Russkie Skazki - Merry Siskins

[Lily Alexander]

Dear Sasha and Robert,

Don't be too serious. I just sent it for fun. Love it. And I cannot wait 
to see Robert's new anthology on fairy tales..

Although Sasha, the image of Marshak and Kharms getting together to 
write (or "napet' ") a whimsical poem about the finches is wonderful - 
warms my heart.
Is it around the time when Chukovsky was writing his prophetic political 
pamphlet Tarakanishche?

L

Robert Chandler wrote:

>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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