojascij voiteP javljaetsja pusecnym mjasom" (4).
cercueil, corbillard, char, convoi, cancer, cloches, cierges, catafalque.
Together these words relate the story of the burial of the main charac­ ter's mother.
On the one hand the use of alliteration contributes to the compactness of her work, on the other hand it is an opportunity for Prismanova to play with words to her heart's content ( „ Л у н а ", 147).
Prismanova's entire prose work consists of a short story in Russian, " O gorode i ogorode" which was published posthumously in Mosty in 1966, and two stories in French, "Les C o q s " and "Fleurs et Couron­ nes", published in 1942 and 1946, respectively, in Cahiers du Sud under the name Anne Ginger. These stories are inextricably bound up with.Prismanova's poetry both as regards their form—they are interlarded with wordplay and alliteration—and their content. In addition these— strongly biographical—stories shed light on some of the uncertainties relating to Prismanova's manner of working and her life.
Since " O gorode i ogorode" is not dated—it was published posthumously in 1966—it is difficult to recover the original date of com­ position. One can establish a clear similarity, however, with a few of Prismanova's more narrative poems. The heroine of " Z i z n ' Frederiki Forst" (25), for example, a poem written in 1931, does not only share a German family name with the heroine of " O gorode i ogorode", Amalija Zontag. Both are piano teachers in a small town on the coast, unmarried against their will after having once and unhappily loved.
Driven by fate both women escape their solitude and the petty at­ mosphere of the place by setting off to the harbour in the early evening, chatting to themselves and throwing a handful of bread to the seagulls (Frederika Forst). Or, like Amalija Zontag, by retiring into her vegetable garden outside the town, into which nobody can throw a stone. Her neighbour, however, is an exception and every now and then he manages to throw a stone into her garden: "vyzyvaja ее na ocerednoe, otnjud' ne platoniceskoe, svidanie."
The narrative structure of the story deserves some attention. It sets out in third person. After the description of the little town and a retrospective picture of the heroine's mother, the reader is abruptly in­ troduced to the heroine who follows her mother's bier and he is witness to her making a solemn decision to devote her life to music. A t that point the author intervenes: "vmesto togo, ctoby vesti ее tuda, gde s nej moglo by proizojti cto-nibud' neobycnoe, on [the author] passivno sleduet za nej, opisyvaja tol'ko to, cto dejstvitel'no s nej proischodit."
the coast be Baltic, her eyes: Spanish, her nose: Lappish, the place: the window overlooking the pharmacy. From that vantage point the reader acquaints himself with the village and its inhabitants.
As mentioned earlier, the story as regards form is not far removed from Prismanova's poetical work. It is full of alliteration and assonance, chiasm, repetition, which together endow the story with a certain lyrical quality: " A m a l i j a sama zastavila avtora ostavit' ее navsegda Or: " V d o P provincialnich domov prochodit gubiteP zen skich serdec... Prochodit stekol'scik... Prochodjat gruzciki... Procho djat gody Her prose is highly imaginary, almost cinematic, with surrealistic images suddenly popping up and vanishing, just as abruptly. Sometimes this makes for a striking picture, as is the case with the description of a scene on a rainy day: " G r u p p a tolsten'kich strarickov, sobravsichsja pod zontami u derev'ja, kazalas' semejkoj krypnich, neozidanno vy nyrnyvsich posle dozdja gribov." Another instance of a crude and far-fetched image is the following description of the heroine's mad cousin: "Ploskogolovyj sub"ekt s vystupajuscej celjustju i kosjascimi glazami... " Not everyone was delighted with Prismanova's style of writing. She was accused of 'artificiality', 'parading the grotesque' and more than once the term "kosnojazycnost"' was used in relation to her. According to Georgij A d a m o v i c her poems are exclusively aimed at specialists. This remark should be understood in the context of Adamovic's theory that poetry in general can be divided into three categories. Poetry which ap­ peals to everybody falls into the first category. The second category comprises poetry which is characterized by a high-flown, poetic style and is therefore better liked by experienced readers. The third category, to which Prismanova's work would belong, is reserved for poetry only to be read by experts. Bachrach is of the opinion that Prismanova has not found what she was after, but that her efforts, in spite of this, have not been in vain. With her "lico neobscim vyrazen'em" she is said to have introduced something very characteristic into the Russian literature.
Terapiano takes a rather gloomy view of Prismanova's literary achievement. He is sorry for her belated adoption of a more realistic style and is convinced that, had she not so stubbornly been trying to reshape poetry, she would have developed into one of the most respected poets, given her unmistakable talent.
