Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak (alternative spelling: Marchak) (; 4 July 1964) was a Soviet writer of Belarusian Jewish origin, translator and poet who wrote for both children and adults. He translated the sonnets and some other of the works of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, English poetry (including poems for children), and poetry from other languages.

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an aut ...

proclaimed Marshak to be "the founder of Russia's (Soviet)

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

Early years

Marshak was born to a Jewish family on 3 November 1887 in

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

.''Samuil Marshak.'' An anthology of Jewish-Russian literature. Maxim Shrayer. p. 192. (M.E. Sharpe February 15, 2007
Google Books
/ref> His father was a foreman at a soap-making plant. He had a good home education and later studied at the gymnasium (secondary school) of Ostrogozhsk, a suburb of Voronezh. He started to write poetry during his childhood years in Voronezh. Marshak grew up with 2 brothers and 3 sisters. His older brother- Moisey (1885—1944) became an economist. His older sister- Susanna (1889—1985) became Schwartz after marriage. His younger brother Ilya (who wrote under the pseudonym M. Ilin) (1896—1953) became a chemical engineer and a

popular science Popular science (also called pop-science or popsci) is an interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is more broad ranging. It may be written ...

writer. His younger sister Liliya (who wrote as Elena Ilina) (1901—1964) also became Soviet author. Finally, his youngest sister Yudif' (1893) was pianist and a memoire writer. In 1902, the Marshak family moved to Saint Petersburg. There was a complication: as a Jew, Marshak could not legally live outside the

Pale of Settlement The Pale of Settlement was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917 (''de facto'' until 1915) in which permanent settlement by Jews was allowed and beyond which the creation of new Jewish settlem ...

, thus he could not attend school while living in the city. Philanthropist and scholar Baron David Günzburg took an interest in Marshak and introduced him to the influential critic Vladimir Stasov. Stasov was so impressed by the schoolboy's literary talent that he arranged an exception from the Pale laws for Samuil and his family. He also introduced Marshak to

and

Feodor Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɨˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; 12 April 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass voic ...

.''115th birth anniversary of famous poet and translator Samuil Marshak.'' RIA Novosti. November 03, 2002. In 1904, Samuil was diagnosed with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and could no longer continue to live in the cold climate of Saint Petersburg. Maxim Gorky arranged for Samuil to live with his family in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

resort town of

Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

(1904–1907). Gorky and Chaliapin also paid for his education and therapy. However, he spent much of this period in

Kerch Kerch, also known as Keriç or Kerich, is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of Crimea. It has a population of Founded 2,600 years ago as the Colonies in antiquity#Greek colonies, ancient Greek colony Pantik ...

also in

, living with the Fremerman family.

Young poet, philosopher and translator

In 1904, he published his first works in the magazine ''Jewish Life'' and in the mid- to late 1900s, Marshak created a body of Zionist verse, some of which appeared in such periodicals as '' Young Judea''. In 1907 he returned to Saint Petersburg and subsequently published numerous works in the popular magazine ''

Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius in the late 1st century AD, though the manuscript tradition identifi ...

''. Marshak failed to gain admission at a university in Russia due to 'political insecurity' and earned his living giving lessons and writing for magazines. From his first trip to the Middle East he brought back many impressions, poems and a beautiful wife. In 1912 he moved to England and studied philosophy at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. He fell in love with English culture and with poetry written in English. In his senior year at the university, he published his translations of the poems written by

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

and

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...

, published in Russia. His 1913 visit to an experimental "free" school in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

(led by the Tolstoyan Philip Oyler) is noted as the event that sparked his professional interest in children. Shortly before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in 1914, he returned to Russia and devoted himself to translation.

Children's poetry

In 1914 Marshak and his wife worked with children of Jewish refugees in Voronezh. The death of Marshak's young daughter in 1915 directed him toward children's literature. In 1920 he moved to Yekaterinodar (now

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

) to head the province's orphanages and it was there that he and a group of enthusiasts, including Yelena Vasilyeva, organized ''Children's town'' that included a children's theater, library, and studios. For this theater, he co-wrote plays that later became the book ''Theater for Children''. In 1922, Marshak moved back to what was then Petrograd to become the head of the Children's Literature Studio. He published the following works at the Raduga (Радуга; in English, "rainbow") publishing house: ''Детки в клетке'' (''Kids in a cage''), ''Пожар'' (''Fire'') 1923, ''Сказка о глупом мышонке'' (''The Tale of a Silly Mouse''), ''Синяя птица'' (''Blue bird''), ''Цирк'' (''Circus''), ''Мороженое'' (''Ice Cream''), ''Вчера и сегодня»'' (''Yesterday and today'') 1925, ''Багаж'' (''Luggage'') 1926, ''Пудель'' (''Poodle''), ''Почта'' (''Post Office'') 1927, and ''Вот какой рассеянный'' (''What an absent-minded guy'') 1930. Marshak had a prolific career in children's literature. Soviet critic

Viktor Shklovsky Viktor Borisovich Shklovsky ( rus, Ви́ктор Бори́сович Шкло́вский, p=ˈʂklofskʲɪj; – 6 December 1984) was a Russian and Soviet literary theorist, critic, writer, and pamphleteer. He is one of the major figures asso ...

wrote that "Samuil Marshak understood that many new writers would appear in the new Soviet republic. He stood at the door of literature, a benevolent angel, armed not with a sword or with a pencil, but with words on work and inspiration." Marshak's contributions to the field of children's literature was not just limited to his own writings. In 1924, he became the head of the children's branch of the state publishing house Gosizdat (GIZ), a position he held for over a decade. Through his role as editor, Marshak attracted some of Russia's best writers to try their hand at writing for children, including Evgeny Schwartz and OBERIU member

Daniil Kharms Daniil Ivanovich Kharms (; – 2 February 1942) was a Russian avant-gardist and absurdist poet, writer and dramatist in the early Soviet era. Early years Kharms was born as Daniil Yuvachev in Saint Petersburg, then the capital of the Ru ...

