Alexander Semyonovich Kushner (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Семёнович Ку́шнер) is a Russian poet from Saint Petersburg.

Biography

Kushner was born in Leningrad into a Russian-Jewish family; his father was a naval engineer. Alexandr graduated from the Russian language and literature school of the city's teacher-training Herzen University, and later, between 1959 and 1969, taught Russian literature. After that, he became a full-time writer and poet. Since then he published about 15 collections of his poetry and two books of his essays. In 1965 he became a member of the

Writers' Union The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers (russian: Союз писателей СССР, translit=Soyuz Sovetstikh Pisatelei) was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded ...

, in 1987 joined the Russian PEN Center. He is also editor-in-chief of ''Biblioteka poeta'' (the "Library of the Poet" series). His only son Eugene and his family live in Israel. In October 1993, he signed the

Letter of Forty-Two The Letter of Forty-Two (russian: Письмо́ сорока́ двух) was an open letter signed by forty-two Russian Intellectual, literati, aimed at Russian society, the president and government, in reaction to the 1993 Russian constitutional c ...

. His poetry resembles that of Acmeists. He usually doesn't write in free verse and seldom experiments or tries to elaborate a new poetic form, preferring to write in a classic, 19th century-like style. The Nobel Prize winner

Brodsky Brodsky, feminine: Brodskaya ( Ukrainian: Бродський, Russian: Бродский) is a toponymic surname derived from Brody, a town in Ukraine. The name is common among Ashkenazi Jews. Czech-language forms are Brodský and Brodská. Notab ...

once called Kushner "one of the best lyrical poets of the 20th century", adding that his name "is to stand in the line of names dear to the heart of every native Russian speaker"Brodsky's preface in ''Selected Verse of Kushner'', St. Petersburg: Khudozhetvennaya literatura Translations of Kushner's poetry into English, Italian and Dutch were published in book form; several poems were also translated to German, French, Japanese, Hebrew, Czech, and

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

Bibliography

Books of verse

* The First Impression (russian: link=no, Первое впечатление) 1962. * The Night Watch (russian: link=no, Ночной дозор) 1966. * Omens (russian: link=no, Приметы) 1969. * The Writing (russian: link=no, Письмо) 1974. * The Direct Speech (russian: link=no, Прямая речь) 1975. * The Voice (russian: link=no, Голос) 1978. * Tavrichesky Garden (russian: link=no, Таврический сад) 1984. * Day Dreams (russian: link=no, Дневные сны) 1986. * The Fence Hedge (russian: link=no, Живая изгородь) 1988. * Night Music (russian: link=no, Ночная музыка) 1991. * On the Dark Star (russian: link=no, На сумрачной звезде) 1994. * The Milfoil (russian: link=no, Тысячелистник) 1998. * Bank of Clouds (russian: link=no, Летучая гряда) 2000. * Bushes (russian: link=no, Кустарник) 2002. * The Cold May (russian: link=no, Холодный май) 2005. * In the New Century (russian: link=no, В новом веке) 2006. * One Cannot Choose Times...(five decades) (russian: link=no, Времена не выбирают (пять десятилетий)) 2007. * Apollo in the Grass. 2015.

Works in prose

* Apollo under Snow (russian: link=no, Аполлон в снегу) * Wave and Stone (russian: link=no, Волна и камень) * The Fifth Element (selected verse and articles) (russian: link=no, Пятая стихия)

Awards

His numerous awards include the Russian National Award (1996) and the prestigious Pushkin Prize for poetry, bestowed on him by Russian president Vladimir Putin in 2001

Also *«North Palmira» (1995). *Award of Novy Mir, ''Novy Mir'' magazine (1997). *Tepfer fond Pushkin award (1998). *Award of Tsarskoe selo (2004). *"Poet" award (2005).

References

External links

Short biography

Petersburg Perspectives
Alexander Kushner has been described by Joseph Brodsky as one of the best lyric poets of the 20th century
Времена не выбирают in verse English translation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kushner, Alexander Semenovich Writers from Saint Petersburg Russian Jews 20th-century Russian poets Russian male poets Living people 1936 births Pushkin Prize winners Herzen University alumni