One of the most famous creative personalities in Russian poetry is Alexander Kushner, a biography, interesting facts from whose life will be presented to your attention in the article.

A little biography

The poet was born in 1936 in Leningrad. Alexander Semenovich's childhood years were spent in a family of intellectuals, which had a considerable influence on the disclosure of his talent. The poet's father was a naval engineer. Before coming to great literature, Kushner, after graduating from the Pedagogical Institute. Herzen, received a philological education. Then he worked in his specialty, teaching Russian literature and language at school for ten years.

It is worth noting that the poet began to write in early childhood. He wrote the first lines in elementary school. Thus, it was convenient for him to express his thoughts and emotional state.

childhood memories

As Alexander Kushner himself recalled, whose biography was never easy and cloudless, during the war he lived with his mother in Syzran, and he clearly remembered a hungry life. After he came from the kindergarten, when asked by his mother about what they fed there, he answered that unsweetened tea with bread. But in reality it was much easier in Syzran than in besieged Leningrad.

In 1954, the school was graduated with a gold medal, documents were submitted to the university. Unfortunately, Alexander did not succeed. And this, probably, was a sign from above, since he transferred the documents to the Pedagogical Institute, which he successfully graduated from.

Soon Alexander Kushner, whose photo you see in the article, acquired literary connections, having met Gleb Semenov, who was the head of the literary association at the Mining Institute.

The influence of the father on the talent of the son

Back in 1944, Semyon Kushner returned from the front, on his naval tunic there were captain's epaulettes. As soon as the father saw his son's craving for poetry, he began to read the works of Lermontov and Pushkin to him. The Iliad and the Odyssey also sounded from the lips of his father more than once. It was then that the father helped his son understand why he was given talent, and eight-year-old Alexander began to write poetry with pleasure and rapture.

Poet's individuality

Taking the first steps in creativity, Alexander Kushner immediately showed his individuality, his handwriting, which is unlike any contemporary of those times and these.

The lines have always been above everyday life, addressed to timeless events and thoughts. It is with its uniqueness that it keeps readers for a long time.

Some poems belong to the textbook classics, others began to be performed by bards and sound good with the guitar. In fact, Alexander Kushner is a poet, whose photograph adorns collections of bard poetry, he did not write special lyrics for songs. But he was not against the fact that his poems sounded in the form of songs.

Quite unexpectedly, Kushner's poems began to sound, opening up for him a new facet in creativity.

The role of St. Petersburg in the life of Kushner

Since the 19th century, two main directions can be traced in Russian literature. Conventionally, they are called the Moscow and St. Petersburg schools. One of them adheres to strictness in style, classical principles. The other school is based on vivid imagery and a characteristic breadth of vision. Alexander Semenovich adheres rather to classical principles, being one of the most striking poets of that time.

It is worth noting that the poet does not often recall the Northern capital in his work, but he cannot imagine himself without St. Petersburg. The city is displayed in his poems, as well as in the work of Akhmatova, Blok, Gumilyov.

Friendship with Joseph Brodsky

Oddly enough, these two outstanding personalities were born at about the same time and showed themselves on the banks of the Neva. For a long period they were friends, but they were also competitors in creativity. Despite friendly relations, from time to time they had disputes and conflicts related to creativity. Everyone wanted to show their significance and magnitude. Quarrels and different outlooks on life did not have a negative impact on the friendship of the two great poets. And after Brodsky's emigration, they maintained friendship with each other. Their relationship lasted for many years.

Joseph Brodsky wrote a couple of poems for a friend. In response to the future Nobel laureate, Kushner devoted a whole cycle of poems.

A severe shock for a friend was the death of Joseph Brodsky back in 1996. A year before the tragic sudden event, Brodsky dedicated a poetry evening to Kushner in New York. The evening went well, leaving the visitors a lot of positive impressions and vivid memories.

Poems for children

It is worth noting the fact that the poet devotes a lot of time to creativity for young readers. In his creative arsenal are not only interesting poems. Children's songs sound on his words, poems are used for performances and cartoons.

Alexander Kushner, a poet whose biography has become the subject of our review, treats the children's audience as a full-fledged reader. His convictions that a person cannot be formed as a person without joining a high culture are unshakable. After all, only in childhood is a child able to perceive the world around him. All these factors together have a decisive influence on the formation of a person's character, his personal data and even fate. And children enjoy reading his poems.

Today, people see in his poems something close to themselves, despite temporary barriers.

Creativity Kushner

Alexander Semenovich began publishing back in 1957. Poetry was subjected to regular attacks, in which there was a share of criticism. Some time later, his poetry was forbidden to be printed, after the secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee spoke at the session.

The collection “Letter” and “Direct Speech” brought him the greatest fame.

In his penetrating lyrics, any object or ordinary event, landscape or internal reflection of its essence is reflected.

During his life, Kushner published a little more than 30 books of poetry and prose articles, which were placed in two books. It was here that the poet showed himself from the other side, as a person who subtly feels modern Russian poetry.

It is worth noting the fact that his works were published in Italian, English and Dutch, French, Czech.

From time to time he himself was engaged in translations.

Alexander Kushner: personal life

The wife of Alexander Semenovich was Elena Nevzglyadova, a woman who is a poet, literary critic, essayist and philologist. She conducts her performances under the name Elena Ushakova. The poet's son lives in Israel.

Numerous Kushner Awards

The 80-year-old poet and writer is the winner of many literary awards, among which it is worth highlighting:

• "Northern Palmyra" (1995).
• State Prize of Russia (1996).
• Pushkin Prize. A. Toepfer Foundation (1999) and others.

In 2013, the poet was awarded the Baltic Star Prize, which was presented to him in St. Petersburg. At the award ceremony, after a solemn speech, famous actor Yury Tomoshevsky read Kushner's poems.

Literary Association

From the beginning of the 1970s, a literary association appeared in St. Petersburg under the leadership of Alexander Kushner, the first members of which were V. Skoblo, V. Khanan, A. Tankov, Y. Kolker, T. Kostina and others. Throughout its existence, the literary association has changed its location several times. For the first time it was located in the sewing association "Bolshevichka". The last location of LITO is the House of Writers. At the moment when it became difficult for the great poet to manage the role of leader, he entrusted this responsible task to his student, the poet Alexander Tankov.

At present, LITO members are united by devotion to the Russian word. Many poets who were members of it took place in their work and became famous poets and writers. Among the most popular are N. Kononov, A. Purin, A. Mashevsky.

Since its formation, the composition of LITO has not changed much. All the same, its participants gather once every few weeks to read poetry, discuss them, expressing their opinion.

