Teoriia svobodnogo stikha: zametki o poeticheskoi tekhnike [Theory of verse libre: notes on poetic technique] by Charles Vildrac, Georges Duhamel, and Vadim Shershenevich, translator

Moscow: Izd-vo "Imazhinisty", 1920. Octavo (17.5 × 13.5 cm). Original printed wrappers; 48 pp. Unopened and uncut. Wrappers detached; light foxing to wrappers; text evenly toned to stock, internally very good. First Russian language publication of Charles Vildrac (1882-1971) and Georges Duhamel's (1884-1966) 1910 "Notes sur la Technique poétique," translated with commentary by the Imaginist poet Vadim Shershenevich (1893-1942). The translation helped Shershenevich to further formulate his theory of "Imaginism" (Imazhinizm), a poetic movement he founded along with the poets Sergei Esenin and Anatoli Mariengof. Most closely associated with the Futurists, the Imaginists were especially active in Moscow in 1919-1924 and were popular with the audiences for the anarchic and sensationalist tendencies in their poetry. Shershenevich was in continuous competition with the Futurist Vladimir Maiakovsky; two poets both wrote texts for the ROSTA (Russian Telegraph Agency) window displays during the Russian Civil War (1918-1922). The rear wrapper of this edition contains a famous cubist portrait of Vadim Shershenevich done by Boris Erdman, a stage set designer who for a time belonged to the Imaginist group. Complete works of Shershenevich to date, including his dramatic works and his translations of Marinetti are listed on the inside of the front wrapper. A catalog of the "Imazhinisty" publishing house, appears on the inside of the rear wrapper, with Sergei Esenin listed as one of the editors. KVK, OCLC show the copies at Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Bamberg, BnF, Geneva, Getty, HvA, Wisconsin Madison, and Harvard. The copy at Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin is a war loss.