Rus Khomutoff’s poetry evolved from a personal trauma, his writing, his rescue from a dark place. His self expression through unfolding words as they shift and dance have a self satisfying fulfillment, channeling authentic expression, his subconscious turns him into a word visionary.
Following principles of automatic writing, any self-ce
nsorship is not applied to the stream and often feels to have come from another realm within himself. There are many dedications to past surrealists and philosophical studies, in fact Khomutoff is a self proclaimed ‘Neo Surrealist’, but that gang from the 70’s and 80’s with their mixture of pop art and modern imagery seem a generation away, perhaps Rus needs to add another ‘Neo’ as time has stretched a whole lot since then. Dada’s darlings like Hans Arp & Tristan Tzara not only have had dedicated poetry to them in other releases, but feel like direct muses, watching over the poet with razors held. What rolls from the tongue is a surprise to himself and his readers, if it jars it doesn’t matter, ultimately it makes sense somewhere, somehow.
The poems don’t sing they struggle with purpose, like trying to speak when you are deep within a dream. There are many tasters of untitled moments, it’s not until we get to Summer Of Absentmindedness that I really start to connect, see the power of his unconscious, freeing the matter and revealing classic panoramas of a movement that has not strayed far from its roots. “Your eyes glow like naked livers burning in the sun” his silver tongue relentless.
After a few more nameless ones they even get more playful “The toxic bromide android geminoid of a yesteryear capsule”. The language here often becomes as inaccessible as a chemistry paper though somehow the words manage to jazz and gel, linking one to the heart with light and enchantment, others, magnet ends repelling each other, twisting themselves kicking and screaming into reality. The reader’s parameters are tested as a direct result of these word experiments.
What really strikes me is the axis of meaning held in these poems. It will just be a line, a few words that bond so well, that is the art, the perfect brushstrokes that make this release a very interesting collection to examine. You can purchase Immaculate Days here. You can connect with Rus via twitter.
URBAN F 