For more than half a century, Alexander Kushner has rightfully been considered one of the most significant figures in Russian poetry. What keeps the reader's attention to this author for such a long period of time? Let's try to figure this out.

Biography facts

Alexander Semyonovich Kushner was born in 1936 in the northern capital. If we accept as an axiom the assertion that the place of birth and the small Motherland are essential in the fate of a person, then for the poet this statement is even more obvious. Childhood passed in an intelligent Leningrad family, which largely predetermined the further choice of the path.

Philological education at the Pedagogical University and further work as a teacher in the specialty immediately preceded his arrival in great literature. It should be borne in mind that Alexander Kushner, as a poet, began long before that. The young man wrote poetry in elementary school. It was a way for him to express his feelings and thoughts.

"Times are not chosen"

From the very first steps in literature, Alexander Kushner declared himself as a strong professional with his recognizable and unlike anyone else's voice. His poetry was initially far from the routine and everyday realities of Soviet life. Nothing can be found in it. The poet always turned his lines somewhere over the everyday, reflecting and exploring timeless phenomena, images and meanings. That is why he managed to say his word in Russian literature.

Some of his lines have become textbook classics. It is difficult today to find someone who would not know that "Times are not chosen, they live and die in them." Among other things, many of his poems have become bard songs and sound very good with the guitar. This is despite the fact that Alexander Kushner, whose photo is traditionally decorated with collections of bard poetry, never composed special texts for vocal performance. As, however, he never objected to the performance of his poems with musical accompaniment. One way or another, the author's song became another unexpected facet of his work.

St. Petersburg in the work of the poet

In Russian poetry, since the golden nineteenth century, two main directions have been clearly traced. They are conventionally referred to as "Petersburg and Moscow schools". One of them is characterized by breadth, recklessness and vivid imagery, while the other is characterized by strictness of style and fidelity to the classical principles of harmony and composition. Alexander Kushner is a poet of the Petersburg tradition. Moreover, he is one of its brightest representatives of the Soviet and post-Soviet historical period.

Despite the fact that the specific realities of the Northern capital are not so often flashed in his poems, Alexander Kushner is unimaginable without St. Petersburg. The city is literally dissolved in his images and constantly echoes the poems of the great predecessors - Blok, Annensky, Gumilyov, Akhmatova and Mandelstam. Alexander Kushner is united by a single architectonics of Russian classicism. It exists and develops in a single spiritual space with this city.

Alexander Kushner and Joseph Brodsky

Two outstanding contemporaries were born and took place as poets at about the same time. For a long time they were united by personal friendship and creative competition. At the same time, the relationship between the two poets was by no means always smooth and conflict-free. Of course, each felt in the other a comparable personality. The friendship of the poets continued even after Brodsky's forced emigration. Their dialogue was never interrupted, it only turned into an epistolary form.

The future Nobel laureate dedicated two poems to his friend, and Kushner dedicated a whole cycle of poems. The sudden death of Joseph Brodsky in January 1996 was a severe shock for Alexander Kushner. Just a year before, Brodsky hosted a friend's poetry evening in New York. This meeting with readers was brilliant and left vivid memories for all those present.

Children's poems by Alexander Kushner

Alexander Kushner pays considerable attention in his work to poems for the smallest. His children's poems are not only widely published and read, but also present in performances and cartoons. The poet by no means considers the children's audience to be secondary. Moreover, he is sure that a person cannot form into a full-fledged personality without constant communication with samples of high literature. After all, it is in childhood that a person is especially susceptible to everything that he sees and hears. All this is of decisive importance for the formation of both personality and destiny. And this position resonates with a young audience. People who were born already in the third millennium meet something close to themselves in the poems of the poet from the last century. Alexander Kushner is not a stranger to them.

» Yulia Kim and the jury's refusal to nominate Alexei Purin for the award, together with Evgeny Rein, left the jury.

Creation

In poetry, he follows the principles laid down by acmeists and authors close in poetics (from I. Annensky to Boris Pasternak): a description of the objective world, life and at the same time inclusion in world culture (citation). A special place in Kushner's work is occupied by the image of his native St. Petersburg-Leningrad: the fate of the poet's lyrical hero is inseparable from this city ("He does not even think of happiness without signs / Topographical, irresistible" - the poem "What is spring to me? Take it for yourself! ..") . Kushner is alien to formal experiments: blank verse, free verse, word creation; at the same time, his work with traditional poetic meters is distinguished by refinement and reflectiveness, skillful use of diverse verses, and syntagmic transfers. An expressive description of Kushner's language was given by his contemporary and friend Joseph Brodsky: “If you can talk about normative Russian vocabulary, then you can, I believe, talk about normative Russian poetic speech. Speaking of the latter, we will always talk about Alexander Kushner".

The same Brodsky gave a general assessment of creativity: "Alexander Kushner is one of the best lyric poets of the 20th century, and his name is destined to stand among the names dear to the heart of anyone whose native language is Russian" .

Kushner's poems are characterized by modesty, closeness to prosaic speech; the skill of the poet is revealed only in the leisurely reading of these poems - in accordance with how Kushner himself reveals the world around him.

Books of poems were published in translation into English, Dutch, Italian, Serbian, Catalan, and Chinese. The poems were also translated into German, French, Japanese, Hebrew, Czech and Bulgarian.

Literary Association

A literary association led by Alexander Semyonovich Kushner has existed in St. Petersburg since the early 1970s. Among the first members of LITO were such poets as Vladimir Khanan, Valery Skoblo, Yuri Kolker, Boris Likhtenfeld, Konstantin Eskin, Tatyana Kostina, Alexander Tankov. During its existence, LITO repeatedly moved from one site to another: from the Bolshevichka sewing association to its current location in the Writer's House on Zvenigorodskaya Street. When it became difficult for A.S. Kushner to conduct classes, his old student took over the baton: at present, the poet Alexander Tankov is in charge of the literary association.

Participants of LITO AS Kushner are united by devotion to Russian poetry and high exactingness to the word. Many former students have long become independent famous poets - for example, Aleksey Purin, Aleksey Mashevsky, Nikolai Kononov came out of LITO Kushner. Since the 1980s, the composition of LITO has not changed much: its members still meet at least once a month to listen to new poems from their friends and learn their opinion about their poems. Among today's participants are Alexander Tankov, Alexander Frolov, Veronika Kapustina, Ivan Duda. All these poets have long ago joined the Union of Writers of St. Petersburg, have their own collections of poems, they are laureates of literary prizes named after Akhmatova, Pasternak, Zabolotsky. The seminar lost two significant poets - Alexander Gurevich and Vasily Rusakov died tragically early.

