“Book of the Poet” as “Book of the Artist”: “Imago” by D. Dmitriev

• Main Author: Alexander A. Zhitenev
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Ural State Pedagogical University 2020-06-01
• Series: Филологический класс
• Subjects: literary reflection; russian poetry; russian poets; poetry collections; poetry; literary genres; painters.
• Online Access: https://filclass.ru/en/archive/2020/vol-25-2/kniga-poeta-kak-kniga-khudozhnika-imago-d-dmitrieva

In 2010s there is a number of systemic changes in the literary space. Some of them are related to changes in the perception of a poetry book and the way it is published. We can talk about several factors that determine the changes. All of them are related to the impact of the Internet. Firstly, a modern poetic text is usually published for the first time on a social network and has no differences from other content. Secondly, the Russian literary Internet is very large, and one can talk about overproduction of texts on it. Thirdly, the breadth of electronic books devalues the unique poetic book. In this situation, there is a need to reconsider the idea of the poet’s book. To become an event, the book of a poet should become both a project and an art book. Dmitry Dmitriev’s handwritten poetry collection “IMAGO. Kaspar Hauser and Flyspecked Portraits” (2018) typifies this process. In it, the idea of a poetry book is expanding in three directions. This book is connected with the traditions of the literary album – from the practices of literary albums of the 19th century to the poetic zines that appeared in Russia in the 2010s. This book is related to the publishing practice of preparing “books with expanded content.” Finally, this book has a number of similarities with the phenomenon of the “book of the artist.” This publication combines with the “book of the artist” the close connection between the text, the peculiarities of the visual and typographical solution, the perception of a poetic book as a unique art object. In Dmitriev’s book, the history of Kaspar Hauser turns out to be a starting point for thinking about the “other” in culture, about the mysteries of history, about the possibilities of historical cognition. Kaspar Hauser’s image correlates with the notion of instability of borders “nature” – “culture”, “human” – “insect”. All the directions of the poet’s reflection are not only reflected in the plot of the book, but also in its construction and visual solution.