Domna Anisimova
Encyclopedia
Domna Anisimovna Anisimova (birth and death dates uncertain), known as "Blind Domna", was a blind and illiterate but accomplished 19th Century Russian poet. Her last name is also sometimes give as Onisimova .
Anisimova was born in the village of Degtyanom in the Spassky District
of Ryazan Province
, the daughter of a sexton
in the local village Orthodox church. According to some sources she was born in 1808, according to other sources in 1812.
At the age of five Anisimova was stricken with smallpox
, which left her nearly blind; she could only distinguish day from night and dark colors from bright. Her blindness alienated her from normal society. She loved solitude and old stories about the past, as well as being read books and worship.
From an early age she loved to be read to, but at first had no cause to hear works except church books, sermons, ancient stories, and fairy tales. But when a new young priest, Sergei Ivanov, was assigned to her village, he became friendly with Anisimova and began to read some later works, especially the work of contemporary poets.
She was read "Twelve Sleeping Virgins" by Vasily Zhukovsky
; this ballad made such an impression on her that she was deprived of sleep and was inspired with a great desire to compose poetry, which she soon began to do, dictating poems to her brother.
Her first experiments were "Lullaby" and "Sound of the Night Wind". Donma tried to hide her creations, but they came to the attention of the county police chief, who asked Anisimova to write about the village harvests. One night she wrote a rather long poem, "Depiction of the Harvest".
Rumors about Anisimova's work spread throughout the Spassky district and came to the attention of the provincial governor, who informed Dmitry Bludov
, the Minister of Internal Affairs and later president of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, who was a man with a considerable interest in and knowledge of literature.
Bludov sent some of Anisimova's work to Admiral Alexander Shishkov
, the president of the Russian Academy
and a philologist and literary critic. The Academy decided to encourage Anisimova and sent her one hundred rubles and some books (Heinrich Zschokke
's Hours of Devotion, Nikolay Karamzin's 12-volume History of the Russian State, and others), published an edition of her poems, and arranged for her to be given disability subsidy of 40 rubles a month for her blindness, which she was to receive for the rest of her life.
The collection of poems published by the Academy under the title Poems by Miss Onisimova, the Blind Daughter of a Village Sexton (St. Petersburg, 1838) included "Sound of the Night Wind", "On the Death of a Friend", "Lullaby", "On the Birth of a Child", "To a Faded Flower", "Greeting", and "Depiction of the Harvest", and prefaces by Bludov and Shishkov.
About fifteen of her poems were published in the Ryazan Diocesan Gazette, and some of her poems were published in the literary newspaper Northern Bee
.
Little information on the last years of her life has survived, and her death date is unknown.
Anisimova was born in the village of Degtyanom in the Spassky District
Spassky District, Ryazan Oblast
Spassky District, Ryazan Oblast is an administrative and municipal district , one of the 25 in Ryazan Oblast, Russia....
of Ryazan Province
Ryazan Oblast
Ryazan Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Ryazan, which is the oblast's largest city. Population: -Geography:...
, the daughter of a sexton
Sexton (office)
A sexton is a church, congregation or synagogue officer charged with the maintenance of its buildings and/or the surrounding graveyard. In smaller places of worship, this office is often combined with that of verger...
in the local village Orthodox church. According to some sources she was born in 1808, according to other sources in 1812.
At the age of five Anisimova was stricken with smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, which left her nearly blind; she could only distinguish day from night and dark colors from bright. Her blindness alienated her from normal society. She loved solitude and old stories about the past, as well as being read books and worship.
From an early age she loved to be read to, but at first had no cause to hear works except church books, sermons, ancient stories, and fairy tales. But when a new young priest, Sergei Ivanov, was assigned to her village, he became friendly with Anisimova and began to read some later works, especially the work of contemporary poets.
She was read "Twelve Sleeping Virgins" by Vasily Zhukovsky
Vasily Zhukovsky
Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky was the foremost Russian poet of the 1810s and a leading figure in Russian literature in the first half of the 19th century...
; this ballad made such an impression on her that she was deprived of sleep and was inspired with a great desire to compose poetry, which she soon began to do, dictating poems to her brother.
Her first experiments were "Lullaby" and "Sound of the Night Wind". Donma tried to hide her creations, but they came to the attention of the county police chief, who asked Anisimova to write about the village harvests. One night she wrote a rather long poem, "Depiction of the Harvest".
Rumors about Anisimova's work spread throughout the Spassky district and came to the attention of the provincial governor, who informed Dmitry Bludov
Dmitry Bludov
Count Dmitry Nikolayevich Bludov was a Russian imperial official who filled a variety of posts under Nicholas I - Deputy Education Minister , Minister of Justice , Minister of the Interior , Chief of the Second Section...
, the Minister of Internal Affairs and later president of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, who was a man with a considerable interest in and knowledge of literature.
Bludov sent some of Anisimova's work to Admiral Alexander Shishkov
Alexander Shishkov
Alexander Semyonovich Shishkov was a Russian statesman, writer, and admiral.Shishkov was notorious for his proto-Slavophile sentiments. His aversion to loans from other languages was much ridiculed in the liberal press. He was the President of the Russian Academy and People's Education Minister...
, the president of the Russian Academy
Russian Academy
The Russian Academy or Imperial Russian Academy was established in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1783 by Empress Catherine II of Russia and princess Dashkova as a research center for Russian language and Russian literature, following the example of the Académie française...
and a philologist and literary critic. The Academy decided to encourage Anisimova and sent her one hundred rubles and some books (Heinrich Zschokke
Heinrich Zschokke
Johann Heinrich Daniel Zschokke was a German author and reformer. Most of his life was spent, and most of his reputation earned, in Switzerland...
's Hours of Devotion, Nikolay Karamzin's 12-volume History of the Russian State, and others), published an edition of her poems, and arranged for her to be given disability subsidy of 40 rubles a month for her blindness, which she was to receive for the rest of her life.
The collection of poems published by the Academy under the title Poems by Miss Onisimova, the Blind Daughter of a Village Sexton (St. Petersburg, 1838) included "Sound of the Night Wind", "On the Death of a Friend", "Lullaby", "On the Birth of a Child", "To a Faded Flower", "Greeting", and "Depiction of the Harvest", and prefaces by Bludov and Shishkov.
About fifteen of her poems were published in the Ryazan Diocesan Gazette, and some of her poems were published in the literary newspaper Northern Bee
Northern Bee
Northern Bee was a semi-official Russian political and literary newspaper published in St. Petersburg from 1825 to 1864. It was an unofficial organ of Section Three - the secret police....
.
Little information on the last years of her life has survived, and her death date is unknown.