Yevgeny Yevtushenko

Russian-born poet and prose author

• Born: July 18, 1933
• Birthplace: Stantsiya Zima, Siberia, Soviet Union (now Russia)
• Died:April 1, 2017
• Place of death:Tulsa, Oklahoma

Biography

Yevgeny Alexandrovich Yevtushenko was considered, with Andrey Voznesensky, among the best representatives of the generation of Russian poets after Stalin’s death. He was born at Zima Station, a small Siberian junction near Lake Baikal. His ancestors had been deported from Ukraine for political reasons. He spent his childhood surrounded by beautiful Siberian nature but also amid political uncertainty: Both of his grandfathers were purged in the late 1930’s. After World War II his mother took him to Moscow, where he began to write poetry and almost became a professional soccer player. He published his first poem in 1949, then entered the Gorky Literary Institute in Moscow and, after publishing his first collection of poems, Razvedchicki gryadushchego (prospectors of the future), in 1952, decided to devote his life to literature. In 1956 he was expelled from the Gorky Literary Institute for his support of a book reflecting Soviet life at the time.

Emotionally charged poems and audacity made him a leader of the poets of his generation, who questioned everything, even the results of the revolution. From the beginning Yevtushenko believed that, in line with the age-old tradition of poets’ role in Russian society, he was bringing something new to Russian poetry. In the first line of “Prologue,” 1953, he declares, “I am different,” speaking not only for himself but for his entire generation. His early poems are characterized by yearning for freedom and rebellion against restrictions, love and respect for nature, faith in people and love for one’s land, a strong belief in oneself, and loyalty to the original aims of the revolution. A strong lyrical bent and readiness for poetic experiments complete his early poetic portrait.

At the height of the campaign against Stalin in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s Yevtushenko wrote several rebellious poems. The best of these, and the one that became best known, is “Babii Yar,” a poem about a ravine in Ukraine where thousands of Jews were killed by the Nazis. Yevtushenko bemoans the fact that there is no monument to these innocent victims, indirectly accusing the authorities of anti-Semitism, for the Russian people, “international to the core,” are not guilty of this oversight. In “The Heirs of Stalin” and “The Dead Hand” he warns that many heirs to Stalin are still around and that his hand still holds the people in its grip. What saves these poems from being merely political manifestos is Yevtushenko’s reliance on strong emotions and dramatics and his use of striking similes and metaphors. A handful of Yevtushenko's poems, most notably "Babii Yar," were set to music by famed Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich.

Another audacious work, A Precocious Autobiography, published in 1963 in Paris without the permission of Soviet authorities, reveals much about the poet’s early life and thinking, as well as being a commentary on Soviet society. At first Yevtushenko considered Communism the best political system, though he was not blind to its shortcomings, as demonstrated most vividly during Stalin’s funeral. The only way to reconcile his faith in Communism with crimes committed in its name (the murder of his grandfathers, for example) was for him to cling to an idealistic faith in the innate goodness of the Communist ideas. Although Yevtushenko initially refrains from examining the basic premises of the system, he expresses the belief that his country has been in a spiritual revolution since Stalin’s death in 1953, searching for the truth and fighting against lies, the abuse of power, and the exploitation of humankind. Aside from its literary merits as a lively and heartfelt narrative, A Precocious Autobiography remains a document of the spiritual and political awakening of an entire nation, especially its poets and intellectuals, from a decades-long dream.

As the political climate in the Soviet Union changed in the mid-1960’s, Yevtushenko began to experience difficulties with the authorities. He was publicly chastised and even exiled for a short while in the Caucasus, yet he was able to return. When he was allowed to publish again he softened his attacks but remained firm in his opposition to censorship.

As he matured Yevtushenko turned to wider themes and concerns. He remained politically active, as evidenced in poems such as “Zima Station” and “Conversations with an American Writer,” but this attitude had as its price that Yevtushenko has often been labeled a topical poet who lent his talent to prosaic social and political causes of the day. It cannot be denied that his political activism contributed heavily to his popularity in the Soviet Union and abroad. Yevtushenko himself resented being labeled as a political or topical poet, pointing out his faith in the integrity of poets, who, though interested in social issues, should express themselves artistically and pursue aesthetic goals.

In the 1980’s Yevtushenko became even more involved in politics and supported democratic reforms. He also wrote film scenarios, directed and acted in movies, though still claiming poetry as his main avocation. His forays into long fiction have not been considered successful. Wild Berries and Don’t Die Before You’re Dead suffer from the fact that, being foremost a poet, he has not mastered novelistic technique. His collection of essays, Talant est’ chudo nesluchainoe, along with many articles, reflects his ongoing fascination with social and political matters. He ultimately gained a seat in the Russian parliament just before the fall of the Soviet Union. However, his main contribution to Russian and world literature remains his poetry.

