BORIS BOZHNEV’S «INFINITE CIRCLE»

Abstract

The article considers the work of the outstanding émigré Russian poet B. B. Bozhnev (1898– 1969). His fi rst book of poems Bor’ba za nesushchestvovan’e (The Struggle for Non-Existence) (Paris, 1925) is analyzed. Special emphasis is laid on the compositional structure of this collection of poetry, and on the problem of the title and the «kenotic» narrative of the fi nal poem «I est’ bor’ba za ne su-shchestvovan’e…» («And there is a struggle for non-existence…»). Besides, the article traces the reception of the poet’s writings, from the pronouncements of the emigrant literary critics to the modern studies, and addresses the issue of the controversial defi nition of B. Bozhnev’s poetry as «nihilistic» (G. P. Struve). In the stylistic analysis of The Struggle for Non-Existence and other lifetime editions of the poet, a special emphasis is laid on the «contracted phenomenon» of Bozhnev’s poetry space.