Georgy Adamovich
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Georgy Viktorovich Adamovich ( rus, Гео́ргий Ви́кторович Адамо́вич, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj ˈvʲiktərəvʲɪtɕ ɐdɐˈmovʲɪtɕ, a=Georgy_Viktorovich_Adamovich.ru.oga; — 21 February 1972) was a Russian poet of the acmeist school, and a literary critic, translator and memoirist. He also lectured on Russian literature at universities in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and the
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.


Early life

Georgy Adamovich was born into the family of senior military officer Viktor Adamovich, an ethnic Pole, who served as head of the Moscow military hospital with the rank of major general. Georgy spent the first nine years of his life in Moscow. "We were a military family; two of my brothers were army officers. My dad said of me, if the family legend is to be believed: "This boy's got nothing officer-like in him- let him be a civilian. And so it was to be," Adamovich later remembered. After his father's death the family moved to Saint Petersburg where Georgy joined the First Gymnasium. In 1910 he became a student at
Saint Petersburg State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...
. He started writing poetry there and in 1915 became a member of the Acmeist circle.


Career

Adamovich's debut short story "Merry Horses" (Весёлые кони) was published in 1915 in the journal ''Voice of Life'', edited by
Dmitry Filosofov Dmitry Vladimirovich Filosofov (; – 4 August 1940) was a Russian author, essayist, literary critic, religious thinker, newspaper editor and political activist, best known for his role in the influential early 1900s ''Mir Iskusstva'' circle and ...
and
Zinaida Gippius Zinaida Nikolayevna Gippius (; – 9 September 1945), a Russian poet, playwright, novelist, editor and religious thinker, became one of the major figures in Russian symbolism. She began writing at an early age, and by the time she met Dmitry ...
. By 1917 he was a member (later one of the two leaders, along with
Georgy Ivanov Georgy Vladimirovich Ivanov (; – 26 August 1958) was a Russian poet and essayist of the Russian emigration between the 1930s and 1950s. As a banker's son, Ivanov spent his young manhood in the elite circle of Russian golden youth. Poet's Workshop. Adamovich's first collection of poetry ''Clouds'' (Облака) was praised by Nikolai Gumilyov">:ru:Цех поэтов">Poet's Workshop. Adamovich's first collection of poetry ''Clouds'' (Облака) was praised by Nikolai Gumilyov for "class and good taste." His second book of poetry, ''Purgatory'' (Чистилище, 1922) began with a tribute to Gumilyov whom the young poet now regarded as his mentor. Gumilyov's fellow Acmeist, Anna Akhmatova frequently visited Adamovich's sister Tanya at their home. Adamovich often met Akhmatova at the Saint Petersburg nightclub "The Stray Dog" (Бродячая Собака), a place where artists and writers would gather to discuss art and literature, socialize, or listen to the recitation of new poems by Akhmatova and other poets including
Konstantin Balmont Konstantin Dmitriyevich Balmont ( rus, Константи́н Дми́триевич Ба́льмо́нт, p=, a=Konstantin Dmitriyevich Bal'mont.ru.vorb.oga; – 23 December 1942) was a Russian symbolist poet and translator who became one of ...
,
Sergei Yesenin Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin (, ; 1895 – 28 December 1925), sometimes spelled as Esenin, was a Russian lyric poet. He is one of the most popular and well-known Russian poets of the 20th century. One of his narratives was "lyrical evocations ...
, and
Igor Severyanin Igor Severyanin (; pen name, real name Igor Vasilyevich Lotaryov: И́горь Васи́льевич Лотарёв; May 16, 1887 – December 20, 1941) was a Russian poet who presided over the circle of the so-called Ego-Futurists. Igor wa ...
. Adamovich graduated from the Faculty of History and Philology at Saint Petersburg State University in 1917. After the
1917 Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social change in Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government following two successive revolutions and a civil war. It ...
Adamovich worked for ''The World Literature'' publishing house (founded by
Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (;  – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an aut ...
in 1919), translating the works of
Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...
,
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
,
José-Maria de Heredia José-Maria de Heredia (22 November 1842 – 3 October 1905) was a Cuban-born French Parnassian poet. He was the fifteenth member elected for seat 4 of the Académie française in 1894. Biography Early years Heredia was born at Fortuna Ca ...
,
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
and
Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852), was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist who was widely regarded as Ireland's "National poet, national bard" during the late Georgian era. The acclaim rested primarily on the popularity of his ''I ...
. In 1921-22 he attended the literary gatherings and poetry meetings held at ''The House of Art'' (Дом искусств), formerly the mansion of a wealthy Saint Petersburg merchant. In 1923 he went to
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, then settled in France to 'join the anti-Soviet circles' (as the Soviet Literary Encyclopaedia noted in 1934). Here he soon made a name for himself as a literary critic and essayist, working for ''Zveno'' (The Link) magazine and ''Poslednye Novosty'' (The Latest News). In the thirties Adamovich was widely regarded as 'the leading Russian literary critic abroad', working for such magazines as ''Tchisla'' (Numbers) and ''Vstrechi'' (Meetings), of which he was the editor for a time. He almost stopped writing poetry and yet is credited as a major force behind the ''Paris Note'' (Парижская Нота), a school of Russian poetry in exile holding for its main principles "total sincerity in depicting the anguish of the human soul" and "demonstrating the naked truth".
Georgy Fedotov Georgy Petrovich Fedotov (, October 1 (13) 1886, Saratov, Russian Empire, – September 1, 1951, New York, US) was a Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neig ...
called Adamovich, with his 'truth-seeking' paradigm, an 'ascetic wanderer'. In 1939 Adamovich's book of poetry ''In the West'' (На Западе) was published. Later its title was used by the poet and literary scholar
Yuri Ivask George Ivask (Russian: ''Yuri Pavlovich Ivask'', Юрий Павлович Иваск, Estonian: ''Jüri Ivask''; September 14, 1907 – February 13, 1986) was a Russian poet and literary critic; in his later years he was an American scholar of ...
who in 1953 compiled and edited an anthology of Russian emigrant poetry (in which Adamovich was well represented).