According to Alexander Tankov:

... the poets included in LITO are very different, each has his own voice, his own intonation. The dry, hard, even harsh philosophical lyrics of David Raskin are in no way similar to the strange, sometimes seemingly absurd, but bewitching and heart-touching poems of Ivan Duda, the brilliant poems of Alexander Frolov strung on a carefully constructed plot - to the associative-phonetic lines of Alexander Tankov, tragic , painful, as if bleeding verses by Sergei Nikolaev - on the aching, transparent, glowing night neon stanzas of Vasily Kovalev. Someone, comparing the poets of this LITO with painters, placed next to Ivan Duda Filonov, next to David Raskin - German expressionists, next to Veronika Kapustina - Modigliani, next to Alla Mikhalevich - color engravings by Hokusai.

Awards

Bibliography

Collections of poems

Books in italics contain, in addition to poems, literary-critical prose and essays..

• First impression. - M.-L.: Soviet writer, 1962. - 96 p.
• The night Watch. - M.-L.: Soviet writer, 1966. - 124 p.
• Signs. - L.: Soviet writer, 1969. - 112 p.
• Letter. - L.: Soviet writer, 1974. - 96 p.
• Direct speech. - L.: Lenizdat, 1975. - 112 p.
• Voice. - L.: Soviet writer, 1978. - 127 p.
• Kanva: From six books. - L.: Soviet writer, 1981. - 207 p.
• Tauride Gardens. - L.: Owls. writer, 1984. - 103 p.
• Day dreams. - L.: Lenizdat, 1986. - 86 p.
• Poems. - L .: Fiction, 1986. - 302 p.
• Hedge. - L.: Soviet writer, 1988. - 142 p.
• Memory / Comp. and trans. from Russian I. Auzins - Riga: Liesma, 1989. - 106 p.
• Flutist. - M .: Pravda, 1990. - (B-ka "Spark"; No. 8). - 29 p.
• Apollo in the Snow: Marginal Notes. - L.: Soviet writer, 1991. - 512 p. - ISBN 5-265-01145-5
• Night music. - L.: Lenizdat, 1991. - 110 p. - ISBN 5-289-01086-6
• Apollo in the snow. - New York: Farras, Straus and Giroux, 1991.
• On a dark star. - St. Petersburg: Acropolis, 1994. - 103 p. - ISBN 5-86585-022-9
• Favorites. - St. Petersburg: Fiction, 1997. - 494 p. - ISBN 5-280-03199-2

* Yarrow: [Book of poems; Marginal notes]. - St. Petersburg: Russian-Baltic Information Center BLITs, 1998. - 367 p. - ISBN 5-86789-073-2

• La poesia di San Pietroburgo. - Milano: 1998.
• Flying ridge. - St. Petersburg: Russian-Baltic Information Center "BLITs", 2000. - 95 p. - ISBN 978-5-86789-115-2
• Poems: Four decades. - M.: Progress-Pleyada, 2000. - 288 p. - ISBN 5-93006-010-X
• Fifth element: [Favourite]. - M.: Eksmo-Press, 2000. - 384 p. - ISBN 5-04-005458-0
• Bush. - St. Petersburg: Pushkin Fund, 2002. - 88 p. - ISBN 5-89803-100-6

* Wave and stone. Poems and prose. - St. Petersburg: Logos, 2003. - 768 p. - ISBN 5-87288-242-4

• Cold May. - St. Petersburg: Helikon + Amphora, 2005. - 96 p. - ISBN 5-93682-189-7
• Favorites. - M.: Time, 2005. - 270 p. - ISBN 5-94117-093-9

* Apollo in the Grass: An Essay; Poetry. - M.: Progress-Pleyada, 2005. - 632 p. - ISBN 5-93006-036-3

• In the new century. - M.: Progress-Pleyada, 2006. - 336 p. - ISBN 5-93006-057-6
• Times do not choose: Five decades. - St. Petersburg: Azbuka-klassika, 2007. - 224 p. - ISBN 978-5-91181-580-6
• Selected poems: [Booklet with text as part of a multimedia book]. - St. Petersburg: Helikon Plus, 2007. - (Series "Live Poems").
• Tauride Garden: Selected. - M.: Time, 2008. - 528 p. - ISBN 978-5-9691-0200-2
• Clouds choose anapaest. - Avanta+ encyclopedia world; Astrel, 2008. - 95 p. - ISBN 978-5-98986-156-9
• Chalk and coal. - M.: The world of Avanta+ encyclopedias; Astrel; Polygraphizdat, 2010. - 128 p. - ISBN 978-5-98986-393-8; - ISBN 978-5-271-283-75-8; - ISBN 978-5-42-15-1045-1

* On this side of the mysterious line: Poems, articles on poetry. - St. Petersburg: ABC; Azbuka-Atticus, 2011. - 544 p. - ISBN 978-5-389-01520-3

• Evening light. - St. Petersburg: Publishing house. group "Lenizdat", 2013. - 112 p. - ISBN 978-5-4453-0055-7
• Times do not choose ...: [Sel.] - M .: Eksmo, 2014. - 416 p. - ISBN 978-5-699-72989-0
• Antique motifs: [Poems; Essay]. - St. Petersburg: Union of Writers of St. Petersburg; Helikon Plus, 2014. - 160 p. - ISBN 978-5-93682-963-5
• Gravity. - M.: Time, 2015. - 96 p. - ISBN 978-5-9691-1390-9
• Selected Poems. - St. Petersburg: Zvezda magazine, 2016. - 472 p. - ISBN 978-5-7439-0204-0
• Between the Fontanka and the Moika...: A Book of Poems. - St. Petersburg: Arka, 2016. - 288 p. - ISBN 978-5-91208-221-4

Books for children

• A cherished desire. - L .: Children's literature, 1973.
• Big news. - L .: Children's literature, 1975. - 15 p.-
• City as a gift. - L .: Children's literature, 1976. - 128 p.
• Bike. - L .: Children's literature, 1979. - 12 p.
• Fun walk. - L .: Children's literature, 1984. - 36 p.
• What I Learned!: A Coloring Book. - Kyiv: Veselka, 1988. - 12 p.
• How do you live? - L .: Children's literature, 1988. - 47 p.
• To scare everyone: [Toy book]. - M .: Magazine "On a combat post"; COOP "ISO", 1992.
• What's in your pocket? - M.: Olma-Press Bookplate, 2003. - 8 p. - ISBN 5-94847-001-6
• What have I learned! - M.: Olma-Press Bookplate, 2003. - 8 p. - ISBN 5-94847-001-6
• Fun walk. - St. Petersburg: ABC; ABC-Atticus, 2011. - (Ser. "44 cheerful verses"). - 48 s. - ISBN 978-5-389-01777-1
• It's good to have an elephant!.. / Postscript. M. Yasnova. - St. Petersburg: Detgiz, 2015. - 92 p. ISBN 978-5-8452-0504-9
• A cherished desire. - St. Petersburg; M .: Speech, 2016. - (Ser. "Mom's favorite book.) - 20 pp. - [Reprinted book of the same name in 1973; see above.] - ISBN 978-5-9268-2003-1

