ABSTRACT

This book, first published in 1981, examines the dramatic and tragic stories of four of the greatest Russian poets of the twentieth century, their struggle to survive the Stalin years, and their dedication to their art despite considerable personal danger. Interweaving the stories of Anna Akhmatova, Osip Mandelstam, Boris Pasternak and Marina Tsvetayeva, the noted Russian scholar Ronald Hingley traces their education, the literary schools and traditions with which they were associated, the impact of World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution on their work, and the emergence of their distinct and disparate styles. He examines how the four influenced and affected each other – as colleague, critic or rival, friend or lover – and, as their fates were increasingly caught up in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, how they came to depend on each other for solace and refuge. This book makes vivid the historic conflict between artists and political authority, and shows how they came into conflict with the Stalinist totalitarian regime intent on their destruction. Ronald Hingley’s brilliant narrative and superb translations of many of the major poems give us a haunting story of artistic achievement and heroic resistance.

part One|100 pages

Peace and War (1889-1921)

chapter 1|13 pages

Motive for Murder

chapter 2|27 pages

Torture by Happiness

chapter 3|27 pages

Cloudburst of Light

chapter 4|12 pages

My Craft Adrift

chapter 5|19 pages

Black Velvet

part Two|52 pages

Between Convulsions (1921 - 1930)

chapter 6|11 pages

Herbs for Alien Tribe

chapter 7|16 pages

Rebel in Head and Womb

chapter 8|15 pages

Time’s Great Dislocation

chapter 9|8 pages

Loving and Lopping

part Three|94 pages

Terror and Beyond (1930 - 1966)

chapter 10|17 pages

Frolics and Pitfalls

chapter 11|15 pages

Harder to Breathe

chapter 12|18 pages

Doom’s Black Whisper

chapter 13|14 pages

All Change for Freedom Camp

chapter 14|15 pages

Old Style, New Style

chapter 15|13 pages

Two Voices Calling