The King of Time

An English edition of the works of Veli mir Khlebnikov (1885-1922) is especial ly welcome now that the Russian liter ary and linguistic theorists are finally receiving due attention. Khlebnikov's essential ``Futurist'' credo was that words, even letters, are to be employed without regard to conventional usage and expected meaning. Accordingly, he experimented with new forms, meters, and use of sound and patterns. This vol ume's selection ranges from his poetry, short fiction, and essays to an excerpt from his numerological/mathematical study of destiny, as impenetrable and brilliant as Yeats's Vision , to an idio syncratic ``supersaga'' full of the puns, neologisms, and word play which the translator copes with intelligently and humorously.