Introduction. The article presents the principles of classification of precedent phenomena used by different researchers, and also gives the author’s classification of the material. The generalization of views on the phenomenon of intertextuality is given, the specificity of the individual author’s paradigmatics of M. Weller is determined.Originality. The analysis involved the texts of the collection of stories «Legends of different crossroads», «B. Babylonian» M. I. Weller, whose material made it possible to identify the following types of precedent phenomena: direct quotations, transformed quotations, allusions, references and hints. It has been established that they all differ in the variety of stylistic directions of donor texts, reflecting the author’s worldview.Topicality of Research. It should be noted that such a research is conducted for the first time in Ukraine. The article focuses on the impact of social and political changes, social-political factors, living conditions on language consciousness, outlook and worldview by means of association verbalization of recipients’ consciousness.The study of intertextuality as a dialogue between Mikhail Weller and the reader in the context of the manifestation of linguistic memory and reader’s perception is relevant, especially in connection with the lack of sufficient theoretical development of the artistic heritage of M. Weller. The novelty of the research is determined by the possibility of giving on concrete material the problems that are significant for modern linguistics related to the category of intertextuality.Methodological base of the research. The article is made in line with an interdisciplinary approach. The following main factors were taken into account: the linguistic personality of the writer, formed in a certain socio-historical period; the phenomenon of intertextuality, the «reader’s response» associated with the peculiarities of his linguistic memory and perception.Results. The most numerous type of intertextual inclusions was determined by M. Weller. These are allusions. Depending on the source, the following types of allusions were identified: biblicalisms, mythologisms, proverbs and sayings, nominations, toponyms, Soviet stamps and expressions, references to names, terms, signs of culture.Perspectives. The largest place among the precedent names used in the collections is occupied by names from the sphere of politics. In the future, it is planned to compile a typology of precedent names from the sphere of politics based on the texts of M. Weller. We also consider it expedient to study the features of the reader’s perception of intertextual units using the psycholinguistic method. The next article will present the results of an experiment to determine the intertextual competence of recipients.