Biography of Osip Mandelstam


Mandelstam Osip Emilevich – Russian poet, novelist, translator, critic. One of the largest representatives of Russian literature of the twentieth century.

Childhood and Education

Osip Emilievich Mandelshtam was born on January 3, 1891 in Warsaw to a Jewish family. The father of the future poet was a master of printing business, a merchant. In 1897, the future Osip Emilevich moved with his family to Petersburg.

In 1900, Mandelstam entered the Tenishev School. In 1907, for several months, he attended lectures at the St. Petersburg University. In 1908 Osip Emilevich left for France, entered the Sorbonne and Heidelberg University. During this period Mandelstam, whose biography as a writer was just beginning, attends lectures by J. Bedier, A. Bergson, is fond of the works of S. Baudelaire, P. Verlaine, F. Villon.

In 1911, because of the difficult financial situation of the family, Mandelshtam had to return to St. Petersburg. He enrolled in the Faculty

of History and Philology of St. Petersburg University, but he was not serious about studying, so he never completed the course.

The beginning of creative activity

In 1910, the poems of Osip Emilevich were first published in the St. Petersburg magazine Apollo. Early works of Mandelstam gravitate towards the symbolist tradition.

After acquainting with Nikolai Gumilev and Anna Akhmatova, Mandelstam becomes a regular participant of the “Poets’ Workshop”. In 1913, the debut collection of poetry poems “Stone” was released, which was then finalized and reprinted in 1916 and 1921. At this time Mandelstam takes an active part in the literary life of Petersburg, meets B. Livshits, Marina Tsvetaeva.

In 1914, in a brief biography of Mandelstam, an important event occurred – the writer was elected a member of the All-Russian Literary Society. In 1918, the poet collaborated in the newspapers “Country”, “Evening Star”, “Banner of Labor”, worked in the “People’s Commissariat of Education.”

Years of the Civil War.
Mature creativity

In 1919, during a trip to Kiev Mandelstam visited the poetic cafe “Chlam”, where he met his future wife, the artist Nadezhda Khazina. During the Civil War, the writer wandered with Hazina across Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia. Osip Emilevich had a chance to escape with the White Guards to Turkey, but he preferred to stay in Russia. In 1922, Madelstam and Khazin marry.

Verses Mandelstam period of the Revolution and the Civil War were included in the collection “Tristia”. In 1923 the collections “The Second Book” and the third edition of “The Stone” were published. In 1925, the author’s autobiographical squeak “The Sound of Time” was published. In 1927 the novel “The Egyptian Brand” was completed. In 1928 the last lifetime books of Mandelstam – “Poems” and “On poetry” were published.

Recent years and death

In 1933, Mandelstam wrote an anti-Stalin epigram, for which he was sent into exile. From 1934 to 1937, the writer was in exile in Voronezh, lived in poverty, but did not stop writing. After permission to leave, he was arrested again, this time exiled to the Far East.

December 27, 1938 Osip Emilievich Mandelstam died of typhus in the transit camp on the Second River. The place of burial of the poet is unknown.

Interesting Facts
    In the poetic circle of V. Ivanov of the young Mandelstam was the grandmother of the future poet – Sophia Verbovskaya. Mandelstam perfectly mastered French, English and German languages, translated the works of F. Petrarch, O. Barbier, J. Duhamel, R. Shikele, M. Bartel, I. Grishashvili, J. Racine, etc. Mandelstam was in love with Marina Tsvetaeva and very severely experienced a rupture of relations – because of an unsuccessful novel the writer was going to even go to the monastery. The works and personality of the poet Mandelstam were under the strictest ban in Russia for almost 20 years. His wife, Nadezhda Yakovlevna, published three books of memories of her husband.

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Biography of Osip Mandelstam