Russkie Skazki - Merry Siskins

[Robert Chandler]

Thanks to you, Lily, for bringing the poem to my attention, and to you,
Sasha, for your illuminating commentary!  But I fear these finches will have
to remain Russian finches; I doubt that I could ever coax them into singing
their exuberant songs in English!

Best Wishes,

R.





> Dear Lily,
> 
> This poem was written together with Marshak. In fact, some people,
> including Sazhin, see this poem as Marshak's invention.
> I would prefer to state that Marshak¹s most whimsical fantasies ‹
> ³Cheerful Finches² (³Veselye chizhi², 1930) ‹ that features forty-four
> finches living in a Leningrad flat as a community of friends sharing
> household chores, playing music and whistling before going to sleep ‹
> was written jointly with Kharms. It was published in 1930 in the first
> issue of ³Finch² (³Chizh²). It was dedicated to orphanage number six
> on the Fontanka river in Leningrad.  The thrust of the poem lies in
> the sphere of exuberant rhythmical and sound variations challenging
> the rigidly organised models of the world presented in Soviet
> textbooks. Marshak claimed that the poem inteneded to imitate the
> allegro movement in Beethoven¹s seventh symphony.  See V.N. Sazhin¹s
> commentary in: Kharms, D. Sobranie sochinenii v 3 tomakh, volume 3:
> Tigr na ulitse, St Petersburg: Azbuka, p.229.
> I'm not sure whether one can define it as a fairy tale...
> 
> All best,
> Sasha Smith

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