It is this doggedness which provokes resistance or irritation, but above all, inspires awe in us of someone who, in spite of the vacuum of exile, dutifully sought her own Muse and delivered her from the bone, in order to pay tribute to her in unic verse.
I would like to express my gratitude to M r Basile Ginger, who not only granted permission to reprint the work of A n n a Prismanova, but also supplied invaluable information during two visits I paid him in January and May 1988, which greatly helped me in the preparation of the intro­ duction. I also wish to thank M r Leonid Rubet, Prismanova's nephew, who was r.esent during my first visit, as well as the staff of the Bibliotheque Turgenev in Paris, who helped to locate a great many un­ collected items, all of which are included in this edition. A final word of thanks is due to M u r k Boerstra for help with the English translation and to Jan Timmers for many stimulating discussions and continuous support. Needless to say all remaining errors are my own.
1 There is a recollection of Prismanova's stepmother Sophie in the poem enti tled "Sofija" in the collection Bliznecy.
2 J. Terapiano, Literaturnajazizn* russkogo Pariza zapolveka, (1924-1974) esse, vospominanija, stat'i, Pariz-N'ju-Jork: Al'batros-Tret'ja Volna, 1987, 113. The chapter devoted to Prismanova is based on an article "Anna Prismanova", Russkaja Mysl\ No. 28 (1974), 8-9, which was published as part of a series "Iz knigi 'Zarubeznye poety'".
3 The poems "Net vesnoj na svete lisnich: radost' vsjakomu!" and "Cto ni vecer lunnyj plug" belong to Prismanova's earliest known poems. Both poems are included in this edition. They are the earliest poems I have been able to find and the only ones from Prismanova's pre-Parisian period.
5 Z. Sachovskaja, Otrazenija, Pariz: YMCA-Press, 1975, 49.
6 Unpublished letter from Ju. Ivask addressed to the poet V. Perelesin dated 14 October 1985. This letter is kept in the Perelesin Collection in the Leiden University Library.
7 Volja Rossii, No. 3 (1926), 46.
8 After the book with the same title by V. Varsavskij, N'ju-Jork: IzdatePstvo imeni Cechova, 1956.
YMCA-Press, 1984, 329. It is said here that the 'older' writers would not be younger than G. Ivanov and G. Adamovic, both of whom were born in 1894.
The 'younger' writers would have been born between 1900 and 1910. If we ac cept this division, it means that Prismanova would belong to the older genera tion also on account of her age.
10 Terapiano, op. cit., 232.
12 A friend of Picasso's and also a writer. It is quite plausible that it was Sarsun who introduced Aleksandr Ginger to the painters.
13 M. Bljum and K. Tereskovic also worked for the abundantly illustrated magazine Cisla (1930-1934).
14 M. Slonim, "Volja Rossii" in: Russkaja literatura v emigracii, Pitts burgh: Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Pittsburgh. Slavic series, No. 1, 1972, 299-300.
15 In Literaturnaja zizn' russkogo Pariza za polveka, in the chapter entitled "Oppozicija 'Zelenoj Lampe' i 'Cislam'" from 1972, Terapiano (op. cit., 133) claims that the 'Kocev'e' group was founded in the second half of the thirties and was the only group to survive the war. In his chapter on Prismanova (1974), however, he suggests that 'Kocev'e' came into being in the first years after the war (p. 235). In the chapter on Korvin-Piotrovskij (1970) in the same book, he mentions the lack of success of the group, both before and after the war (p.
16 Struve, op. cit., 331.
17 V. Losskaja, Marina Cvetaeva v zizni, Neizdannye vospominanija sovremennikov, Tenafly, N.J: Ermitaz, 1989, 200.
18 Sachovskaja, op. cit., 167.
19 I. Odoevceva, Na beregach Seny, Paris: La Presse Libre, 1983, 125-129.
20 V. Janovskij, Polja elisejskie. Kniga pamjati, N'ju-Jork: Serebrjanyj vek, 1983, 246-247.
21 Losskaja, op. cit., 200. There is another instance where Losskaja makes an incorrect reference to Ginger and Prismanova: "Takaja Ginger, zena Prismanova...", (op. cit., 110).
22 Losskaja, op. cit., 199.
24 Prismanova has dedicated a number of her poems to repatriate poets, such as A. Ladinskij and V. Andreev.
25 W. Kasack, Lexikon der russischen Literatur ab 1917. Erganzungsband, Munchen: Sagner, 1986, 152.
26 N. Berberova, Kursiv moj. Avtobiografija, 2-е izd., ispr. i dopoln. — New York: Russica Publishers, 1983, 546.
27 Personal communication. Letter dated 7 xii 1989.
28 This may serve as an explanation for the fact that Prismanova's year of birth is sometimes incorrectly stated or simply omitted.
