Sasha Cherny
Encyclopedia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n poet, satirist and children's writer.
Early years
Alexander Glikberg was born into a Jewish family of pharmacistPharmacist
Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
s in Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, 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...
(currently in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) on October 13 N.S. 1880. The Glikberg family was not a happy one: his mother suffered from hysteria
Hysteria
Hysteria, in its colloquial use, describes unmanageable emotional excesses. People who are "hysterical" often lose self-control due to an overwhelming fear that may be caused by multiple events in one's past that involved some sort of severe conflict; the fear can be centered on a body part, or,...
and children were bad for her nerves; his father often became violent and severely punished his children. It so happened that among the five Glikberg children there were two Alexanders (or Sashas for short), the blond Sasha was usually called White Sasha (Белый Саша in Russian) and the brunet Black Sasha (Чёрный Саша in Russian).
The Glikberg children could not enter a gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
because of the quota restriction for enrollment of Jews in schools in Imperial Russia. Eventually the Glikbergs solved the problem by baptizing
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
themselves and their children. After this, in 1889, the children entered the Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
gymnasium. Alexander found studying in the gymnasium akin to boring bureaucratic service. At the age of fifteen he ran away from home. For some time he lived with his aunt in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, but after being expelled from a Saint Petersburg gymnasium for failing algebra
Algebra
Algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures...
, he was left homeless and without money. Neither his parents nor other relatives responded to his letters and pleas for help.
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 Zhitomir, who decided to adopt the boy. Alexander entered a Zhitomir gymnasium, from which he was also eventually expelled after a conflict with the principal. Alexander served two years in the Army and then got a job as a customs officer
Customs officer
A customs officer is a law enforcement agent who enforces customs laws, on behalf of a government.-Hong Kong:4 931 posts, of which nine are directorate officers, 3 804 are members of the Customs and Excise Department, 504 are Trade Controls Officers and 614 are staff of the General and Common...
in the village of Novosiltsy on the border with Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
. In 1904, he returned to his adoptive family in Zhitomir and worked as a journalist for the magazine Volynsky Vestnik. The magazine went bankrupt within two months, and Alexander decided to continue his journalistic career in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
.
Poet
On moving to Saint Petersburg, he worked an administrative job for the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg RailwayWarsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway
The Saint Petersburg – Warsaw Railway, Russian "Санкт-Петербурго-Варшавская железная дорога" is a long railway, built in the 19th century by the Russian Empire to connect Russia with Central Europe. At the time the entire railway was within Russia, as Warsaw was under a Russian partition of Poland...
. There he met his wife, Maria Ivanovna Vasilieva, who was his manager at the railroad. She was a few years older than he, better educated, and richer. In Cherny's verse, marriage to a co-worker was often noted as the worst fate for a person. Despite this, their marriage seemed to have been a happy one and lasted their whole lives.
They spent their honeymoon in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, in 1905. After returning to Saint Petersburg, Alexander published a collection of verse titled Nonsense (Чепуха) in the magazine Zritel using the nom de plume Sasha Cherny. 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 Cherny soon became a popular and sought after author.
Between 1906 and 1907, Sasha Cherny lived in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and studied at the University of Heidelberg
Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg
The Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg is a public research university located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386, it is the oldest university in Germany and was the third university established in the Holy Roman Empire. Heidelberg has been a coeducational institution...
. In 1908, he returned to Saint Petersburg and wrote for the popular magazine Satirikon to wide popular acclaim. When somebody gets an issue of the magazine, the first things he looks for are the Sasha Cherny poems. There isn't a student, physician, or lawyer that does not know Cherny's verses by heart, wrote Korney Chukovsky
Korney Chukovsky
Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky was one of the most popular children's poets in the Russian language. His poems, Doctor Aybolit , The Giant Roach , The Crocodile , and Wash'em'clean have been favourites with many generations of Russophone children...
, who was also a Satirikon contributor. Among the admirers of his verses was Vladimir Mayakovsky
Vladimir Mayakovsky
Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky was a Russian and Soviet poet and playwright, among the foremost representatives of early-20th century Russian Futurism.- Early life :...
, who knew many of his poems by heart and often recited them. In 1910, Sasha Cherny published his book of verses, Satires, followed in 1911 by another one, Satires and Lyrics. He also published the children's books Tuk-Tuk (Knock-Knock) in 1913 and Live ABC (1914).
War and emigration
During World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Sasha Cherny served as a private at a field hospital. After the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
, he emigrated to Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, then to Germany, where he worked for the 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...
magazine Fire-bird, then to 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...
, where he worked for the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian 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
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
.
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 Lavandou in the South of France on July 5, 1932. Legend has it that Cherny's dog Micky, the 'author' of the Cherny story Micky the Fox Terrier's Diary, lay on the chest of Sasha Cherny and died with his owner.
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
, in his eulogy, said, "He left only a few books and a quiet, beauteous shadow."
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
wrote music devoted to Cherny's poetry.
External links
Sasha Cherny: poems, biography- Biography and works - in Russian
- Cherny's verses - in Russian
- Cherny Micky the Fox Terrier's Diary - parallel Russian original and English translation
- 3 poems in English translation