[INSCRIBED CIVIL WAR POETRY] - [Bonfire. Poems]: Костер. Стихи.

A remarkable example of revolutionary poetry during the Silver Age, and of provincial publishing during the Civil War.

A unique copy, with the linocut coloured by contemporary hand and inscribed by Evangulov and Ivnev(?) to the artist of the striking cover, Ivan Ivanov:

Талантливому автору нашей обложки худ. Ив. Иванову на память этот "Костер" горящий в наших умах / 17.IX.1920 / Геор[гий] Евангулов

[To the talented illustrator of the cover of our book, artist Iv. Ivanov, a gift of this "Campfire" lighting up our minds / 17.IX.1920 / Geor[giy] Evantulov].

Дорогой Ваничка! А дальше не хватило пороху. Р.И. [Рюрик Ивнев (?)].

[Dear Vanichka! To write more I haven't got what it takes. R.I. (Riurik Ivnev?)].

Very rare. WorldCat locates only one copy, in the Getty research Institute, to which we could add the RNB's copy, uncoloured. Not in Savine.

This collection of poems (which could also be translated as The Pyre) was published just some months after General Denikin was expelled by the Red Army from the city of Vladikavkaz in March 1920. The new authorities brought with them arbitrariness and repressions that found an immediate reflection in the works of local authors. Such was G. Astakhov's (G.A.) poem included in this collection:

"Не смутят нас слабых стоны / Добрым быть смешно; / Бой кипит, / молчат законы, / Все разрешено.

Вышли мы из старых рамок,/ Не бранись калека, / Да, на трупах строим замок / Для сверхчеловека" ("Красное Знамя" [The Red Banner], p. 10)

In 1920 Vladikavkaz was a transit city for many of those mobilized or displaced by the Civil war that were travelling between the Northern Caucasus and the European Russia. Its atmosphere was vividly described by Yuriy Sliozkin (1885—1947), a Russian writer, who was serving in the Committee for Public Education of Vladikavkaz in 1920 together with the young Mikhail Bulgakov:

"In Chernigov poets create under the stars of Blok and Bryusov, but in Vladikavkaz Mayakovsky dominates everything. In general, curiously enough, Vladikavkaz is rather "futuristic" in all the areas of life. […] Russian poets (there are five of them) publish their works in the periodical "Tvorchestvo" (The Creativity) printed by Kavrosta. This is the only organisation that still has paper. Around two months ago this same publisher issued a book "Campfire" with poems by Georgiy Evangulov, Riurik Ivnev and Konstantin Yust. […]. Then, as a separate book there was published "Noev Kovcheg" [Noah's Ark] - a novel by Evangulov, a young poet from Tiflis. However, the novel was immediately banned and confiscated. The reason for it was one short and very expressive word put on the pages of the novel by the author's brave hand." (Yuriy Sliozkin "Literatura v provintsii (Pismo iz Vladikavkaza)" [Literature in the province (A letter from Vladikavkaz), 1920).

Judging by the rarity of this "Campfire", the book might have had a similar fate to the Evangulov's "Noah's Ark".

It is not entirely clear how the provincial printers Terkavtsentropechat of our copy were linked with Kavrosta (Caucasian Russian Telegraph Agency), stated by Sliozkin to be the publishers of this edition. We could find only two other titles mentioning Terkavtsentropechat in the Russian State Library: "Noev Kovcheg" by Evangulov (mentioned above by Sliozkin) and a title by Liudmila Stal'.

Description
40 pp., original wrappers with a linocut to upper cover by Skrilnikov after Ivan Ivanov, with contemporary hand colour; a bit worn with some spotting, block clean.