The article seeks to disprove the assumption that the ode as a poetic genre breathed its last in the 1830s–1850s. The scholars suggest that no genre remains a form cast in concrete, but instead serves as a toolkit facilitating the creative process. To prove that the genre of ode is still relevant, the authors consider works of four eminent modern poets — A. Belyakov, V. Gandelsman, I. Ermakova, and A. Kushner — and describe their use of the genre. In each case, ode features prominently, its importance recognized by the poets themselves. The article argues in favour of a more in-depth study of the evolution of the ode in the non-canonical period of Russian literary history.