The first encounter

Abstract

First published in Russian in 1921 and never translated, Audrey Bely’s long narrative poem-considered to be one of the great achievements of Russian Modernism-is translated to English here. A poet, critic, philosopher, and novelist, Bely was a leading figure among the Russian Symbolists, and The First Encounter is thought to be his greatest work in verse. The poem is autobiographical and reflects turn of-the-century Moscow with its mixture of entrenched positivism and new spiritualistic trends, cultural variety and the upheaval of the time.