Beyond Symbolism and Surrealism sheds light on the oeuvre of Alexei Remizov (1877-1957), a great modernist eccentric who has remained largely unknown to Western audiences. Although his original prose garnered him early acclaim and has since entered the Russian literary canon, Remizov's artistic capacity was fully realized only after his experimentation with words and images culminated in a writing process that relies as much on drawing as it does on language.<BR><BR>During the 1930s and '40s, Remizov produced hundreds of handmade albums that combine text with collages and illustrations in watercolor and india ink. In these albums, the medieval tradition of illuminated manuscripts fuses with major European avant-garde movements of the twentieth century. A participant in Russian symbolism, an intellectual ally of many futurists, and, during his emigre years, a collaborator with the French surrealists, Remizov was unique in his ability to combine symbolist mysticism, futurist disruptiveness, and surrealist introspection.<BR><BR>This book is the first to assemble the geographically scattered examples of Remizov's graphic work, much of which is in private collections, and to examine its dynamic interplay between text and image. Friedman introduces his oneiric and synesthetic brand of storytelling and shows how these albums reveal a singular narrative governing Remizov's own life---a story of love and loss mirrored in his words and drawings and retold in this pioneering study of his art.