Modern literature about the work of A. S. Kushner

• Aryev A. Little secrets, or the Phenomenon of Alexander Kushner // Ariev A. The royal branch. - SPb., 2000. - S. 85-185.
• Ariev A. The habit of living: On the 80th anniversary of Alexander Kushner // Banner. - 2016. - No. 9. - S. 169-182.
• Belyaeva N. Alexander Kushner: eight facets of talent // Neva. - 2016. - No. 9. - S. 182-193.
• Gelfond M. M. "I will find a reader in the offspring ...": Boratynsky and poets of the twentieth century. - M., 2012. - S. 163-178 (and others).
• Glovko O. Name in a lyrical context: (Based on Alexander Kushner's poem "The War Was Over") // Name of the text, name in the text: Sat. scientific works. - Tver, 2004. - S. 61-70.
• Kazarin Yu. Part of eternity: about the poetry of Alexander Kushner // Ural. - 2012. - No. 4. - S. 219-236.
• Kalinnikov L. A. Questions of the poet A. S. Kushner to the philosopher I. Kant about the problems of otherworldly // Kant's collection: Nauch. magazine - Kaliningrad, 2010. - No. 3 (33). - S. 33-51.
• Koroleva N.V. Meetings on the way: [Memories]. - St. Petersburg, 2010 (according to the names).
• Kudryavtseva I. A. The poet and the process of creativity in the artistic consciousness of A. Kushner: Abstract of the thesis. diss. … cand. philologist. Sciences. - Cherepovets, 2004.
• Kulagin A. Two Kushner // Star. - 2016. - No. 9. - S. 7-13.
• Kulagin A. V. A. Kushner's cycle "Stans": genre, composition, context // Through Literature: Sat. articles for the 80th anniversary of Leonid Genrikhovich Frizman. - Kyiv, 2015. - S. 364-377.
• Kulagin A. V. “I spent my whole life in this city ...”: Poetic Petersburg of Alexander Kushner. - Kolomna, 2014. - 142 p.
• Lyapina L. E. “The Tauride Garden” by A. S. Kushner: contextual reading // Lyapina L. E. The World of Petersburg in Russian Poetry: Essays on Historical Poetics. - St. Petersburg, 2010. - S. 126-137.
• Nevzglyadova E. The fifth element: (About the book of poems by A. Kushner "Tauride Garden") // Nevzglyadova E. About the verse. - St. Petersburg, 2005. - S. 193-212.
• Novikov Vl. Brodsky - Kushner - Sosnora: Academic essay // Novikov Vl. Romance with Literature. - M., 2007. - S. 114-119.
• Novikova E. The history of one epigram: (Pushkin - Kushner - Bykov) // Collected works: To the sixtieth birthday of L. I. Sobolev. - M., 2006. - S. 411-416.
• Poddubko Yu. V. Antique motifs and images in the poetry of A. Kushner // Literature in the context of culture: Zb. Sciences. prats. - Issue. 22(2). - Kyiv, 2012. - S. 252-259.
• Poddubko Yu. V. Motive-figurative system of A. Kushner's lyrics: Diss. ... cand. philologist. Sciences. - Kharkov, 2015. - 219 p.
• Smirnov A. Direct speech: Notes on the poetry of Alexander Kushner // Snob. - 2015. - No. 5. - S. 166-171.
• Sukhanova S. Yu., Tsypileva P. A. Functions of the ancient pretext in the lyrics of A. Kushner // Bulletin of Tomsk. state University: Philology. - 2014. - No. 2 (28). - S. 126-141.
• Yasnov M. Big news: Alexander Kushner // Yasnov M. Journey into miracles: A book about children, children's poetry and children's poets. - St. Petersburg, 2014. - S. 173-176.
• Yachnik L. N. Intertextuality and the Russian Poetic Tradition in the Works of Alexander Kushner: Diss. ... cand. philologist. Sciences. - Kyiv, 2014. - 224 p.

Reference materials

• Alexander Semyonovich Kushner / Comp. N. I. Kuznetsova // Russian Soviet writers. Poets: Biobibliogr. pointer. - [T.] 12. - M .: Book. chamber, 1989. - S. 4-34.
• Rodnyanskaya I. B. Kushner Alexander Semyonovich // Russian writers of the 20th century: Biographical. dictionary. - M., 2000. - S. 399-402.
• Drunk M. F. Kushner Alexander Semyonovich // Russian writers of the twentieth century: Prose writers, poets, playwrights: Biobibliographic. Dictionary: In 3 volumes - M., 2005. - T. 2. - S. 389-392.
• "Irresistible order of verses...": An index of Alexander Kushner's poems included in his author's collections. 1962-2016. Ed. 2nd, rev. and additional / Comp. A. V. Kulagin. - Kolomna: Inlight, 2016. - 80 p. - ISBN 978-5-905529-42-9

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Links

Poetry of Alexander Kushner

• in the magazine room
• on the website "New Literary Map of Russia"
• on the site "Unofficial Poetry"

Critics about Alexander Kushner

• W. Betaki. "Russian poetry for 30 years (1956-1986)" "Antiques" New Haven Conn. USA 1987

Interview with Alexander Kushner

Notes

An excerpt characterizing Kushner, Alexander Semyonovich

He finished and, rising, embraced Pierre and kissed him. Pierre, with tears of joy in his eyes, looked around him, not knowing how to respond to the congratulations and renewal of acquaintances with which he was surrounded. He did not recognize any acquaintances; in all these people he saw only brothers with whom he burned with impatience to set to work.
The great master banged his hammer, everyone sat down, and one read a lesson on the need for humility.
The great master offered to perform the last duty, and an important dignitary, who bore the title of alms-gatherer, began to bypass the brothers. Pierre wanted to write down all the money that he had on the alms sheet, but he was afraid to show pride in this, and wrote down as much as others wrote down.
The meeting was over, and upon returning home, it seemed to Pierre that he had come from some kind of distant journey, where he had spent decades, completely changed and lagged behind the former order and habits of life.

