The collection of Ivan Bunin’s poems “Falling Leaves” was printed by the publishing house “Scorpion”. This organization was created in 1899 by philanthropist Sergey Polyakov together with symbolist poets Valery Bryusov and Jurgis Baltrušaitis.
Interestingly, Bunin was not very close to the symbolists either in the subject matter or in the style, and in general viewed this literary style quite negatively. Symbolist literature was distinguished by a subtle, often decadent mood achieved through the use of images-symbols; whereas Bunin’s works were closer to the realist tradition, and included detailed descriptions of nature and characters. Nevertheless, he worked with the publishing house ‘Scorpion’ for about a year: from August 1900 to September 1901. At this time, Bunin’s collection of poems was being prepared for publication. Also, the short story “Late at Night” was published in the first issue of the Scorpion almanac “Severnye tsvety” (“Northern Flowers”).
However, this collaboration ended quite soon due to several reasons: the deterioration of Bunin’s personal relationship with Bryusov, the writer’s unwillingness to associate himself with the “Decadents” and his dissatisfaction with a small fee. The book sales were very low, and the publishing house could not pay the poet a decent salary.
Nevertheless, “Falling Leaves” — the fourth collection of Bunin’s poems — was published by ‘Scorpion’. It was named after the opening poem. The author dedicated it to Maxim Gorky. It begins with the words:
Interestingly, Bunin was not very close to the symbolists either in the subject matter or in the style, and in general viewed this literary style quite negatively. Symbolist literature was distinguished by a subtle, often decadent mood achieved through the use of images-symbols; whereas Bunin’s works were closer to the realist tradition, and included detailed descriptions of nature and characters. Nevertheless, he worked with the publishing house ‘Scorpion’ for about a year: from August 1900 to September 1901. At this time, Bunin’s collection of poems was being prepared for publication. Also, the short story “Late at Night” was published in the first issue of the Scorpion almanac “Severnye tsvety” (“Northern Flowers”).
However, this collaboration ended quite soon due to several reasons: the deterioration of Bunin’s personal relationship with Bryusov, the writer’s unwillingness to associate himself with the “Decadents” and his dissatisfaction with a small fee. The book sales were very low, and the publishing house could not pay the poet a decent salary.
Nevertheless, “Falling Leaves” — the fourth collection of Bunin’s poems — was published by ‘Scorpion’. It was named after the opening poem. The author dedicated it to Maxim Gorky. It begins with the words:
