Bryusov, Valery Yakovlevich

Bryusov, Valery Yakovlevich

(vəlyĕ`rē yä`kəvlyĭvĭch brēo͞o`səf), 1873–1924, Russian poet, novelist, and critic. He was the spearhead of the symbolistsymbolists,
in literature, a school originating in France toward the end of the 19th cent. in reaction to the naturalism and realism of the period. Designed to convey impressions by suggestion rather than by direct statement, symbolism found its first expression in poetry but
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 movement and wrote highly polished and esoteric verse celebrating sensual pleasures. Of his poetry, Stephanos (1906) is perhaps the best-known collection. His two novels are The Fiery Angel (1903), concerning 16th-century German practitioners of black arts, and Altar of Victory (1911–12). Bryusov was revered for his scholarly criticism. He also translated a number of works by French, American, and Armenian poets.

Bibliography

See study by M. P. Rice (1975).