The school of Cosmism emerged in Russia in the late 19th and early 20th century. One of it’s offshoots was the school of Bio-Cosmism and Immortalism.
This group would go on to denounce death itself as “logically absurd, ethically impermissible, and aesthetically ugly”.
In 1922, the founder of the Petrograd chapter of the Biocosmists, Alexander Yaroslavsky, wrote a 14-page poem in praise of “anabiosis” – a process of cryonic suspension, used two years later to preserve Lenin’s body. (When refrigeration proved unsuccessful, his corpse was embalmed)
The same dead leader’s ruling communist party sentenced the philosopher and poet to 5 years in the “work” camps of Arkhangelsk.
In 1930, his wife,Evgeniy began to prepare an escape for her husband, but was arrested. She was given 3 years in the camps, and her husband received an additional sentence . At the end of 1930, Alexander was shot. Evgeniy was shot six months later.
She is pictured below -in a modern collage setting – from a 2017 project by Moscow Cartoonist Hasan Bakhaeva to starkly mark and honour victims of political repression.
Why am I telling you all of the above?
The BioCosmists believed in “galactic freedom from statehood” and “the right to live forever”.
Today’s poem ,”Stasis”, on Behind the Lines, takes inspiration from these two demands and imagines an intergalactic journey across great distances while in cryogenic slumber.
I like to think that ideas can outlive those that imagined them in the first place.
No countries, no wars, just immortal peace.
And maybe some sleep.
If you like and if you can, having being delighted by this daily dose of dissonance, maybe Buy Me a Coffee please ,or even better, order Unreconciled Doors, so you can read along with Behind the Lines.
Unreconciled Doors is available to order in Kindle format now on Amazon for just $€£ 0.99
Algo Poetry-Behind the Lines 