ABSTRACT

This biographical study, first published in 1985, draws on extensive newly available material and illuminates the life and work of a man who lived through one of the most turbulent periods of Russian history to produce some of his country’s greatest poetry and its most significant modern novel.

chapter |10 pages

Introduction

part One|60 pages

Maze of Melodies (1890–1923)

chapter 1|17 pages

Inspiration in Search of a Poet

chapter 2|20 pages

Poet in Search of a Voice

chapter 3|21 pages

Cloudburst of Light

part Two|86 pages

Flirting with History (1923–1946)

chapter 4|31 pages

Keeping Step with Revolution

chapter 5|33 pages

Duet for One

chapter 6|20 pages

The Poet Goes to War

part Three|116 pages

Enemy of the People (1946–1960)

chapter 7|23 pages

Ice Age Frolics

chapter 8|18 pages

Birth Pangs of a Novelist

chapter 9|31 pages

Dilemmas of a Doctor

chapter 10|23 pages

Prizewinner

chapter 11|19 pages

The Last Rebirth