The Collection "Mayakovsky Mocks", 1922

"Mayakovsky Mocks. The First Little Book of Satire" is a collection of poems by Vladimir Mayakovsky published in Moscow in 1922. The title alone promises the reader ridicule, and the subtitle names the genre outright: satire.

The book includes the poem "Prozasedavshiesya" ("Lost in Meetings"), which mocks endless meetings. Izvestia printed it in March 1922, and on 6 March Vladimir Lenin praised it in a speech: he admitted that he was no admirer of Mayakovsky's poetic talent, but "as for politics" he vouched that it was "absolutely right". The collection also includes "Order No. 2 to the Army of the Arts".

The book was issued by MAF (the Moscow Association of Futurists), a publishing house that Mayakovsky organised in 1922 and that brought out several of his books. On the left of the cover, printed in yellow, are "MAF", "Poets' Series" and "No. 3"; at the bottom is "Izd. VKhUTEMAS". VKhUTEMAS stands for the Higher Art and Technical Studios, founded in Moscow in 1920. The title is set in large black letters, with the words hyphenated across lines, and is emphasised with heavy bars.