Translations

Among his Russian translations there are

's sonnets and songs from Shakespeare's plays, ''

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

'' (together with Mikhail Morozov, who translated prosaic scenes), poems of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tub ...

Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winnie-th ...

, English and Scottish folk ballads, poems from

Nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and other European countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. Fr ...

s. Besides English poetry, he translated poems of

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

Sándor Petőfi Sándor Petőfi ( []; né Petrovics; ; ; 1 January 1823 – most likely 31 July 1849) was a Hungarian poet and Classical Liberalism, liberal revolutionary. He is considered Hungary's national poet, and was one of the key figures of the Hungari ...

Gianni Rodari Giovanni Francesco "Gianni" Rodari (; 23 October 1920 – 14 April 1980) was an Italian people, Italian writer and journalist, most famous for his works of children's literature, notably ''Il romanzo di Cipollino''. For his lasting contribution ...

and

Hovhannes Tumanyan Hovhannes Tumanyan (, classical spelling: Յովհաննէս Թումանեան, – March 23, 1923) was an Armenian poet, writer, translator, and literary and public activist. He is the national poet of Armenia. Tumanyan wrote poems, q ...

. His main work in this area is translation of Shakespeare's sonnets (1948). This translation has enjoyed great success over the years. Some Shakespeare sonnets in Marshak's translation have been set to music (in classical style by

Dmitry Kabalevsky Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky ( ; – 14 February 1987) was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue of Russian gentry descent. He helped set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures during ...

, in pop style by Tikhon Khrennikov, Mikael Tariverdiev,

Alla Pugacheva Alla Borisovna Pugacheva (, ; born 15 April 1949) is a Russian singer and songwriter. Her career began in 1965 and continues to this day, although she retired from performing in 2010 after the international concert tour "Dreams of Love". For her ...

and others, even in rock style — Cruise). His translations are considered classics in Russia. But many of Marshak's poetic translations became so entrenched in Russian culture, that it was often quipped that he was not so much a translator as a co-author.

Later years

In 1937 Marshak moved to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, where he worked on children's books and translations. Composer Galina Konstantinovna Smirnova set some of his work to music. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he published satires against the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

. After the war he continued to publish children's books including: ''Разноцветная книга'' (''Multicolored book'') 1948, ''Круглый год'' (''All year round'') 1948, ''Тихая сказка'' (''A Quiet tale'') 1956, etc. In the last years of his life, he wrote aphoristic verses that he named ''lyrical epigrams''. They were published in his last book, ''Selected Lyrics'' (Избранная Лирика) in 1963. He also published three tale plays: ''The Twelve Months'' 1943, ''Afraid of Troubles - Cannot Have Luck'' 1962, and ''Smart Things'' 1964. Although not widely known, in the Soviet era, Marshak was on a (political) razor's edge and barely escaped death in 1937. His name was often mentioned in the documents of the eliminated

Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, abbreviated as JAC, was an organization that was created in the Soviet Union during World War II to influence international public opinion and organize political and material support for the Soviet fight against ...

. However, the process of the committee ended in August 1952 (12 executed and 98 subjected to repression) and Marshak was not accused. Samuil Marshak died on 4 July 1964 and was buried in Moscow in

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

. He survived by one son Immanuil Marshak (1917—1977), a physicist. His other son and daughter did not survive till adulthood.

Honours and awards

* Four Stalin Prizes: :second class (1942) – a poetic text to posters and cartoons :second class (1946) – for the play-tale "Twelve Months" (1943) :second class (1949) – translations of sonnets by William Shakespeare :first class (1951) – a collection of "Verses for Children" *

Lenin Prize The Lenin Prize (, ) was one of the most prestigious awards of the Soviet Union for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was originally created on June 23, 1925, and awarded until 1934. During ...

(1963) – for the book "Selected poetry for children" (1962) and children's books: "A quiet tale", "Big pocket", "The Adventure of the road", "Calm down", "From one to ten", "Vaks Blob", "Who can find a ring", "Merry journey from A to Z". * Two

Orders of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

, incl 1939 *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

, 1st class (1945) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

* Honorary president of Robert Burns World Federation (1960) * In 2012, his books were included in an exhibit at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

References

External links

Samuil Marshak poetry
a
Stihipoeta

Marshak's site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marshak, Samuil 1887 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Russian male writers 20th-century Russian poets 20th-century Russian translators People from Voronezhsky Uyezd Writers from Voronezh Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Lenin Prize Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian children's poets Jewish poets Russian children's writers Russian male dramatists and playwrights Russian male poets Russian satirists Soviet children's writers Soviet dramatists and playwrights Soviet Jews Soviet male poets Soviet translators Translators from Hebrew Translators of William Shakespeare English–Russian translators Yiddish–Russian translators Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery 20th-century Russian Jews