Aleksandr Stepanovich Grinevsky (better known by his pen name, Aleksander Green / Grin (spelling varies in non-Russian literature), rus, Александр Грин, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɡrʲin, a=Ru-Aleksandr Grin.ogg, 23 August 1880 – 8 July 1932) was a Russian writer, notable for his romantic novels and short stories, mostly set in an unnamed

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

land with a European or Latin American flavor (Grin's fans often refer to this land as

Grinlandia Grinlandia () is the fantasy world where most of the romantic novels and short stories of Alexander Grin take place. The name of the country is never mentioned by the author himself, and the name Grinlandia was suggested in 1934 by literary cri ...

). Most of his writings deal with the sea, adventures, and love.The Soviet Union, A Biographical Dictionary, Macmillan, NY, 1990.

Biography

Alexander Grin was born Aleksandr Stepanovich Grinevsky () in Slobodskoy,

Vyatka Governorate Vyatka Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR from 1796 to 1929, with its capital in Vyatka (now Kirov, Kirov Oblast, Kirov). The ...

(now in

Kirov Oblast Kirov Oblast ( rus, Кировская область, p=ˈkʲirəfskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in Eastern Europe. Its administrative center is the city of Kirov. As of the 2010 census, the population ...

) in 1880, the son of the Pole Stefan Hryniewski (pronounced in Russian as ''Stefan Grinevsky''). Stefan was sent away to Tula as punishment after participating in the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

of 1863, and of a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

nurse, Anna Lyapkova. Aleksandr, after graduating from a school in Vyatka (in 1896), went to

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

and lived the life of a vagabond. He worked as a sailor, gold miner, and construction worker, but often found himself without a job and sustained himself by begging and with money sent to him by his father. After joining the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

, he became a member of the

Socialist-Revolutionary Party The Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR; ,, ) was a major socialist political party in the late Russian Empire, during both phases of the Russian Revolution, and in early Soviet Russia. The party members were known as Esers (). The SRs were ag ...

, was arrested, and spent time in jail for "revolutionary propaganda". He published his first short story in a newspaper in 1906. In the same year he was arrested in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and sentenced to four years of exile in a remote area of

Tobolsk Governorate Tobolsk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, Russian Republic and Russian SFSR located in the Ural Mountains and Siberia. It existed from 1796 to 1920; its seat was in the city of Tobolsk, ...

. However, very soon after arriving in Tobolsk, Grin escaped and returned to Petersburg to live illegally. He was again arrested in 1910 and sent to live in

Arkhangelsk Governorate Arkhangelsk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 until 1929. Its seat was in Arkhangelsk. The governorate was located in the north of the Russ ...

. In a small village called Kegostrov, Grin and his first wife Vera Pavlovna Abramova (whom he married in 1910) lived from 1910 to 1912. In 1912 he returned to Saint Petersburg and divorced his wife. At that time, Grin published mostly short stories; most of his larger works were written after the 1917

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

and enjoyed significant popularity in the first half of the 1920s. In 1921 he married . In 1924 they moved to

Feodosiya Feodosia (, ''Feodosiia, Teodosiia''; , ''Feodosiya''), also called in English Theodosia (from ), is a city on the Crimean coast of the Black Sea. Feodosia serves as the administrative center of Feodosia Municipality, one of the regions into w ...

to live near the sea. In his late days, Grin's romantic visions contrasted starkly with mainstream

Soviet literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia, its émigrés, and to Russian-language literature. Major contributors to Russian literature, as well as English for instance, are authors of different ethnic origins, including bilingual ...

; publishers in Moscow and Leningrad refused to consider his romantic writings, and Grin and his wife lived in extreme poverty. Grin suffered from

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

and

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, which eventually ruined his health. He died of

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...

in 1932 in

Stary Krym Staryi Krym (; ; ; in all four languages) is a small historical city and former bishopric in Kirovske (Isliam-Terek) Raion of Crimea, Ukraine. It has been occupied by Russia since 2014 (see Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation). It ...

and interred in the . In his book ''

Sculpting in Time ''Sculpting in Time'' (Russian "Запечатлённое время", literally "Captured Time") is a book by Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky about art and cinema in general, and his own films in particular. It was originally published in 19 ...

'', filmmaker

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (, ; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Russian origin. He is widely considered one of the greatest directors in cinema history. Works by Andrei Tarkovsky, His films e ...

describes how Grin, when dying of hunger, "went off into the mountains with a home-made bow-and-arrow to shoot some sort of game". He offers Grin as an example of a poet in the deepest sense: one with "an awareness of the world, a particular way of relating to reality... a philosophy to guide a man throughout his life".

Works

Most of Alexander Grin's writings bear no direct relation to the reality of Imperial and

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Russia that he lived in. The setting of most of his novels and short stories is an unnamed land by the sea, apparently far from Europe but with all characters being Western European in name and appearance. Even his literary pseudonym (Grin) is a de-Russified form of his real last name (Grinevsky). Stamp of Ukraine ua133st

Described by some critics as "adolescent fiction", Grin's works have many things in common with the reality of the early 20th century (such as automobiles and banks). Populated by sea captains, sailors, scientists, travelers, criminals, extravagant aristocrats, childlike girls, elegant villains, and strong-spirited heroes who always stay true to their dreams, Grin's world is often referred to as

by fans. Some of his novels contain an element of magic – not as an established part of his world, but always as a miracle that changes the lives of those who encounter it.

