Georgy Adamovich
Encyclopedia
Georgy Viktorovich Adamovich ' onMouseout='HidePop("85706")' href="/topics/Moscow">Moscow
, Russian Empire
— February 21, 1972, Nice
, France
) was a Russian poet of the acmeist school
, a literary critic, translator and memoirist.
, who in the rank of major general
served as a head of Moscow military hospital. In Moscow the boy spent the first nine years of his life. "We were a military family, two of my brothers were army officers. Of me, if the family legend was to be believed, my dad said: 'This guy’s got nothing officer-like in him. Let him be a civilian. And so it was to be", Georgy Adamovich later remembered. After his father’s death the family moved to Saint-Petersburg where Georgy joined the First Gymnasium. In 1910 году he became the student of the Saint Petersburg State University
. There he started writing poetry and in 1914 became a member of the Acmeist circle.
In 1915 Adamovich's debut short story Merry Horses (Весёлые кони) was released and by 1917 he was a member (later - one of the two leaders, along with Georgy Ivanov
) of the St.-Petersburg Poet’s Workshop. Adamovich's first collection of poetry Clouds (Облака) was praised by Nikolay Gumilyov
for 'class and good taste'. His second book of poetry, Purgatory (Чистилище, 1922) was beginning with a tribute to Gumilyov whom the young poet now regarded his mentor.
After the 1917 Revolution Adamovich worked for The World Literature publishing house (founded by Maxim Gorky
in 1919), translating works of Charles Baudelaire
, Voltaire
, José-Maria de Heredia, George Gordon Byron and Thomas Moore
. In 1923 he's for Berlin
, then settled in France to 'join the anti-Soviet circles' (as the Soviet Literary Encyclopaedia wrote in 1934). Here he soon made himself a name as a literary critic and essayist, working for Zveno (The Link) magazine and Poslednye Novosty (The Latest News). In the thirties Adamovich was widely regarded as 'the leading Russian literary critic abroad', working for such magazines as Tchisla (Numbers) and Vstrechi (Meetings), of which he was a one time editor. He almost stopped writing poetry and yet is credited as a major force behind the Paris Note (Парижская Нота), a school of Russian poetry in exile holding for its main principles "total sincerity in depicting the human soul’s anguish" and "demonstrating nakedness of truth". G. P. Fedotov
called Adamovich with his ‘truth-seeking’ paradigm an ‘ascetic wanderer’. In 1939 the book of Adamovich's own book of poetry In the West (На Западе) was published. Later its title was used by an Estonian
/American
poet Yuri Ivask who in 1953 compiled and edited the anthology of Russian emigration's poetry (in which Adamovich was well presented).
Autumn 1939 saw Adamovich as fighting Nazis as a volunteer in the French army. He was interned after the army's defeat. During the late 1940s, Adamovich went through a brief period of ‘enchantment’ with the USSR and Joseph Stalin
in particular; he thought that the great victory in the War would be able to trigger some kind of political reform or renovation process in the USSR. Adamovich contributed to several pro-Soviet western papers and published a book entitled The Other Motherland (Другая родина, 1947). Written in French, it was seen by some Russian emigres as 'an act of capitulation before Stalinism
'. In the years to come, though, Adamovich became increasingly more disillusioned again. These feelings were to some extent reflected in his 1955 book of essays called Loneliness and Freedom (Одиночество и свобода).
Adamovich continued to translate French literature into Russian including the works of Jean Cocteau
, Saint-John Perse
and Albert Camus
(«L’Étranger»). In 1967 his last book of poetry Unity (Единство) was published. It coincided with the release of Comments (Комментарии), a vast collection of critical essays. Georgy Adamovich died in February 21, 1972 in Nice
, France
.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
— February 21, 1972, Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) was a Russian poet of the acmeist school
Acmeist poetry
Acmeism, or the Guild of Poets, was a transient poetic school which emerged in 1910 in Russia under the leadership of Nikolai Gumilyov and Sergei Gorodetsky. The term was coined after the Greek word acme, i.e., "the best age of man"....
, a literary critic, translator and memoirist.