Later life

The Autumn of 1939 saw Adamovich fighting the Nazis as a volunteer in the French army. He was interned after the army's defeat. During the late 1940s, Adamovich went through a brief period of 'enchantment' with the USSR and
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
in particular; he thought that the great victory in the
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
could trigger some kind of political reform or renovation process in the USSR. Adamovich contributed to several pro-Soviet western papers and published a book entitled ''The Other Motherland'' (Другая родина, 1947). Written in French, it was seen by some Russian emigres as "an act of capitulation before
Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...
." In the years to come, though, Adamovich became increasingly more disillusioned. These feelings were reflected to some extent in his 1955 collection of essays called ''Loneliness and Freedom'' (Одиночество и свобода). Adamovich continued to translate French literature into Russian including the works of
Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...
,
Saint-John Perse Alexis Leger (; 31 May 1887 – 20 September 1975), better known by his pseudonym Saint-John Perse (; also Saint-Leger Leger), was a French poet, writer and diplomat, awarded the 1960 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the soaring flight and the ev ...
and
Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...
('' The Stranger''). He lectured on Russian literature at the
University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
from 1950 to 1960, and for one semester (1960–61) at the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
. In 1971 he travelled to the United States, lecturing at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
,
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, and
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
. In 1967 his last book of poetry ''Unity'' (Единство) was published. It coincided with the release of ''Comments'' (Комментарии), a vast collection of critical essays. Georgy Adamovich died on February 21, 1972, in Nice, France.


Career as a critic

Adamovich was one of the most important emigre critics. His main critical stance centered on simplicity. He rejected experimental poetry and recommended
eschatological Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that negative world ...
subject matter such as truth, loneliness, suffering, and death. He admired the works of
Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...
,
Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov ( , ; rus, Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, , mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjʉrʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲerməntəf, links=yes; – ) was a Russian Romanticism, Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called ...
, Alexander Blok, and
Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...
(although he did not like Tolstoy's moral preaching). He disliked
Afanasy Fet Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet ( rus, Афана́сий Афана́сьевич Фет, p=ɐfɐˈnasʲɪj ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈfʲɛt, a=Ru-Afanasiy Afanas'yevich Fyet.oga), later known as Shenshin ( rus, Шенши́н, p=ʂɨnˈʂɨn, a=Ru-Afa ...
and
Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...
(especially his plays), whose portrayals of the dullness and mediocrity of everyday life obscured, in Adamovich's opinion, the questions of eternal significance. Adamovich saw
Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian literature, Russian and world literature, and many of his works are consider ...
as a dangerous metaphysical writer, and disapproved of
Marina Tsvetaeva Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva ( rus, Марина Ивановна Цветаева, p=mɐˈrʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə tsvʲɪˈta(j)ɪvə, links=yes; 31 August 1941) was a Russian poet. Her work is some of the most well-known in twentieth-century Russ ...
's "loudness" and her experimentation in rhythm, meter, and rhyme. He severely criticised
Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (30 May 1960) was a Russian and Soviet poet, novelist, composer, and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pasternak's first book of poems, ''My Sister, Life'', was published in Berlin in 1922 and soon became an imp ...
's poems from '' Doctor Zhivago''. His sceptical views of poetry and writing resembled those of his fellow critic
Mark Aldanov Mark Aldanov (; Mordkhai-Markus Israelevich Landau, Mark Alexandrovich Landau, ; – February 25, 1957) was a Russian and later French writer and critic, known for his historical novels. Aldanov's first book about Vladimir Lenin, translated int ...
. Adamovich was highly appreciative of the musical qualities of Blok's poems and those of Georgy Ivanov. He expressed these views in his meetings with younger poets, and in his critical essays.


English translations

*''Poems'' and "The Impossibility of Poetry" (essay), from ''A Russian Cultural Revival'', University of Tennessee Press, 1981.


References


External links


The Poems
by Georgy Adamovich (Russian)
The Poems
by Georgy Adamovich (English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Adamovich, Georgy Viktorovich 1892 births 1972 deaths Writers from Moscow People from Moskovsky Uyezd Russian people of Polish descent Soviet emigrants to France French people of Russian descent Russian male essayists Russian male poets Russian literary critics Translators to Russian 20th-century Russian poets 20th-century Russian translators 20th-century Russian essayists 20th-century Russian male writers Saint Petersburg State University alumni French Army personnel of World War II