| Zaum | |
|---|---|
 Khlebnikov's bookZangezi (1922) | |
| Created by | Aleksei Kruchenykh |
| Date | 1910s |
| Setting and usage | Poetic experimentation |
| Purpose | |
| Cyrillic script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | qmz (private use)[1] |
| IETF | art-x-zaum (private use)[1] |
Zaum (Russian:за́умь,lit. 'transrational') are the linguistic experiments insound symbolism andlanguage creation ofRussian Cubo-Futurist poets such asVelimir Khlebnikov andAleksei Kruchenykh. Zaum is a non-referentialphonetic entity with its ownontology. The language consists ofneologisms that mean nothing. Zaum is a language organized through phonetic analogy and rhythm.[2] Zaum literature cannot contain anyonomatopoeia orpsychopathological states.[3]
Aleksei Kruchenykh created Zaum in order to show that language was indefinite and indeterminate.[3]
Kruchenykh stated that when creating Zaum, he decided to forgogrammar andsyntax rules. He wanted to convey the disorder of life by introducing disorder into the language. Kruchenykh considered Zaum to be the manifestation of a spontaneous non-codified language.[2]
Khlebnikov believed that the purpose of Zaum was to find the essential meaning ofword roots inconsonantal sounds. He believed such knowledge could help create a newuniversal language based on reason.[2]
Examples of Zaum include Kruchenykh's poemDyr bul shchyl,[4] Kruchenykh's libretto for the Futurist operaVictory over the Sun with music byMikhail Matyushin and stage design byKazimir Malevich,[5] and Khlebnikov's so-called "language of the birds", "language of the gods" and "language of the stars".[6] The poetic output is perhaps comparable to that of the contemporaryDadaism, but the linguistic theory or metaphysics behind Zaum was entirely devoid of the gentle reflexive irony of that movement, and in all seriousness intended to recover thesound symbolism of a lostaboriginal tongue.[7] Exhibiting traits of a Slavicnational mysticism, Kruchenykh aimed at recovering the primeval Slavic mother-tongue in particular.
Kruchenykh would author many poems andmimeographedpamphlets written in Zaum. These pamphlets combine poetry, illustrations, and theory.[2]
The use of Zaum peaked from 1916 to 1920 duringWorld War I. At this time, Zaumism took root as a movement primarily involved invisual arts,literature,poetry,art manifestoes,art theory,theatre, andgraphic design,[8] and concentrated itsanti-war politic through a rejection of the prevailing standards inart throughanti-art cultural works. Zaum activities included public gatherings, demonstrations, and publications. The movement influenced later styles,Avant-garde anddowntown music movements, and groups includingsurrealism,nouveau réalisme,Pop Art andFluxus.[9]
Even after its peak, Zaum poetry has continued to be written.Serge Segay created Zaum poetry beginning around 1962.[10]Rea Nikonova started creating Zaum verses probably a bit later, around 1964.[11] Their Zaum poetry can be seen in issues of the famous "Transponans"samizdat magazine.[12] In 1990, contemporaryavant-garde poet Sergei Biriukov has founded an association of poets called the "Academy of Zaum" inTambov.
Coined by Kruchenykh in 1913,[13] the wordzaum orzaum' is made up of the Russian prefixза "beyond, behind" and nounумъ "the mind,nous" and has been translated as "transreason", "transration" or "beyonsense."[14] According to scholar Gerald Janecek,zaum can be defined as experimental poetic language characterized by indeterminacy in meaning.[14]
Kruchenykh, in "Declaration of the Word as Such (1913)", declareszaum "a language which does not have any definite meaning, a transrational language" that "allows for fuller expression" whereas, he maintains, the common language of everyday speech "binds".[15] He further maintained, in "Declaration of Transrational Language (1921)", thatzaum "can provide a universal poetic language, born organically, and not artificially, likeEsperanto."[16]
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