This is a final project for a fourth year literature class. Here is an excerpt form a reflection paper :
"In this project, I attempted to replicate and apply the style of absurdist poet, Daniil Kharms. While often considered a comedic writer, Kharms’ poetry was not merely absurd in the shallow and farcical sense. Rather, his poetry was deeply political and philosophical, and his absurdism was often necessary to smuggle his thoughts past Soviet censors. This poem is meant to employ this same tactic of using the absurd as a means of conveying a larger political statement. In order to explain this poem, I will first discuss how the style relates to Kharms’ own, and secondly, how the content operates similarly to Kharms’.
First, Kharms’ poetry is marked by repetition and wordplay. He often uses repetition to change the cadence of the poem, sometimes slowing the reader down, and other times generating a frantic tempo. I tried to use the repetition of specific words and phrases in this poem in order to control the pace of the poem, slowly increasing the intensity and speed of the repetition as the story progresses. Kharms does this especially well in his “Из Дома Вышел Человек.” I also tried to imitate some of the wordplay that Kharms uses by rearranging the word order in certain repeated phrases. This, then, changes the emphasis and sound of certain lines and better convey the poem’s meaning.
Additionally, in order to imitate Kharms accurately, I tried to use absurdism to make a deeper political statement. In order to do so, I set up the poem as an allegory for political manipulation of information."