Nikolai Nikolayevich Aseyev (Никола́й Никола́евич Асе́ев; July 10, 1889 - July 16, 1963) was a Russian and Soviet Futurist poet and writer.

Biography

Nikolai was born in the city of Lgov in the region of Kursk. He studied a technical school in the city and had also attended the Moscow Institute of Commerce. Aseyev joined the army in 1915 until 1917. It is said that Velimir Khlebnikov and Vladimir Mayakovsky were two of Aseyev's literary influences.

Works

In 1914, Aseyev helped form a young poets' group called Lirika. In the same year, his first poetic collections, "Night Flute" (Nochnaia fleita), and "Zor", which were written in the Russian Futurist style, were published. The former also reflected traces of Russian Symbolism. Aseyev was awarded a government honor for the latter poem in 1941. Aseyev's work has been known for its interest in America. Among his notable poems was A Song about Alabama, which criticized the American conceptualization of a crime punishable by death for blacks. He was also one of those who contributed to the Soviet and American reconciliation narrative. He once wrote the Americans, "You have Abraham, we have a Joseph... let's make a new Bible." Aseyev died in 1963 in Moscow.