The next day after being admitted to the lodge, Pierre sat at home, reading a book and trying to understand the meaning of the square, depicting God on one side, the moral on the other, the physical on the third, and the mixed on the fourth. From time to time he would tear himself away from the book and the square and in his imagination draw up a new plan of life for himself. Yesterday in the box he was told that a rumor about a duel had reached the attention of the sovereign, and that it would be wiser for Pierre to leave Petersburg. Pierre planned to go to his southern estates and take care of his peasants there. He was happily contemplating this new life when Prince Vasily suddenly entered the room.
– My friend, what have you done in Moscow? Why did you quarrel with Lelya, mon cher? [my dear?] You are in error, - said Prince Vasily, entering the room. - I found out everything, I can tell you correctly that Helen is innocent before you, like Christ before the Jews. Pierre wanted to answer, but he interrupted him. “And why didn’t you address me directly and simply as a friend?” I know everything, I understand everything,” he said, “you behaved like a man who values ​​his honor; may be too hasty, but we will not judge that. One thing you remember in what position you put her and me in the eyes of the whole society and even the court, ”he added, lowering his voice. – She lives in Moscow, you are here. Remember, my dear,” he pulled him down by the arm, “there is one misunderstanding here; you yourself, I think you feel. Write a letter with me now, and she will come here, everything will be explained, otherwise I will tell you, you can suffer very easily, my dear.
Prince Vasily looked impressively at Pierre. “I know from good sources that the Empress Dowager takes a keen interest in this whole matter. You know, she's very kind to Helen.
Several times Pierre was about to speak, but on the one hand, Prince Vasily did not allow him to do so, on the other hand, Pierre himself was afraid to start speaking in that tone of decisive refusal and disagreement in which he firmly decided to answer his father-in-law. In addition, the words of the Masonic statute: "be kind and friendly" came to mind to him. He frowned, blushed, got up and lowered himself, working on himself in the most difficult thing for him in his life - to say something unpleasant in the face of a person, to say not what this person expected, whoever he was. He was so accustomed to obey this tone of careless self-confidence of Prince Vasily that even now he felt that he would not be able to resist her; but he felt that his entire future fate would depend on what he said now: whether he would follow the old, old road, or along that new one that the Masons had so attractively pointed out to him, and on which he firmly believed that will find rebirth to a new life.
“Well, my dear,” Prince Vasily said jokingly, “tell me yes, and I will write to her on my own, and we will kill the fat calf. - But Prince Vasily did not have time to finish his joke, when Pierre, with a fury in his face, which resembled his father, without looking into the eyes of his interlocutor, said in a whisper:
- Prince, I did not call you to my place, go, please, go! He jumped up and opened the door for him.
“Go on,” he repeated, not believing himself and rejoicing at the expression of embarrassment and fear that appeared on the face of Prince Vasily.
- What happened to you? You are sick?
– Go! the trembling voice said again. And Prince Vasily had to leave without receiving any explanation.
A week later, Pierre, having said goodbye to his new friends the Masons and left them large sums in alms, left for his estates. His new brothers gave him letters to Kyiv and Odessa, to the Freemasons there, and promised to write to him and guide him in his new work.

