Maiakovskii marginalia

[Steven Hill]

Dear colleagues:

In some Russian sources,  I have encountered tantalizingly brief references to an
obituary article about V V Maiakovskii, supposedly published in a Paris emigre periodical
after the poet's suicide in April  1930.  I can't recall the author's name, but it might have
been Levidov.  [  In any case, definitely separate from Jakobson's famous, reprinted
article, "Generation That Squandered Its Poets," which appeared at about the same
time. ]

As I recall, the wording of those tantalizing references tended to be very nasty -- i.e.,
the (Soviet) commentators on Maiakovskii hated what the emigre author (Levidov?)
supposedly had written about the "greatest Soviet poet."

But I've never seen a reprint of the ACTUAL TEXT of this "slanderous" Parisian obituary,
which for  some reason aroused the outrage of the (Soviet) Maiakovskii-scholars.

Has the "slanderous" obituary perhaps  been reprinted in recent years, in any French or
English or  Russian (post-Soviet)  publication?   -- If so,  a bibliogr. ref. would be much
appreciated!

Gratefully,
Steven P Hill (University of Illinois, USA).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------