Bella Akhmadulina | |
|---|---|
 Akhmadulina in 2005 | |
| Native name | Белла Ахмадулина |
| Born | Izabella Akhatovna Akhmadulina 10 April 1937 Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Died | 29 November 2010 (aged 73) Peredelkino, Russia |
| Occupation | Poet, writer, translator |
| Alma mater | Maxim Gorky Literature Institute |
| Period | 1955–2010[1] |
| Literary movement | Neo-Acmeism, the Sixtiers, Russian New Wave |
| Notable works | The String, Fever, Music Lessons, The Candle (poetry collections) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Elizaveta Kulieva, poet |
Izabella Akhatovna Akhmadulina (Russian: Бе́лла (Изабе́лла) Аха́товна Ахмаду́лина, Tatar: Белла Әхәт кызы Әхмәдуллина; 10 April 1937 – 29 November 2010) was a Soviet and Russian poet, short story writer, and translator, known for her apolitical writing stance.[2] She was part of the Russian New Wave literary movement.[3] She was cited by Joseph Brodsky as the best living poet in the Russian language.[3][4][5] She is known in Russia as "the voice of the epoch".
Despite the aforementioned apolitical stance of her writing, Akhmadulina was often critical of authorities in the Soviet Union,[1] and spoke out in favour of others, including Nobel laureates Boris Pasternak, Andrei Sakharov, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.[2] She was known to international audiences via her travels abroad during the Khrushchev Thaw, during which she made appearances in sold-out stadiums.[citation needed] Upon her death in 2010 at the age of 73, President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev hailed her poetry as a "classic of Russian literature."[5]
The New York Times said Akhmadulina was "always recognized as one of the Soviet Union's literary treasures and a classic poet in the long line extending from Lermontov and Pushkin."[2] Sonia I. Ketchian, writing in The Poetic Craft of Bella Akhmadulina, called her "one of the great poets of the 20th century. There's Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva, Mandelstam, and Pasternak – and she's the fifth".[2]
- ^ a b "BC-EU—Russia-Obit-Akhmadulina, EU". TODAY. 30 November 2010. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
- ^ a b c d Grimes, William (29 November 2010). "Bella Akhmadulina, Bold Voice in Russian Poetry, Dies at 73". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
- ^ a b Bella Akhmadulina Criticism
- ^ "Sonia Ketchian: The Poetic Craft of Bella Akhmadulina". Archived from the original on 1 September 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2007.
- ^ a b Isachenkov, Vladimir (29 November 2010). "Prominent Soviet-era Russian poet Bella Akhmadulina dies at 73". ABC News. Retrieved 29 November 2010.