Bibliography

The most notable of his novels include: * '' Scarlet Sails'' ( ''Алые паруса'', 1923), a simple but powerful love story, perhaps the most famous of Grin's works. It was made into a 1961 film, when during the

Khrushchev Thaw The Khrushchev Thaw (, or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s when Political repression in the Soviet Union, repression and Censorship in ...

, Grin's works enjoyed a revival of popularity. * '' The Shining World'' (''Блистающий мир'', 1923) * ''

The Golden Chain The "Golden Chain" is a list of names that was seized in March 2002 in a raid by Bosnian police of the premises of the Benevolence International Foundation in Sarajevo. The Golden Chain is a list of sponsors of Al-Qaeda. The list included twent ...

'' (''Золотая цепь'', 1925) * '' She Who Runs on the Waves'' (''Бегущая по волнам'', 1928) * '' Jessie and Morgiana'' (1929, Wikisource: ''Джесси и Моргиана''). It was made into a Czechoslovak film '' Morgiana'' in 1972.Morgiana
at IMDb. * '' The Road to Nowhere'' (''Дорога никуда'', 1930)

Books

* ''Selected Short Stories''. Translated by Nicholas Luker. Ann Arbor, Mich.:

Ardis Publishers Ardis Publishing (until 2002, Ardis Publishers) began in 1971, as the only publishing house outside of Russia dedicated to Russian literature in both English and Russian, Ardis was founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, by husband and wif ...

, 1987. *''Fandango and Other Stories.'' Translated by Bryan Karetnyk. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020 (The Russian Library).

Film adaptations

* ''Watercolor'' (1958), directed by

Otar Iosseliani Otar Iosseliani ( ka, ოთარ იოსელიანი ''otar ioseliani''; 2 February 1934 – 17 December 2023) was a Georgian film director, known for movies such as '' Falling Leaves'', '' Pastorale'' and '' Favorites of the Moon''. I ...

* '' Scarlet Sails'' (1961), directed by Alexandr Ptushko * ''

The Lanfier Colony ''The Lanfier Colony'' (, ) is a 1969 Czech-Soviet action, romantic, drama film directed by Jan Schmidt. It was entered into the 6th Moscow International Film Festival. Plot Tired of life on the continent, Horn convinces the captain of a Dutch ...

'' (1969), directed by

Jan Schmidt Jan Schmidt may refer to: * Jan Schmidt (director) (1934–2019), Czech film director * Jan Schmidt (footballer) (1937–2023), Polish footballer * Jan Schmidt (badminton) (fl. 1940s), see Danish National Badminton Championships See also * Ja ...

* '' Morgiana'' (1972), directed by

Juraj Herz Juraj Herz (4 September 1934 – 8 April 2018) was a Slovak film director, actor, and scene designer, associated with the Czechoslovak New Wave movement of the 1960s. He is best known for his 1969 horror/black comedy '' The Cremator'', often ci ...

* ''

The Rat Savior ''The Rat Saviour'' () or ''The Redeemer'' is a 1976 Croatian fantasy horror film directed by Krsto Papić. It was awarded as the best film at the 1977 International Science Fiction Film Festival in Trieste, the 1980 Paris International Festiv ...

'' (1976), directed by

Krsto Papić Krsto Papić (7 December 1933 – 7 February 2013) was a Croatian screenwriter and film director whose career spanned over five decades. He is generally considered among the best directors of former Yugoslavia, and counted among the Yugoslav Blac ...

* ''The Shining World'' (1984), directed by Bulat Mansurov * '' Mister Designer'' (1988), directed by Oleg Teptsov * ''She Who Runs on the Waves'' (2007), directed by Valery Pendrakovskiy * ''Scarlet'' (2022), directed by

Pietro Marcello Pietro Marcello (born 2 July 1976) is an Italian film director. He has directed more than ten documentary and feature films since 2004. Several of his films have been presented at international film festivals and have received various awards and n ...

References

External links

NYT Review of Grin's English translation

The road to nowhere, a road to glory: Vladimir Nabokov and Aleksandr Grin.(Critical Essay), by Margarit Tadevosyan, in The Modern Language Review, April 2005

Dictionary of Literary Biography on Aleksandr Stepanovich Grin

Most of Grin's works in Russian, as well as some English translations

Grinlandia, a fan site

A. Grin — Life and works (Rus)

The English translation of Scarlet Sails by Helen Sharif
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grin, Alexander 1880 births 1932 deaths Alexander Grin People from Kirov Oblast People from Slobodskoy Uyezd Socialist Revolutionary Party politicians People from the Russian Empire of Polish descent Fantasy writers from the Russian Empire Novelists from the Russian Empire Short story writers from the Russian Empire Soviet short story writers Soviet novelists Soviet male writers Deaths from stomach cancer Deaths from cancer in the Soviet Union