Modern Russian Poetry/Nikolai Klyuev

Nikolai Kluyev

This sophisticated folk-poet, a peasant by birth, began to write just before the outbreak of the war, when he brought out three volumes of verse within two years. His mastery of his medium has developed steadily. His imagery, vivid and concrete, derives from two sources: the routine of rural life and Christian symbolism. Kluyev hailed the social revolution, and Russia as its messiah. His most recent work, "The Izba Songs", has a quality of deep and original homeliness.