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If you love cinema, then most likely you know Gleb from the Abigail or Podolsky Cadets project. And, perhaps, they even heard that this year he starred with a famous Russian director, winner of many cinematographic awards. If you are interested in poetry, then you are probably subscribed to his poetic Instagram and, perhaps, even listened to his poems live. We asked Gleb about what it means to be a poet in Russia and how to combine it with everyday life and other professions.
About finding yourself
– My hobbies are all from childhood. I remember, back in elementary school, I wrote in an essay that I wanted to be an actor. Perhaps I did this to attract attention to myself (I considered myself not very bright against the backdrop of a large class), but nevertheless. I have also had an interest in poetry from an early age. I have been writing them since childhood, and every New Year, when our whole family got together at the dacha, I arranged a performance for my relatives based on the material written during the year.
At the same time, there are no poets or actors in my family: we are all journalists in our family, my grandfather was the editor-in-chief of Literaturnaya Gazeta, and my parents met at the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University. Therefore, when I didn’t manage to enter the acting department the first time, according to family tradition, I went to the journalism department, graduated from it, and only then received an acting education.
About the fashion for poetry
– Now in Russia it is fashionable to read and write poetry, many people compose, among my acquaintances there are a huge number of writers. Many of them, by the way, are completely unrelated to creative professions. I love this trend. I think that in poetry there is an audience for every writer. The main thing is not to be afraid to show your creativity, to share it.
About love for the Russian language
– I adore the Russian language for its richness, for the abundance of literary devices that it has; for me it’s all like a good dessert that you can taste, again and again finding new notes in it. I consider the Russian language an ideal weapon: you can write nasty and vulgar things in it, and, conversely, touching, tender things.
About education in Russia
— It seems to me that in Russia now is the time of opportunities for people of creative professions. Literally a month ago, I was told that the second creative education is now free of charge, and at the moment I am seriously thinking about studying to be a director.
This year I participated in the competition for creating socially significant Internet content, which was organized by the Internet Development Institute, I planned to shoot a social video about May 9, but I did not win the competition. I will study as a director, I will try again: I see potential in this.
As for poetic activity, it seems to me that the conditional “crust” is not so important here. It is more important to find your style, your audience. Personally, for example, I don’t even participate in poetry competitions. I don’t need grades, I’m more interested in interacting with my readers.
About the audience
— Probably, I have two different audiences. Some people recognize me on the streets from TV series and films and ask me to take a picture together. Others will recognize him as a poet: “Ah, you write poetry, cool poetry!” The second one is probably closer to me. I’m not a fan of photos, I like to get verbal feedback.
About the Russian mentality
– I have two favorite Russian poets – Sergei Yesenin and Boris Ryzhiy. They lived at different times, wrote differently, but in terms of personality they are somewhat similar. Both Yesenin’s poems and Ryzhy’s poems are a colossal work with their own pain. And I think that this wild, deepest immersion in one’s own pain is generally characteristic of Russian poets, and modern ones are no exception.
I see it in the authors I know, in the people I read regularly. Poets share their pain not to be pitied, but to help other people. When you receive feedback from the series “Thank you for the poem, it hit me, I am now in exactly the same situation as you described,” you feel that life was a success and everything was not in vain.
About topic search
“Most of all, as a poet, I am interested in love, the relationship between a man and a woman. This is the only thing that is really close to me, and I want to call it the theme “Man with Man”, forgetting about gender history, but basically all my poems are still about love.
Of course, you draw a lot from yourself, from your experience. At the same time, I work remotely. I cannot express in one poem all the pain of parting with a girl or, conversely, admiration for her. I can write five poems thinking about one woman, just in different ways, in different words, on different topics.
Do girls recognize themselves in my poems? I never tell anyone what my poems are about, and no one has ever dared to say to me: “Oh, this is about me.”
About inspiration
– Inspiration is a fickle thing, but it does not annoy me at all when it is not there. Now, for half a year, I don’t keep my poetic Instagram, I don’t write anything, and thank God. Because when it turns out not to write, I seize the opportunity to do other things and relax in this way at a change of activity.
But when inspiration strikes (I am a morning person who goes to bed at 9 pm), I can sit until three in the morning and write, write, write, because it does not let go. It’s as if someone is passing these lines through me and forcing me to put them on paper.
About plans
– In 2022, a series by a famous Russian director will be released, where I played one of the main roles. I can’t reveal the details, but it will be a cool life story. If we talk about poetry, then I plan to “musicize” my works a little and try to combine poetic text with music. Fill it with a warm blues sound that suits the lyrics so well. I hope that soon I will be able to show all this in some cozy chamber hall.