Biography
Georgy Adamovich was born in the family of senior military officer Viktor Adamovich, an ethnic PolePoles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
, who in the rank of major general
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
served as a head of Moscow military hospital. In Moscow the boy spent the first nine years of his life. "We were a military family, two of my brothers were army officers. Of me, if the family legend was to be believed, my dad said: 'This guy’s got nothing officer-like in him. Let him be a civilian. And so it was to be", Georgy Adamovich later remembered. After his father’s death the family moved to Saint-Petersburg where Georgy joined the First Gymnasium. In 1910 году he became the student of the Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest and largest universities in Russia....
. There he started writing poetry and in 1914 became a member of the Acmeist circle.
In 1915 Adamovich's debut short story Merry Horses (Весёлые кони) was released and by 1917 he was a member (later - one of the two leaders, along with Georgy Ivanov
Georgy Ivanov
Georgii Vladimirovich Ivanov was a leading poet and essayist of the Russian emigration between the 1930s and 1950s.As a banker's son, Ivanov spent his young manhood in the elite circle of Russian golden youth. He started writing pretentious verses, imitative of Baudelaire and the French...
) of the St.-Petersburg Poet’s Workshop. Adamovich's first collection of poetry Clouds (Облака) was praised by Nikolay Gumilyov
Nikolay Gumilyov
Nikolay Stepanovich Gumilev was an influential Russian poet who founded the acmeism movement.-Early life and poems:Nikolai was born in the town of Kronstadt on Kotlin Island, into the family of Stepan Yakovlevich Gumilev , a naval physician, and Anna Ivanovna L'vova . His childhood nickname was...
for 'class and good taste'. His second book of poetry, Purgatory (Чистилище, 1922) was beginning with a tribute to Gumilyov whom the young poet now regarded his mentor.
After the 1917 Revolution Adamovich worked for The World Literature publishing house (founded by Maxim Gorky
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:...
in 1919), translating works of Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the nineteenth century...
, Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
, José-Maria de Heredia, George Gordon Byron and Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death...
. In 1923 he's for Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, then settled in France to 'join the anti-Soviet circles' (as the Soviet Literary Encyclopaedia wrote in 1934). Here he soon made himself a name as a literary critic and essayist, working for Zveno (The Link) magazine and Poslednye Novosty (The Latest News). In the thirties Adamovich was widely regarded as 'the leading Russian literary critic abroad', working for such magazines as Tchisla (Numbers) and Vstrechi (Meetings), of which he was a one time editor. He almost stopped writing poetry and yet is credited as a major force behind the Paris Note (Парижская Нота), a school of Russian poetry in exile holding for its main principles "total sincerity in depicting the human soul’s anguish" and "demonstrating nakedness of truth". G. P. Fedotov
Georgy Fedotov
Georgy Petrovich Fedotov was a Russian religious philosopher, historian, essayist, author of many books on Orthodox culture, regarded by some as a founder of Russian "theological culturology"...
called Adamovich with his ‘truth-seeking’ paradigm an ‘ascetic wanderer’. In 1939 the book of Adamovich's own book of poetry In the West (На Западе) was published. Later its title was used by an Estonian
Estonian
Estonian may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe* Estonians – people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent...
/American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet Yuri Ivask who in 1953 compiled and edited the anthology of Russian emigration's poetry (in which Adamovich was well presented).
Autumn 1939 saw Adamovich as fighting Nazis as a volunteer in the French army. He was interned after the army's defeat. During the late 1940s, Adamovich went through a brief period of ‘enchantment’ with the USSR and Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
in particular; he thought that the great victory in the War would be able to trigger some kind of political reform or renovation process in the USSR. Adamovich contributed to several pro-Soviet western papers and published a book entitled The Other Motherland (Другая родина, 1947). Written in French, it was seen by some Russian emigres as 'an act of capitulation before Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
'. In the years to come, though, Adamovich became increasingly more disillusioned again. These feelings were to some extent reflected in his 1955 book of essays called Loneliness and Freedom (Одиночество и свобода).
Adamovich continued to translate French literature into Russian including the works of Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Kenneth Anger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María...
, Saint-John Perse
Saint-John Perse
Saint-John Perse was a French poet, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1960 "for the soaring flight and evocative imagery of his poetry." He was also a major French diplomat from 1914 to 1940, after which he lived primarily in the USA until 1967.-Biography:Alexis Leger was...
and Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
(«L’Étranger»). In 1967 his last book of poetry Unity (Единство) was published. It coincided with the release of Comments (Комментарии), a vast collection of critical essays. Georgy Adamovich died in February 21, 1972 in Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.