Information about the author: 

Abstract:

From the childhood S.A. Esenin appreciated books, loved to read them, buy and give them as gifts. The beginning of his labor activity is connected with organizations engaged in publishing and distribution of books. The poet dreamed of a publishing house, his own or on shares with friends. This would allow him to publish his books and organize their distribution. In the first years of Soviet power the supply of paper sharply decreased, printing facilities were idle. Due to the emergence of Gosizdat and its steady monopolization of the book market, the work of non- state publishing houses faced numerous problems. In these difficult conditions, Esenin’s publishing activities took place. The article shows that the poet paid great attention to the publication of his own books, sometimes creating new publishing houses for this purpose, individually or together with like-minded people. In the context of the analysis of the publishing market in 1918–1925, the material reveals little-known pages of the history of organizations that published the poet’s books, such as the Artists’ Artel “Segodnya”, the Moskovskaya Trudovaya Artel Khudozhnikov Slova, Div, Publ., Zlak, Publ. and Sovremennaya Rossiya, Publ.