BALMONT KONSTANTIN (1867-1942) Dva stikhotvoreniia ‘Skvoz’ vetki’ i ‘Razvilina’. [Two poems, “Through the Branches” and “Bifurcation.”] Tiais, October 29, 1936.

Typescript. 1 p. 27x21cm. At the end of each poem is the handwritten signature of K. Balmont. The poem “Through the Branches” is dated by the poet, “Bifurcation” has a typewritten date. Provenance: Archive of the Union of Russian Writers and Journalists in Paris. BALMONT Konstantin Dmitrievich (1867-1942) Two poems, “Through the Branches” and “Bifurcation.” Typescript. October 29, 1936. 3 p. and 7 p. Typescript. 1 p. 27x21 cm. At the end of each poem is the handwritten signature of K. Balmont. The poem “Through the Branches” is dated by the poet’s hand, while “Razvilina” is dated by typewriter. From August 1932 to May 1935, K.D. Balmont and his wife Elena Konstantinovna Balmont (Tsvetkovskaya) lived in poverty in Clamart, near Paris. The situation was complicated by the poet’s nervous disorder, which developed into a severe mental illness. V.F. Zeeler, secretary general of the Union of Russian Writers and Journalists, was one of the few who helped the poet. In April 1936, the Union of Russian Writers and Journalists organized a charity evening in Paris called “Writers to the Poet” on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of K.D. Balmont’s creative activity. Well-known figures of Russian culture took part in organizing the evening: I.A. Bunin, B.K. Zaitsev, A.N. Benois, S.V. Rachmaninov, M.A. Aldanov, I.S. Shmelev, and others. With the funds raised, K.D. Balmont was able to be placed in a good sanatorium in Tiaise near Paris. In August 1936, E.K. Balmont rented a guesthouse in the same place, in Tiaise, where they stayed until December 1936. The poems from this period were included in the poet’s last collection published during his lifetime, Svetosluzhenie (Light Service), which was published in Harbin in 1937 with a print run of 300 copies. Today, this edition is a bibliographic rarity. Until recently, only eight of the fifty poems in the collection had been published in various editions in Russia. Nevertheless, the book is an important milestone in K.D. Balmont’s poetry, reflecting the poet’s last creative surge. Provenance: Archive of the Union of Russian Writers and Journalists in Paris.