The Versification of the Poetry of «Sibirskie Ogni» (1922–1929): Between
Tradition and Vanguard

The article is devoted to the versification of poetry of «Sibirskie
Ogni» (1922–1929). This study is based on Gasparov’s work connected with the
history of Russian poetry from XVII to XX centuries. The Gasparov’s work has
opened the perspectives of investigation of Russian poetry in separate regions or
separate journals. That’s why we decided to examine the poetry of «Sibirskie
ogni» in aspects of meter, rhythm, rhyme and stanza. The choice of the journal
«Sibirskie Ogni» is not accidental. Unlike other editions, «Sibirskie Ogni» were
not connected with any literary organizations. So the journal published the poems
of various poets of both the aesthetics positions and the level of mastery.
The authors of journal were poets connected with traditional school of versification
– P. Dravert, P. Vasiliev, I. Utkin and modern poets attached to vanguard –
R. Ivnev who belonged to imagenizm, N. Aseev – the poet of Left front or
V. Itin who was the pupil of N. Gumilev. At the same time the poets of
«Sibirskie ogni» differed in the level of mastery. Together with famous poets
the journal opened their pages to poets belonged to workers or peasants. So these
circumstances allowed us to discover the peculiarity of the poetry of
«Sibirskie Ogni» as differential phenomenon from Russian poetry of 1920
years.
In aspect of meter the poetry of the journal demonstrated the significant differences.
The fall of interest to ternary meter had the significant exception in
«Sifirskie Ogni», which was connected with usage of amphibrachic meter,
which was perceived as meter of ballad. The development of tonic system also
was different from the Russian poetry of 1920 years. The evolution of «dolnik»
in siberian poetry was characterized by slow temp. At first half of 1920 years
«dolnik» had regulating character and often coincided with logaoedic meter but
at a second half it acquired unregulating sign resembling accentual verse.
The rhythm of trochaic and iambic verses also displayed the differences.
If Russian poetry of this period refused from pyrrihic on first foot in iamb 4 and
its substitution replacement – on second foot then the poetry of «Sibirskie Ogni»
demonstrated the balance of these parameters per line. At the same time the rare
texts discovered the using of uncommon exotic forms. For instance, in poem
«Kochevnik» («nomad») by Kondraty Urmanov there are forms with pyzzihy
on second and third feet (“Osedlomu ne pozaviduesh”).
In the art of rhymes poetry of «Sibirskie Ogni»”, in the whole repeated Russian
poetry tendency which is connected with refusal from the exact rhyme and
substitution replacement to approximate («priblizitelnaya») rhymes. Sometimes
poets used an exotic rhyme – composite rhyme (zdaniy / Don Juana), (yantarya /
all right) or a dissonance rhyme (minuty / pulemyoty).
Art of the stanzes of Siberian poetry repeated the tendency of Russian poetry.
The absence of interest to complex stanzes was general sign of poetry of this
period. From general number of 343 poetic texts we have found only 7 cases
(2 %) the poems with complex stanza. One case connected to using of pentima
(V. Itin – «My ne odni raz unizaem»), one case – of tenzina (V. Itin – «Meduza»), and one case – sestina (A. Kozlov – «Gul zhelaniy»). Beside this
zare forum we discovered – any sonnets («Taiga» by P. Ustyugov, «Tagilskie
sonety» by Dravezt, «Luna na nebe» by S. Vologskiy etc.) After 1925 year the
complex stanzes disappear from pages of «Sibirskie Ogni».
So the study of the versification of poetry of «Sibirskie Ogni» demonstrates
contradictory picture including both tendency – tradition vs vanguard.