Poezija [Poetry]. Signed and inscribed by Tysliava, Juozas (1902-1961) - 1935

New York: Lithuanian Press Corporation, 1935. Quarto (25.8 × 17 cm). Original pictorial wrappers; 60, [1] pp. Signed and inscribed by the author. Very good or better. Signed and inscribed copy of the first book published in American exile by Juozas Tysliava (1902-1961), who left Paris for the United States in 1932. Well-acquainted with the works of Marinetti and the Russian avant-garde, Tysliava was at times considered to be the Lithuanian Vladimir Mayakovsky. He began to publish verse in the symbolist manner and, in the mid-1920s, transitioned to a futurist lyrical style marked by fascination with the achievements of modernity and technological progress. Among other lyrics both old and new, the volume contains Tysliava's "radio poem" about Paris, which conjures a rich tapestry of the French capital, with numerous references to the subway, cars, streetcars, radio broadcasts from Buenos Aires and Africa-inspired cabaret performances, the Eiffel Tower, and the events of World War I. Other themes of these texts are soccer, airplanes, workers, and machinery. Evidently, an important link between Tysliava and the work of Marinetti was the Lithuanian constructivist artist Vytautas Kairiukštis (1890-1961): "It was Kairiukštis who drew Juozas Tysliava's attention to Marinetti and his ideas. He also commented on the first number of MUBA [A Lithuanian avant-garde journal published in Paris in 1928 and edited by Tysliava] in a private letter to Tysliava, emphasising that it would be worthwhile giving more attention to Futurism and its major representatives in the next issue of the review. As a result of his advice, Marinetti's greetings to the Lithuanian Futurists were published in the second number of MUBA" (G. Jankeviciute, "Manifestations of Futurism in Lithuanian Visual Art of the 1920s, in Yearbook of Futurism Studies, p. 189). KVK, OCLC show a single copy, at the University of Pennsylvania.