The case between Pierre and Dolokhov was hushed up, and, despite the then severity of the sovereign regarding duels, neither both opponents nor their seconds were injured. But the story of the duel, confirmed by Pierre's break with his wife, was made public. Pierre, who was looked upon condescendingly, patronizingly, when he was an illegitimate son, who was caressed and glorified, when he was the best bridegroom of the Russian Empire, after his marriage, when brides and mothers had nothing to expect from him, he greatly lost in the opinion of society, all the more that he did not know how and did not want to curry favor with the public. Now he alone was accused of what had happened, they said that he was a stupid jealous man, subject to the same fits of bloodthirsty rage as his father. And when, after Pierre's departure, Helene returned to St. Petersburg, she was not only cordially, but with a touch of reverence, referring to her misfortune, was received by all her acquaintances. When the conversation turned to her husband, Helen adopted a dignified expression, which she, although not understanding its meaning, by her usual tact, adopted for herself. This expression said that she had decided to endure her misfortune without complaint, and that her husband was the cross sent to her by God. Prince Vasily expressed his opinion more frankly. He shrugged his shoulders when the conversation turned to Pierre, and, pointing to his forehead, said:
- Un cerveau fele - je le disais toujours. [Half crazy - I always said that.]
“I said ahead of time,” Anna Pavlovna said about Pierre, “I just said then, and before everyone else (she insisted on her primacy), that this is a crazy young man, spoiled by the depraved ideas of the century. I said this back then when everyone admired him and he had just arrived from abroad, and remember, one evening I had some kind of Marat. What ended? I did not yet want this wedding and predicted everything that would happen.
Anna Pavlovna, as before, gave her free days such evenings as before, and such as she alone had the gift to arrange, evenings at which she gathered, firstly, la creme de la veritable bonne societe, la fine fleur de l " essence intellectuelle de la societe de Petersbourg, [the cream of real good society, the color of the intellectual essence of St. some new, interesting face to society, and that nowhere, as at these evenings, was the degree of the political thermometer on which the mood of the Legitimist Petersburg court society stood so clearly and firmly.
At the end of 1806, when all the sad details about the destruction of the Prussian army near Jena and Auerstet by Napoleon and about the surrender of most of the Prussian fortresses had already been received, when our troops had already entered Prussia, and our second war with Napoleon began, Anna Pavlovna gathered evening. La creme de la veritable bonne societe [Cream of a real good society] consisted of a charming and unhappy, abandoned by her husband, Helen, from Morte Mariet "a, a charming Prince Hippolyte, who had just arrived from Vienna, two diplomats, an aunt, one young man who used living room with the name simply d "un homme de beaucoup de merite, [a very worthy person,] one newly granted lady-in-waiting with her mother and some other less prominent persons.
The person with whom, as a novelty, Anna Pavlovna treated her guests that evening, was Boris Drubetskoy, who had just arrived by courier from the Prussian army and was adjutant to a very important person.
The degree of the political thermometer pointed out to society at this evening was as follows: no matter how much all European sovereigns and generals try to pander to Bonaparte in order to make me and us in general these troubles and sorrows, our opinion about Bonaparte cannot change. We will not stop expressing our unfeigned way of thinking on this matter, and we can only say to the King of Prussia and others: so much the worse for you. Tu l "as voulu, George Dandin, [You wanted it, Georges Dandin,] that's all we can say. That's what the political thermometer indicated at Anna Pavlovna's evening. When Boris, who was supposed to be brought to the guests, entered the living room, almost the entire society was already assembled, and the conversation, led by Anna Pavlovna, was about our diplomatic relations with Austria and about the hope of an alliance with her.
Boris, dressed in a smart, adjutant's uniform, matured, fresh and ruddy, freely entered the drawing room and was taken, as he should, to greet his aunt and was again attached to the general circle.
Anna Pavlovna gave him her dry hand to kiss, introduced him to certain faces he did not know, and identified each one to him in a whisper.
– Le Prince Hyppolite Kouraguine – charmant jeune homme. M r Kroug charge d "affaires de Kopenhague - un esprit profond, and simply: M r Shittoff un homme de beaucoup de merite [Prince Ippolit Kuragin, a dear young man. G. Krug, Copenhagen chargé d'affaires, deep mind. G. Shitov , a very worthy person] about the one who bore this name.
Boris during this time of his service, thanks to the cares of Anna Mikhailovna, his own tastes and the properties of his restrained character, managed to put himself in the most advantageous position in the service. He was adjutant to a very important person, had a very important mission to Prussia, and had just returned from there by courier. He fully assimilated to himself that unwritten subordination that he liked in Olmutz, according to which the ensign could stand incomparably higher than the general, and according to which, for success in the service, not efforts in the service, not labor, not courage, not constancy, were needed, but it was necessary only the ability to deal with those who reward service - and he himself was often surprised at his rapid success and how others could not understand this. As a result of this discovery, his whole way of life, all relations with former acquaintances, all his plans for the future, have completely changed. He was not rich, but he used the last of his money to be better dressed than others; he would rather deprive himself of many pleasures than allow himself to ride in a bad carriage or appear in an old uniform on the streets of Petersburg. He approached and sought acquaintance only with people who were taller than him, and therefore could be useful to him. He loved Petersburg and despised Moscow. The memory of the Rostovs' house and his childhood love for Natasha was unpleasant for him, and since his departure for the army he had never been to the Rostovs. In Anna Pavlovna's drawing room, in which he considered being present an important promotion, he now immediately understood his role and left Anna Pavlovna to take advantage of the interest that lay in it, carefully observing each person and evaluating the benefits and opportunities for rapprochement with each of them. . He sat down in the place indicated to him near the beautiful Helen, and listened to the general conversation.
- Vienne trouve les bases du traite propose tellement hors d "atteinte, qu" on ne saurait y parvenir meme par une continuite de succes les plus brillants, et elle met en doute les moyens qui pourraient nous les procurer. C "est la phrase authentique du cabinet de Vienne," said the Danish charge d "affaires. [Vienna finds the foundations of the proposed treaty so impossible that they cannot be achieved even by a series of the most brilliant successes: and she doubts the means that can deliver them to us. This is a genuine phrase of the Vienna Cabinet,” said the Danish chargé d’affaires.]
- C "est le doute qui est flatteur!" - said l "homme a l" esprit profond, with a thin smile. [Doubt is flattering! - said a deep mind,]
- Il faut distinguer entre le cabinet de Vienne et l "Empereur d" Autriche, said Morte Mariet. - L "Empereur d" Autriche n "a jamais pu penser a une chose pareille, ce n" est que le cabinet qui le dit. [It is necessary to distinguish between the Vienna Cabinet and the Austrian Emperor. The Austrian Emperor could never think this, only the cabinet says it.]
- Eh, mon cher vicomte, - Anna Pavlovna intervened, - l "Urope (for some reason she pronounced l" Urope, as a special subtlety of the French language that she could afford when speaking with the French) l "Urope ne sera jamais notre alliee sincere [Ah, my dear Viscount, Europe will never be our sincere ally.]
Following this, Anna Pavlovna brought the conversation to the courage and firmness of the Prussian king in order to bring Boris into the business.
Boris listened attentively to the one who spoke, waiting for his turn, but at the same time he managed to look several times at his neighbor, the beautiful Helen, who several times met her eyes with a handsome young adjutant with a smile.
Quite naturally, speaking of the situation in Prussia, Anna Pavlovna asked Boris to tell about his journey to Glogau and the position in which he found the Prussian army. Boris, slowly, in pure and correct French, told a lot of interesting details about the troops, about the court, throughout his story carefully avoiding expressing his opinion about the facts that he conveyed. For some time Boris captured everyone's attention, and Anna Pavlovna felt that her refreshment with a novelty was accepted with pleasure by all the guests. Helen showed the most attention to Boris's story. She asked him several times about some details of his trip and seemed to be very interested in the position of the Prussian army. As soon as he had finished, she turned to him with her usual smile:
“Il faut absolument que vous veniez me voir, [It is necessary that you come to see me,” she said to him in such a tone, as if for some reason that he could not know, it was absolutely necessary.
- Mariedi entre les 8 et 9 heures. Vous me ferez grand plaisir. [On Tuesday, between 8 and 9 o'clock. You will give me great pleasure.] - Boris promised to fulfill her desire and wanted to enter into a conversation with her when Anna Pavlovna recalled him under the pretext of an aunt who wanted to hear him.
"You know her husband, don't you?" said Anna Pavlovna, closing her eyes and pointing sadly at Helen. “Ah, this is such an unfortunate and lovely woman! Don't talk about him in front of her, please don't. She's too hard!

When Boris and Anna Pavlovna returned to the common circle, Prince Ippolit took over the conversation.
He moved forward in his chair and said: Le Roi de Prusse! [King of Prussia!] and saying this, he laughed. Everyone turned to him: Le Roi de Prusse? asked Hippolyte, laughed again, and again calmly and seriously sat down in the back of his armchair. Anna Pavlovna waited for him a little, but since Hippolyte resolutely did not seem to want to talk any more, she began to talk about how the godless Bonaparte had stolen the sword of Frederick the Great in Potsdam.
- C "est l" epee de Frederic le Grand, que je ... [This is the sword of Frederick the Great, which I ...] - she began, but Hippolytus interrupted her with the words:
- Le Roi de Prusse ... - and again, as soon as he was addressed, he apologized and fell silent. Anna Pavlovna grimaced. Morte Mariet, a friend of Hippolyte, turned to him resolutely:
Voyons a qui en avez vous avec votre Roi de Prusse? [Well, what about the Prussian king?]
Hippolyte laughed, as if he were ashamed of his own laughter.
- Non, ce n "est rien, je voulais dire seulement ... [No, nothing, I just wanted to say ...] (He intended to repeat the joke that he heard in Vienna, and which he was going to post all evening.) Je voulais dire seulement, que nous avons tort de faire la guerre pour le roi de Prusse [I just wanted to say that we are fighting in vain pour le roi de Prusse.