Yevtushenko died of heart failure on April 1, 2017, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he had taught university since 1992. He was married four times and fathered five sons.

Author Works

Poetry:

Razvedchicki gryadushchego, 1952

Tretii sneg, 1955

Stantsiya Zima, 1956 (Zima Junction, 1962)

Shossye entuziastov, 1956

Obeshchaniy, 1957

Luk i lira, 1959

Stikhi raznykh let, 1959

Yabloko, 1960

Nezhnost, 1962

Vzmakh ruki, 1962

Selected Poetry, 1963

Bratskaya GES, 1965 (Bratsk Station, and Other New Poems, 1966)

The Poetry of Yevgeny Yevtushenko, 1953-1965, 1965

Kachka, 1966

Yevtushenko: Poems, 1966

Poems Chosen by the Author, 1967

Idut belye snegi, 1969

Stolen Apples, 1971

Doroga Nomer Odin, 1972

Poyushchaya dambra, 1972

Otsovskiy slukh, 1975

From Desire to Desire, 1976

Ivanovskiye sitsi, 1976

V Polniy Rost, 1977

Golub’v Sant’iago, 1978 (novel in verse; A Dove in Santiago, 1983)

Tyazholive zemli, 1978

The Face Behind the Face, 1979

Ivan the Terrible and Ivan the Fool, 1979

Invisible Threads, 1981 (poems and photographs)

Ty na planete ne odin, 1981

The Poetry of Yevgeny Yevtushenko, 1981

Grazhdane, poslushaite menia, 1989

Early Poems, 1989

Stikhotvoreniya i poemy, 1990

Belorusskai︠a︡ krovinka: Otryvok iz poėmy, stikhi, 1990

The Collected Poems, 1952-1990, 1991 (Izbrannoe 1952-1990, 1996)

Pre-Morning: A New Book of Poetry in English and Russian, 1995

Pervoe sobranie sochineniĭ v vosʹmi tomakh, 1997

The Best of the Best: A New Book of Poetry in English and Russian, 1999

I︠A︡ prishel k tebe, Babiĭ I︠A︡r--: Istorii︠a︡ samoĭ znamenitoĭ simfonii XX veka, 2012

Schastʹi︠a︡ i rasplaty: Stikhi 2011-2012 godov , 2012

Poėzii︠a︡ Pobedy: Stikhotvorenii︠a︡, pesni, poėmy, 2015

Long Fiction:

Yagodnye mesta, 1981 (Wild Berries, 1984)

Ne umiraĭ prezhde smerti: Russkai︠a︡ skazka, 1993 (Don’t Die Before You’re Dead, 1995)

Drama:

Pod kozhey statuey sbobody, pr. 1972

Nonfiction:

Primechaniya k avtobiografii, 1963 (A Precocious Autobiography, 1963)

Talant est’chudo nesluchainoe: Kniga statei, 1980

Fatal Half Measures: The Culture of Democracy in the Soviet Union, 1991

Shestidesantnik: Memuarnai︠a︡ proza, 2006

Volchiĭ pasport, 2015

Edited Text:

Strofy veka: Antologii︠a︡ russkoĭ poėzii, 1995

Pami︠a︡tniki ne ėmigrirui︠u︡t: Stikhi XXI veka, 2005

Miscellaneous:

Desi︠a︡tʹ vekov russkoĭ poėzii: Antologii︠a︡ v pi︠a︡ti tomakh, 2013 (V.V. Radzishevskiĭ, editor)

I︠A︡ prishel v XXI vek: Stikhi i proza 2001-2014, 2014

Bibliography

Brown, Deming. The Last Years of Soviet Russian Literature: Prose Fiction, 1975-1991. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993. History and criticism of late Soviet era Russian literature. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Brown, Deming. Soviet Russian Literature Since Stalin. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1978. A historical and critical study of Russian literature. Includes bibliographic references and an index.

Brown, Edward J. Russian Literature Since the Revolution. Rev. ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1982. A survey and critical analysis of Soviet literature. Includes bibliographic references.

The Economist. “Past, Implacable.” 306, no. 7535 (January 30, 1988): 75-76. Draws parallels between Yevtushenko’s poetic themes and glasnost, concentrating on “Bukharin’s Widow” and “Monuments Not Yet Erected.”

Hingley, Ronald. Russian Writers and Soviet Society, 1917-1978. New York: Random House, 1979. A history of Russian literature of the Soviet era. Includes a bibliography and index.

Slonim, Mark. Soviet Russian Literature. 2d ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977. A historical and critical study of Russian literature.

Vanden Heuvel, Katrina. “Yevtushenko Feels a Fresh Wind Blowing.” Progressive 24 (April, 1987): 24-31. Addresses Yevtushenko’s views on Russian politics, poetry’s public service, glasnost, and relations with the West.