Poet, Translator. One of the more striking Soviet authors to emerge from the post-Stalinist "thaw" period of the early 1960s. His philosophical verse was influenced by the Russian Acmeists Anna Akhmatova and Marina Tsvetayeva, filtered through his own modern sensibilty. Arseny Alexandrovich Tarkovsky was born in Elisavetgrad, Russia. A brilliant linguist, specializing in Asian and Middle Eastern languages, he published his first literary translations in 1932 and worked in this field most of his life; his renderings of the Armenian bard Sayat Nova are still popular in his country. During World War II he rose to the rank of captain in the Red Army and lost a leg in battle. The publication of Tarkovsky's first book of original poetry was halted in 1946 after the Central Committee's sweeping attack of current Soviet Literature; it would not see print until 1962, under the title "Before Snow". Akhmatova called it "a precious gift to the contemporary reader". His other collections are "Earthly to Earth" (1966), "Messenger" (1969), "Verses" (1974), "Winter Day" (1980), "Selected Works" (1982), "Verses of Different Years" (1983), "From Youth to Senility" (1987), and "The Blessed Light" (1993, after his death). Tarkovsky was posthumously awarded the USSR State Prize in 1989 and now lies in a grave of honor next to author Boris Pasternak ("Doctor Zhivago"). He can be heard reciting his poetry in the films "The Mirror" (1975) and "Stalker" (1979), both directed by his son, Andrei Tarkovsky.
Poet, Translator. One of the more striking Soviet authors to emerge from the post-Stalinist "thaw" period of the early 1960s. His philosophical verse was influenced by the Russian Acmeists Anna Akhmatova and Marina Tsvetayeva, filtered through his own modern sensibilty. Arseny Alexandrovich Tarkovsky was born in Elisavetgrad, Russia. A brilliant linguist, specializing in Asian and Middle Eastern languages, he published his first literary translations in 1932 and worked in this field most of his life; his renderings of the Armenian bard Sayat Nova are still popular in his country. During World War II he rose to the rank of captain in the Red Army and lost a leg in battle. The publication of Tarkovsky's first book of original poetry was halted in 1946 after the Central Committee's sweeping attack of current Soviet Literature; it would not see print until 1962, under the title "Before Snow". Akhmatova called it "a precious gift to the contemporary reader". His other collections are "Earthly to Earth" (1966), "Messenger" (1969), "Verses" (1974), "Winter Day" (1980), "Selected Works" (1982), "Verses of Different Years" (1983), "From Youth to Senility" (1987), and "The Blessed Light" (1993, after his death). Tarkovsky was posthumously awarded the USSR State Prize in 1989 and now lies in a grave of honor next to author Boris Pasternak ("Doctor Zhivago"). He can be heard reciting his poetry in the films "The Mirror" (1975) and "Stalker" (1979), both directed by his son, Andrei Tarkovsky.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Tarkovsky memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