29 M. Slonim, "Parizskie Poety", Novosel'e 29/30 (1946), 89-96.
30 'Early poems' is meant to refer to all uncollected poems that appeared before Ten' i telo (1937).
31 Here I base myself on the data in G. S. Smith's article "The Versification of Russian Emigre Poetry, 1920-1940", The Slavonic and East European Review 56 (1978), 32-46.
32 The Russian expression 'kinut' kamen" means 'to reproach somebody'.
33 G. Adamovic, Russkie Novosti, 6 December 1946.
34 A. Bachrach, "Pamjati Anny Prismanovoj", in Mosty, 6 (1961), 365-368.
Anna Prismanova", Russka­ ja Mysl\ No. 28 (1974), 9.
С ночных в ы с о т они не сводят глаз, под красным солнцем крадутся как в о р ы, его воркующие р а з г о в о р ы.
Чудесно колебались, ч т о ни миг, две чаши сердца: нежность и измена.
Ему друзьями черви б ы л и книг, забор и звезды, пение и пена.
Он видел т о, чего на свете нет.
Он стал д о б р о : прими его, природа.
Т ы листьями верни, о ж е л т ы й лес, оставшимся — сияние Бориса.
Д а д у т ли в жизни будущей венцы взамен неисцелимого порока?
Таких — не у т е ш а ю т леденцы, глаза их в синеве сидят глубоко.
Подчеркивает м р а м о р н о с т ь чела не локон: роковой венок уродства.
Лучистая, но льдистая скала не в силах д а т ь т р а в ы для скотоводства.
Н о эдельвейс, цветок пустых полей, пленяет нас среди в ы с о т громоздких.
других ее — высоких — недоростков.
Б ы т ь м о ж е т горб — сращение тех к р ы л, когда еще он херувимом б ы л.
Н о как найти к р ы л о в верблюжьей шкуре?
Н о вставши о т ночного столбняка, производительница м о л о к а — И озирая бедный свой надел, лесной ручей — о б л а г о с т н ы й удел! — в т и ш и журчит по мелкому песочку.
уж верхний слой в о д ы захолодел, но нижний пробивает оболочку.
Б ь ю т влагой в п л а м я. В д о м е слышен плач.
Д р о ж и т ф и т и л ь. И опытнейший врач к отчаянному прибегает средству.
Конец. У ж е над дерном ходит грач.
Н о как твое занятие, палач, огонь передается по наследству.
з о л о т о й ореол над собой он хоронит во м г л е.
Как под в е т р о м ветла, как жена перед иконостасом, расстилается он по укромной окопной земле.
в сером п л а т ь и она, в серой кухне стоит в уголке.
Так бесхитростно Золушка, вышколенная р а б о т о й, у стола засыпает с голубкой на голой руке.
Л и ш ь в полете своем снег действительно безукоризнен, но начало вещей и конец их пленяет у м ы.
П о веленью Водолея Солнце, сумерки жалея, небо уступает и м.
Тех же четырех наседок — просинь, л е т о, осень, снег — водит год, но напоследок п о з а б ы л их человек.
Не звездой теперь дорогу м е т и т он, а фонарем.
Сердце рощи понемногу истекает я н т а р е м.
П л а ч е т сосенка, для плясок наших данная костру.
Только сумрак видит звезды, белый день обидит их.
Л и ш ь в лощине козам роздых, в котловине — ветер тих.
Л и ш ь во сне цветами т е л о наше д ы ш и т не спеша.
Л и ш ь во сне вступает в дело одичалая душа.
И конец для нас загадка, и начало спит во м г л е.
Н а м и сумрачно и сладко б ы т ь на сей еще земле.
П о у т р у и здесь в т у м а н е клевер, на заре весенней розов он.
Н о весна о т нас пойдет на север, где стоял всю зиму санный звон, где стояли печи, ягод в а з ы, перед каруселью круглый р о т, в полке мальчик-с-пальчик, в о д о л а з ы, Озеро вернется, о поверьте!
запоет высоко перед с м е р т ь ю п о л ы й стебель, голая душа.
З а п л а т ы черепичные красны.
Зерно в земле побегами лучится.
Уверенная поступь у весны, нам у нее пристало-б поучиться.

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