Literary Work of Sergey Sharshun in the Context of European Dadaism and French Surrealism

Abstract

This article examines the literary and cultural-networking activities of Sergey Ivanovich Sharshun (1888–1975), a Russian émigré writer and artist whose work emerged at the intersection of European Dadaism and the culture of the Russian Montparnasse. Drawing on Dadaist leaflet-newspapers, organizational initiatives, and Sharshun’s prose writings, the study analyzes the specificity of his position as a liminal figure situated between distinct cultural environments, artistic movements, and generations of the Russian émigré community. Particular attention is paid to his orientation toward verbal artistic forms within the broader context of the literary centrism characteristic of the Russian diaspora. The article also examines the interaction between Dadaist and Surrealist poetics in his oeuvre. Sharshun’s activities are further interpreted in terms of cultural mediation between the Western and Eastern avant-garde traditions. It is argued that his liminality and apparent artistic inconsistency, often regarded as evidence of moderate avant-garde engagement, in fact constitute his primary historical and cultural significance.