Uot Uitmen. Poeziia griadushchei demokratii (Walt Whitman. Poetry of the Future Democracy)

Moskva / Petrograd : Gosudarstvennoe izdatelstvo, 1923. Good. Sixth, expanded edition, 1 of 5000 copies; 9 1/2 x 6 1/4; pp. [5], 6-165, [3]; pictorial wraps, designed by Evgenii Belukha; illustrated with portrait frontis of the author; rebacked, with several repairs to edges of wraps; in good to very good condition.Hailed as the Russian equivalent of Dr. Seuss, beloved poet andf author Korney Chukovsky (1882 - 1969) would be the second one to translate and popularize Walt Whitman in his country, while he was still in his early 20s. The first one would be one of giants of the Silver Age Konstantin Balmont (1867 - 1942),whom Chukovsky would consider a life-long rival and would mercilessly criticize his translations of Whitman. In fact, Korney dedicated part of his current work to specifically lambast Balmont's "Shoots of Grass" (his translation of "Leaves of Grass"). The other sections of the book featured his own translation of parts of "Leaves of Grass," as well as a biography of Walt, etc. Ultimately, Balmont would be mostly forgotten as a translator of Whitman, while Chukovsky's name would become synonymous with the latter's presence in Russian poetry.Evgenii Belukha (1889 - 1943), who illustrated the wraps, was a renowned artist and graphic designer of the early 20th century, who would also be remembered for his porcelain Soviet propaganda paintings.