Sergej A. Esenin

S.A. Esenin, Radunica. Petrograd, M.V. Aver'janov edition, 1916. 62, [2] pp. Lacking the cover and title page.

The first page bears the inscription: 'To Elena. S. Esenin.'

The first poetry collection by Sergej Aleksandrovich Esenin, published at the beginning of 1916 and destined to bring the poet immediate widespread recognition.

The volume comprises 33 poems divided into two sections - Rus' and Poppy Tales - in which the fundamental themes of his work are already present: religious and peasant Russia, the rural world, popular beliefs, and the fate of his native land on the eve of great upheavals.

The title evokes the ancient spring festival commemorating the dead, lending Esenin's poetry a distinctive luminous yet tragic tonal quality.

Although lacking its cover and title page, the copy retains considerable collecting interest as the poet's first work and a cornerstone of any collection devoted to the Russian Silver Age.