Alexander Alekseyevich Izmaylov (russian: link=no, Алекса′ндр Алексе′евич Изма′йлов, 1873, Saint Peterburg, Russian Empire, – 1921,

Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Soviet Russia) was a Russian literary critic, writer, poet and

parodist A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

. A

Saint Petersburg Theological Academy The Saint Petersburg Theological Academy (russian: Санкт-Петербургская духовная академия) is a theological seminary in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The academy grants master and doctorate degrees preparing theologi ...

alumnus, Izmaylov was a versatile author, whose poems, short stories and a 1902 autobiographical novel ''V burse'' (In Seminary), all concerning Russia's religious life, earned him critical respect. What proved to be more important in retrospect, though, was his work as literary critic. An insightful and stylish author, shying faction feuds and working upon the purely aesthetical set of criteria, Izmaylov developed and mastered his own peculiar genre of

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

critical etude. He published several acclaimed essay collections (''On the Verge'' and ''Twilight of Small Gods and New Idols'', both 1910; ''Literary Olymp'', 1911; ''Motley Flags'', 1913), as well as

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

's biography (''Chekhov'', 1916). Izmaylov's popular set of poetic parodies (on Dmitry Merezhkovsky, Alexander Blok, Maxim Gorky and Konstantin Balmont, among others) came out in 1908 as ''Krivoye zerkalo'' (False Mirror).Alexander Izmaylov
at the Soviet Literary Encyclopedia in 11 Volumes. 1930, Vol. 4, pp. 436–437.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Izmaylov, Alexander Male poets from the Russian Empire Writers from Saint Petersburg 1873 births 1921 deaths