Modern Russian Poetry/Sergey Gorodetzky

Sergey Gorodetzky

(1884-1921)

This rather uneven and sometimes slovenly poet worshiped at many shrines. He was a lyric myth-maker with Ivanov, a symbolist with Blok, an advocate of several fashionable doctrines, including mystical anarchy and mystical realism. At the head of the "Guild of Poets" which was formed shortly before the war, Gorodetzky attacked symbolism with Johnsonian zeal in the name of the "Acmeist" faith in realities. The poet became a jingo patriot when Russia entered the war, and later was as vociferously allied to the Bolsheviks as he had been to his Czar. His best work is informed with spirited spontaneity. The poetic restoration of the obscure Russian paganism, and a few lyrics carrying the dancing lilt of the folk-song, form his chief contribution.