Basni

New York: Published by the Author, 1947. Softcover. First edition; 4 1/2 x 6; pp. 46; red textured wraps printed in black; small nicks to tips and a bit of wear along spine; minor age-toning along margins; very good to near fine.Ukrainian author and linguist Mikhail Zherlitsyn immigrated to the US after the Revolution. He had previously written a study of Samuel Coleridge and the English Romanticism in 1914 while still in Odessa. In 1947 in New York he published several books of short stories and poems, including the present one titled, somewhat whimsically, 'Basni' ('Fables'). One might even find them a bit morbid as the first one is named "Obituary" and tells the story, in rhymes, of two violinists - a man and a monkey - who catch a cold while playing and die.