20th Century Two Poetic Paradoxes: Gertrude Stein vis-a-vis Alexey Kruchenykh

Abstract

In this article, we will begin with two almost simultaneously written paradoxes of modernism / avant-garde. The first paradox is Gertrude Stein’s miniature “Sacred Emily”, a one-line poem that reads “Rose is a rose is a rose”. The second paradox is Alexey Kruchenykh’s abstract poem “Dyr byl schyl”. Both texts suggest a transition from a negative emotional state to a positive one, creating a complex aesthetic experience. At the heart of this experience is a re-evaluation of the poetic code as a meaningful and symbolic system, a source of meaning and knowledge. The reader interacts with this code as a collaborator and co-creator, adapting it to their own reality and giving it new meaning. These texts reflect the global artistic trends of the era, which were characterized by a shift towards a different type of representation, one that emphasizes the transmission of feelings and impressions. This vector is inherent in the creative works of both Gertrude Stein and Aleksey Kruchenykh. The artist's task is to induce a complex range of reactions in the recipient, which form a cognitive and creative experience, resulting in an epistemological reconfiguration. Focusing on a new approach to imitation (imitating an experience of reality, not reality itself), both Stein and Kruchenykh sought to accomplish a cognitive recalibration of the reader's mind through experimentation with language. Both Gertrude Stein and Alexey Kruchenykh identify peripheral and associative aspects of experience, create a complex of experiences based on these elements, and recreate them through language. This process is made possible by the suggestive, associative, and connotative power of language and artistic form.

Keywords

• modernism
• avant-garde
• poetic experiment
• pragmatics of a literary text
• gertrude stein
• alexey kruchenykh