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[A GUIDE FOR NOVICE WRITERS] Chto nado znat’ nachinayushchemu pisatelyu o postroyenii dramy [i.e. What a Novice Writer Should Know about the Construction of Drama]

Kraisky, A.

Leningrad: Krasnaya gazeta, 1929. Item #1667

84, [2] pp. 15x21.5 cm. In original publisher’s illustrated wrappers. Tears of the spine, otherwise good.
Scarce. First edition.

A MANUAL FOR NOVICE WRITERS ABOUT THE COMPOSITION OF DRAMATURGICAL WORKS WRITTEN BY ALEXEY KRAISKY (1891-1941), A RUSSIAN SOVIET POET, PLAYWRIGHT, AND LITERARY CRITIC.

Printed in 1929, this book serves as an interesting guide to the construction of dramatic Printed in 1929, this book is an exciting guide to constructing dramatic compositions for novice writers. The edition consists of four sections: General concepts of drama, Drama construction, Word and action, and Certain types of dramaturgical works. In the text, the author approaches the idea of drama as a work intended for acting on stage, and necessarily filled with movement and action and written in the form of a dialogue. Kraisky recommends all novice writers simultaneously master the craft of an artist and director, as well as thoroughly study the history of theatre and stage opportunities to understand a play better. The book lists critical elements that constitute a high-quality dramaturgical work: purposefulness, action, opposition, confrontation, and unity of activities.
Regarding the creation of the text, the author advises novice writers to characterize each hero in a way that would give an actor «a key to understanding his role.» According to Kraisky, the main work of a writer lies within the selection and combination of words and their consistency with movement. The author also underlines the necessity of placing remarks indicating the location of action before each act and names 7 cases when remarks are needed (when the tone of the spoken words does not correspond to the meaning, when the word is replaced by an action, etc.). The last chapter characterizes certain types of dramaturgical works (comedy and tragedy, drama, plays) and assesses the prospects for Soviet drama. The author touches upon Meyerhold’s experience and expresses his satisfaction with spreading Vsevolod’s ideas in other Soviet theatres. Kraisky also argues that the further development of Soviet drama is inevitably associated with rejecting the experience of pre-Soviet theatres.
Alexey Kraisky published his first poems in Malen’kaya gazeta [i.e. Small Newspaper] in 1916 and issued his first collection of poems Ulibky solntsa [i.e. Smiles of the Sun], three years later. In the early 1920s, Alexet was a member of the literary groups «Cosmist» and «Stroyka.» In 1926, he joined the movement of the creative minority of the Russian Association of Proletarian Writers.

Worldcat shows 2 copies of the edition in New York Public Library System and Stanford University Libraries.

Price: $350.00