Alexander Kushner in front of Jerusalem Name at birth:

Alexander Semyonovich Kushner

Date of Birth: Place of Birth: Citizenship:

USSR

Occupation: Prizes:

State Prize of the Russian Federation,
Pushkin Prize of the Russian Federation
and many others. others

Alexander Semyonovich Kushner(September 14, 1936, Leningrad) - Russian poet and translator. Author of more than 30 books of poetry and a number of articles on classical and modern Russian poetry, collected in two books.

Biography

Born into a Jewish family in 1936. The father of the future poet, Lieutenant Colonel S. S. Kushner (1911-1980), was a naval engineer.

In 1959 he graduated from the Philological Faculty of the Pedagogical Institute. A. Herzen.

In 1959-1969 he taught Russian language and literature at school. From the late 1960s, he switched to professional literary activity. In 1993, he signed the "Letter of the 42".

Member of the USSR Writers Union (1965), Russian PEN Center (1987).

Ch. editor of the Poet's Library (since 1992; since 1995 - the New Poet's Library).

Member of the editorial boards of the Zvezda and Counterpoint magazines (since 1998), the Art Petersburg virtual magazine (since 1996).

Creative activity

Poetry has been published since 1957.

Serious criticism of Kushner's poetry (articles in the journals Voprosy Literatury, Novy Mir, etc.) since the late 1960s. constantly interspersed with attacks on the poet (Crocodile, 1962; Pravda, April 17, 1985). After the speech of the Secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU with reproaches against Kushner, it was not published for some time.

The collections "Letter" (1974) and "Direct Speech" (1975) brought Kushner wide popularity. The release of the collection "Voice" (1978) coincided with the height of disputes (in samizdat, Soviet and foreign press) about the place and significance of Kushner's poetry, which some denied as virtuoso, but cold versification, while others declared the brightest phenomenon of Soviet and Russian modern poetry in general.

Kushner's book of selected poems Canvas (1981) was followed by his collections Tauride Garden (1984) and Day Dreams (1986). Kushner also published collections of poems for children "Cherished Desire" (1973), "City as a Gift" (1976) and "Bicycle" (1979).

Books of poems were published in translation into English, Dutch, Italian. The poems have been translated into German, French, Japanese, Hebrew, Czech and Bulgarian.

A family

He is married to the poetess Elena Nevzglyadova. The only son, Eugene, lives with his family in Israel.

Features of creativity

The first collections of poems - "First Impression" (1962) and "Night Watch" (1966) - are marked by some influence of V. Khodasevich; starting from the collection "Signs" (1969), Kushner is established in the tradition of acmeists (mainly O. Mandelstam), but his verse is distinguished by greater semantic simplicity and restraint in the selection of metaphors, which endows Kushner's lyrics with special tension.

Kushner's poems are written in classical meters, mostly in stanzas with precise, somewhat muffled rhymes.

The main motives of Kushner's poetry are the inevitability of death, suffering and oppression as a prerequisite for happiness, external lack of freedom as a source of internal freedom, loneliness and the metaphysical exile of man. Kushner's philosophical lyrics are built on a repulsion from the tangible realities of everyday life, the urban landscape, on precise and concrete observations and are permeated with associations, reminiscences and hidden quotations that go back to the cultural symbols of all times and peoples (excluding the Old Testament).

In poetry, he follows the principles laid down by acmeists and authors close in poetics (from I. Annensky to B. Pasternak): a description of the objective world, life and at the same time inclusion in world culture (citation). Kushner is alien to formal experiments, innovation: white verse, free verse, word creation. The best thing about Kushner was said by his contemporary Joseph Brodsky: “If you can talk about normative Russian vocabulary, then you can, I believe, talk about normative Russian poetic speech. Speaking of the latter, we will always talk about Alexander Kushner".

The same Brodsky gave a general assessment as follows: "Alexander Kushner is one of the best lyric poets of the 20th century, and his name is destined to stand among the names dear to the heart of anyone whose native language is Russian". And the following assessment too: "Kushner is not only a mediocre poet, but also a mediocre person"

Jewish theme

The Jewish theme in Kushner's poems appears only in references and allusions (an exception is the poem "When that Polish teacher ..." about J. Korczak). Adhering, like A. Akhmatova, to the principle not to leave Russia and not to express his attitude towards the regime, Kushner responded to the mass exodus of Jews from the Soviet Union with the poems “And next time I want to live in Russia”, “Let's go! Let's go! - they say”, “I don’t like the East, I don’t understand”, etc.

Bibliography

Collections of poems

1. First impression. - M.-L.: Soviet writer, 1962. - 96 p.
2. The night Watch. 1966.
3. Signs. 1969.
4. Letter. 1974.
5. Direct speech. 1975.
6. City as a gift. - L .: Children's literature, 1976. - 128 p.
7. Voice. - L.: Soviet writer, 1978. - 127 p.
8. Canvas. / Of the six books- L.: Soviet writer, 1981. - 207 p.
9. Tauride Gardens. - L.: Owls. writer, 1984. - 103 p.
10. Merry Walk: Poems. [For doshk. age]. - L .: Children's literature, 1984. - 36 p.
11. Day dreams. - L.: Lenizdat, 1986. - 86 p.
12. Poems. - L .: Fiction, 1986. - 302 p.
13. Hedge. - L.: Soviet writer, 1988. - 142 p.
14. What have I learned! - Kyiv: Veselka, 1988. - 12 p.
15. How do you live? - L .: Children's literature, 1988. - 47 p.
16. Memory. / Comp. and trans. from Russian I. Auzins- Riga: Liesma, 1989. - 106 p.
17. Flutist. - M.: Pravda, 1990. - 29 p.
18. Night music. - L.: Lenizdat, 1991. - 110 p.
19. Apollo in the snow. - New York: Farras, Straus and Giroux, 1991.
20. On a dark star. - St. Petersburg: Acropolis, 1994. - 102 p.
21. Favorites. - St. Petersburg: Fiction, 1997. - 494 p.
22. Yarrow. - St. Petersburg: Blitz, 1998. - 367 p.
23. La poesia di San Pietroburgo. - Milano: 1998.
24. Flying ridge. - St. Petersburg: Blitz, 2000. - 95 p. - ISBN 978-5-86789-115-2.
25. Fifth element. - M.: Eksmo-Press, 2000. - 384 p. - ISBN 5-04-005458-0.
26. Bush. - St. Petersburg: Pushkin Fund, 2002. - 88 p.
27. Wave and stone. Poems and prose. - St. Petersburg: Logos, 2003. - 768 p. - ISBN 5-87288-242-4.
28. What's in your pocket? - M.: Olma-Press Bookplate, 2003. - 8 p. - ISBN 5-94847-001-6.
29. What have I learned! - M.: Olma-Press Bookplate, 2003. - 8 p. - ISBN 5-94847-001-6.
30. Cold May. - St. Petersburg: Helikon Plus, 2005. - 96 p. - ISBN 5-93682-189-7.
31. Favorites. - M.: Time, 2005. - 270 p. - ISBN 5-94117-093-9.
32. In the new century. - M.: Progress-Pleyada, 2006. - 336 p. - ISBN 5-93006-057-6.
33. Times are not chosen (five decades). - M.: Azbuka-klassika, 2007. - 224 p. - ISBN 978-5-91181-580-6.
34. Tauride Gardens. - M.: Time, 2008. - 528 p. - ISBN 978-5-9691-0200-2.
35. Clouds choose anapaest. - M.: Avanta +, Astrel, 2008. - 95 p. - ISBN 978-5-98986-156-9.

