Brodsky, Joseph Verses. Gorbunov and Gorchakov. Samizdat.

N.p., mid. 1970s. 
4to, [57] leaves. 

In handmade wrappers.
In good condition, one leaf partially detached, with a few owner's marks. 

Rare samizdat edition of the verses and poem 'Gorbunov and Gorchakov' by Joseph Brodsky.

The poem revolves around conversations between Gorbunov and Gorchakov, both of whom are depicted as patients in a mental asylum, resembling a prison-like environment. Brodsky composed this 'auto-therapeutic' poem, often referred to as 'long verses', between 1965 and 1968. It stands as one of Brodsky's most extensive works, comprising 1,398 verses.
In 1963, at the age of 23, Brodsky was involuntarily admitted to the Kashchenko psychiatric clinic in Moscow and subsequently transferred to Psychiatric Hospital No. 2 ('Priazhka') in Leningrad. This was a result of compulsory treatment due to Brodsky's perceived 'social parasitism' and dissident activities. Following his release in March 1964, Brodsky was sentenced to exile.
The poem was first published in the book 'Ostanovka v pustyne' (Stop in the Desert; New York, 1970) and became available in Russia only in 1999. Its first English publication occurred in the book 'To Urania' (New York, 1988).

This edition also includes poems from 1972, the year when Brodsky emigrated from the USSR.