Lev Rubinstein (Russia)

Poet, performer, and publicist. Born in Moscow in 1947, died in 2024. He is an important figure of the Russian avant-garde and one of the first conceptualist writers along with Vsevolod Nekrasov and Dmitry Prigov. In 1971, Rubinstein graduated from the Philological Faculty of the Pedagogical Institute. He started writing in the 60s. In the 70s, he developed his own “card index” genre, which combines writing, visual, and performative art. His poems break the boundaries of verbal and visual expression. In 1999, Rubinstein received the Andrei Bely Russian Literature Prize. His texts were published in Western countries in the late 70s—in Russian and in translation. Only 10 years after this were his poems published in Russia for the first time.

Since it has been said (Excerpt)

  1. In the premonition of eternity, we cannot inwardly move our hands and feet, since it has been said: “Ah, you have finally come. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

  2. What is not clearly visible is what deserves attention, since it has been said: “You cannot notice the wings of a flying dragonfly.”

  3. Even in carefree hovering over rustling fields, there is alarm, since it has been said: “Mirth is not single-formed.”

  4. We do not need to fear the rapid change of state, since it has been said: “Only that which is transient is natural.”

  5. Let not the absolute immutability of the state disturb us too much either, since it has been said: “Only that which is transient is natural.”

  6. There is no need to make comparisons, since it has been said: “The living is incomparable.”

  7. Let us not pay attention to the ambiguity of the situation, since it has been said: “Fog will not prevent the seer.”

  8. Let us not specify the exact dates of pre-foreseen events, since it has been said: “The swallow will never chirp before its time.”

  9. It is necessary that we so stubbornly assert our own truth when it has been said: “Why are you shouting? Who can hear you?”

  10. Does it matter what we compare the cloud to that floats somewhere above our heads? For it has been said that “a cloud is like a person—it is heading somewhere just like them…”

Translated from Russian by Shota Iatashvili

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