prose books

• Apollo in the snow
• Wave and stone

Awards

• State Prize of the Russian Federation (1995)
• Award "Northern Palmyra" (1995)
• New World magazine award (1997)
• Pushkin Prize of the A. Töpfer Foundation (1998)
• Pushkin Prize of the Russian Federation (2001)
• Tsarskoye Selo Art Prize (2004)
• Poet Award (2005)
• "For fruitful activities that stimulate children's interest in reading, in Russian children's literature" (2007).

Biography

Born in 1936, the future poet's father, Lieutenant Colonel S. S. Kushner (1911-1980), was a naval engineer. He studied at the Faculty of Philology of the Pedagogical Institute. A. Herzen. In 1959-1969 he taught Russian language and literature at school. Since the late 1960s, he switched to professional literary activity. In 1993, he signed the "Letter of the 42".

Member of the USSR Writers Union (1965), Russian PEN Center (1987). Editor-in-Chief of the Poet's Library (since 1992; since 1995 - the New Poet's Library). Member of the editorial boards of the magazines "Zvezda", "Counterpoint" (since 1998), the virtual magazine "Art Petersburg" (since 1996).

He is married to the poetess Elena Nevzglyadova. The only son, Eugene, lives in Israel with his family.

Creation

In poetry, he follows the principles laid down by acmeists and authors close in poetics (from I. Annensky to Boris Pasternak): a description of the objective world, life and at the same time inclusion in world culture (citation). Kushner is alien to formal experiments, innovation: white verse, free verse, word creation. The best thing about Kushner was said by his contemporary Joseph Brodsky: “If you can talk about normative Russian vocabulary, then you can, I believe, talk about normative Russian poetic speech. Speaking of the latter, we will always talk about Alexander Kushner".

The same Brodsky gave a general assessment as follows: "Alexander Kushner is one of the best lyric poets of the 20th century, and his name is destined to stand among the names dear to the heart of anyone whose native language is Russian".

Kushner's poems are characterized by modesty, closeness to prosaic speech; the skill of the poet is revealed only in the leisurely reading of these poems - in accordance with how Kushner himself reveals the world around him.

Books of poems were published in translation into English, Dutch, Italian. The poems were translated into German, French, Japanese, Hebrew, Czech and Bulgarian.

Bibliography

Collections of poems

1. First impression. - M.-L.: Soviet writer, 1962. - 96 p.
2. The night Watch. 1966.
3. Signs. 1969.
4. Letter. 1974.
5. Direct speech. 1975.
6. City as a gift. - L .: Children's literature, 1976. - 128 p.
7. Voice. - L.: Soviet writer, 1978. - 127 p.
8. Canvas. / Of the six books- L.: Soviet writer, 1981. - 207 p.
9. Tauride Gardens. - L.: Owls. writer, 1984. - 103 p.
10. Merry Walk: Poems. [For doshk. age]. - L .: Children's literature, 1984. - 36 p.
11. Day dreams. - L.: Lenizdat, 1986. - 86 p.
12. Poems. - L .: Fiction, 1986. - 302 p.
13. Hedge. - L.: Soviet writer, 1988. - 142 p.
14. What have I learned! - Kyiv: Veselka, 1988. - 12 p.
15. How do you live? - L .: Children's literature, 1988. - 47 p.
16. Memory. / Comp. and trans. from Russian I. Auzins- Riga: Liesma, 1989. - 106 p.
17. Flutist. - M.: Pravda, 1990. - 29 p.
18. Night music. - L.: Lenizdat, 1991. - 110 p.
19. Apollo in the snow. - New York: Farras, Straus and Giroux, 1991.
20. On a dark star. - St. Petersburg: Acropolis, 1994. - 102 p.
21. Favorites. - St. Petersburg: Fiction, 1997. - 494 p.
22. Yarrow. - St. Petersburg: Blitz, 1998. - 367 p.
23. La poesia di San Pietroburgo. - Milano: 1998.
24. Flying ridge. - St. Petersburg: Blitz, 2000. - 95 p. - .
25. Fifth element. - M.: Eksmo-Press, 2000. - 384 p. - .
26. Bush. - St. Petersburg: Pushkin Fund, 2002. - 88 p.
27. Wave and stone. Poems and prose. - St. Petersburg: Logos, 2003. - 768 p. - .
28. What's in your pocket? - M.: Olma-Press Bookplate, 2003. - 8 p. - .
29. What have I learned! - M.: Olma-Press Bookplate, 2003. - 8 p. - .
30. Cold May. - St. Petersburg: Helikon Plus, 2005. - 96 p. - .
31. Favorites. - M.: Time, 2005. - 270 p. - .
32. In the new century. - M.: Progress-Pleyada, 2006. - 336 p. - .
33. Times are not chosen (five decades). - M.: Azbuka-klassika, 2007. - 224 p. - .
34. Tauride Gardens. - M.: Time, 2008. - 528 p. - .
35. Clouds choose anapaest. - M.: Avanta +, Astrel, 2008. - 95 p. - .

prose books

• Apollo in the snow
• Wave and stone
• Apollo in the grass

Awards

• State Prize of the Russian Federation (1995)
• Award "Northern Palmyra" (1995)
• New World magazine award (1997)
• Pushkin Prize of the A. Töpfer Foundation (1998)
• Pushkin Prize of the Russian Federation (2001)
• Tsarskoye Selo Art Prize (2004)
• Poet Award (2005)
• Prize named after Korney Chukovsky "For fruitful activities that stimulate children's interest in reading, in Russian children's literature" (2007).
• MIBF Award "Book of the Year" in the nomination "Poetry" (2011)