I SEE PENIS: HOW TO WRITE A POEM

Oh, the good ole days!

1917.

Revolution in Russia brings promise to millions 'round the world.  Before things take a sad turn for worse, the nascent Republic of Soviets was also home to a vibrant, avant-garde art scene.  Poet and fellow Ukrainian Vladimir Mayakovsky stands out among many talented young communist boosters.  Take for instance, the manifesto he co-authored with fellow futurists the year the revolution commenced, which concludes adamantly: 

We order that the poets’ rights be revered:

• To enlarge the scope of the poet’s vocabulary with arbitrary and derivative words (Word-novelty).
• To feel an insurmountable hatred for the language existing before their time.
• To push with horror off their proud brow the Wreath of cheap fame that You have made from bathhouse switches.
• To stand on the rock of the word “we” amidst the sea of boos and outrage.

And if for the time being the filthy stigmas of your “common sense” and “good taste” are still present in our lines, these same lines for the first time already glimmer with the Summer Lightning of the New Coming Beauty of the Self-sufficient (self-centered) Word.

To read more of Mayakovsky's poetry, follow the LINK.  

To view his explanation on "how to write a poem" (and reason for this I SEE PENIS post), click HERE.