Mandelstam in Georgia: New Information

Abstract

The article provides a detailed commentary on the first-ever publication in Russian of an entry from the diary of Georgian poet Galaktion Tabidze, dated October 31, 1930. This entry refers to Osip Mandelstam, Boris Pasternak, and the Georgian poetic group “The Blue Horns.” It reveals that Pasternak’s journey to Georgia in 1931 was conceived as early as the preceding year, 1930. Additionally, Tabidze’s diary entry contains crucial information about Mandelstam's attitude toward Pasternak in the late 1920s to early 1930s. Mandelstam perceived the invitation extended by Georgian poets to Pasternak to Tiflis as a personal offense. Finally, from this entry, one can understand why members of the “Blue Horns” group, particularly Titsian Tabidze, did not maintain contact with Mandelstam when he visited Georgia for the third time in his life in the autumn of 1930.

Keywords

• osip mandelstam
• boris pasternak
• the blue horns
• russian poetry
• georgian poetry