Sasha Chorny
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Alexander Mikhailovich Glikberg (Russian: Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Гли́кберг, IPA: [ɐlʲɪkˈsandr mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲiɡbʲɪrk] ⓘ; 13 October [O.S. 1 October] 1880 – 5 July 1932), better known as Sasha Chorny or Cherny (Russian: Са́ша Чёрный, IPA: [ˈsaʂə ˈtɕɵrnɨj] ⓘ), was a Russian poet, satirist and children's writer.
Early years
Alexander Glikberg was born into a
The Glikberg children could not enter a
Fortunately for Alexander, one of his stories was published by the journalist Alexander Yablonovsky in the popular newspaper Syn Otechestva. The article was read by K.K. Rochet, a French-Russian living in
Poet
On moving to Saint Petersburg, he worked an administrative job for the
They spent their honeymoon in Italy, in 1905. After returning to Saint Petersburg, Alexander published a collection of verse titled Nonsense (Чепуха) in the magazine Zritel using the pen name Sasha Chorny. The magazine was closed by the government as a result of these verses, but their effect on the readers was huge. The verses were distributed throughout the country, rewritten by hand, and Chorny soon became a popular and sought after author.
Between 1906 and 1907, Sasha Chorny lived in
War and emigration
During World War I, Sasha Chorny served as a private at a field hospital. After the October Revolution, he emigrated to Vilnius, then to Germany, where he worked for the Berlin magazine Fire-bird, then to France, where he worked for the Parisian Russian newspaper. In 1923, he published his third book of verses Thirst. In 1927, he was a founder of a Russian colony in the village La Favière in Provence.
In emigration, he wrote the poem Who lives well in emigration (Кому в эмиграции жить хорошо, 1931-1932) and prose Non-serious stories (Несерьезные рассказы, 1928) Soldiers' tales (Солдатские сказки, published in 1933). After his death his fourth book of verse Children's Island (Детский остров) was published.
He died of a heart attack while helping to put out a fire in the town of
Vladimir Nabokov, in his eulogy, said, "He left only a few books and a quiet, beauteous shadow."[2]
Dmitri Shostakovich set five of Chorny's poems to music for his song cycle Satires (Pictures of the Past), op. 109.
References
- ^ Степанова, Розалия. Обманчивый псевдоним Саши Черного «Слово\Word» 2006, №52. Quote in Russian: "Получив свежий журнал, читатель, прежде всего, искал в нём стихи Саши Чёрного. Не было такой курсистки, такого студента, врача, адвоката, которые не знали бы их наизусть".
- ^ Левинг, Юрий. Владимир Набоков и Саша Черный «Старое литературное обозрение» 2001, №1(277). Quote in Russian: "[О]т него осталось только несколько книг и тихая, прелестная тень."
External links
- (in Russian) Sasha Chorny poetry
- (in Russian) Sasha Chorny: poems, biography
- Biography and works - in Russian
- Chorny's verses - in Russian
- Chorny Micky the Fox Terrier's Diary - parallel Russian original and English translation
- 3 poems in English translation
- Works by Sasha Chorny at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)