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[VELIMIR KHLEBNIKOV] Nastoyashcheye: Poema / V. Khlebnikov. Stikhi / Al’vek. Bibliografiya [proizvedeniy V. Khlebnikova, 1908 - 1925] / V. Sillov. [i.e. Present: A Poem / V. Khlebnikov. Verses / Alvek. Bibliography [of V. Khlebnikov’s Works, 1908 - 1925]

Item #2011

Moscow: [izd. V.V. Khlebnikovoy], 1926. 39, [1] pp. 21.7x18.8 cm. In original publisher’s printed wrappers. Fine condition.

Rare. First edition. 1 of 2,000 copies.
An extremely rare first appearance in print of Velimir Khlebnikov’s revolutionary poem Nastoyashcheye [i.e. Present]. The poem came out in one book together with Khlebnikov’s first-ever bibliography by Vladimir Sillov, and a collection of four verses by Khebnikov’s close friend and fellow futurist poet Iosif Alvek (1895-1943). The book was published under the guidance of Vera Khlebnikova (1891-1941), a famous Russian avant-garde artist and Velimir Khlebnikov’s sister. Following Khlebnikov’s death, both, Vera and Alvek, began a campaign to denounce Khlebnikov’s friends, who not only allegedly “exploited” him during his lifetime but also hid his manuscripts after his death. In 1927, a year after publishing Khlebnikov’s Present, Alvek released the pamphlet Nakhlebniki Khlebnikova [i.e. Khlebnikov’s Freeloaders]. In the booklet, the author accused Mayakovsky and Aseev of hoarding Khlebnikov’s manuscripts and gradually incorporating the genius’s discoveries into their mediocre verses. The confrontation escalated during Mayakovsky’s reading of the poem Khorosho [i.e. Good] at the Polytechnic Museum, where Kruchenykh threw small pieces of the pamphlet into Alvek’s face.

Status: On Hold