Anatoly Kudryavitsky
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anthony Kudryavitsky (born in Moscow in 1954), better known by his pen name Anatoly Kudryavitsky, is a Russian-Irish writer.
 Anatoly Kudryavitsky in 1995 |
Contents |
[edit] Biography
His father originated from Poland, while his mother was the daughter of an Irishman from County Mayo who ended up in one of Stalin’s concentration camps.[1] Having lived in Russia and Germany, he now lives in Dublin.
[edit] A Samizdat Writer
Educated at Moscow Medical University, Anatoly Kudryavitsky later studied Irish history and culture. In the 1980s he worked as a researcher in immunology, a journalist, and a literary translator. He started writing poetry in 1978, but under the Communists was not permitted to publish his work openly. American poet Leonard Schwartz described him as "a samizdat poet who had to put up with a good deal of abuse during the communist period and who has only been able to publish openly in recent years. In his 'poetics of silence' the words count as much for the silence they make possible as for what they say themselves" [2]
[edit] During the Perestroyka
Since 1989 Anatoly Kudryavitsky has published a number of short stories and seven collections of his Russian poems, the most recent being In the White Flame of Waiting (1994), The Field of Eternal Stories (1996), Graffiti (1998), and Visitors’ Book (2001). He has also published his translations from English into Russian of such authors and poets as John Galsworthy (Jocelyn), William Somerset Maugham (Up at the Villa), Stephen Leacock (Selected Stories), Arthur Conan Doyle (Selected Stories), Emily Dickinson (Selected Poems); Stephen Crane (Collected Poems); Jim Morrison (Selected Poems), all in book-form.
In the 1990s he edited Strelets/The Archer literary magazine; Poetry of Silence (A & B Press, 1998), an anthology of new Russian poetry; Zhuzhukiny Deti (NLO Publications, 2000), an anthology of Russian short stories and prose miniatures written in the second half of the twentieth century, and the anthology entitled Imagism(Progress Publishing, 2001) which won The Independent/Ex Libris The Best Translated Book of the Year Award in 2001. He is a member of the Russian Writers’ Union and Irish and International PEN. In 1998 he founded the Russian Poetry Society and became its first President (1998 - 1999). Joseph Brodsky described him as "a poet who gives voice to Russian Silence" (as quoted by Maeve O'Sullivan).[3]
[edit] In the West
Soon after his moving to Germany in 1999 Anatoly Kudryavitsky was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Federation of Poetry Associations. His five-year term ended in 2004.
Since moving to Ireland in 2002 Anatoly Kudryavitsky writes poetry predominantly in English, however he keeps writing fiction in Russian. He also gives classes in creative writing. The book of his English poems entitled Shadow of Time was published in Ireland in 2005 (Goldsmith Press, Ireland). Irish poet Iggy McGovern mentioned Shadow of Time among the best Irish books of the year (Poetry Ireland Review Newsletter, January/Februaty 2006). A Night in the Nabokov Hotel, the anthology of contemporary Russian poetry translated into English by Anatoly Kudryavitsky, was published in 2006 by Dedalus Press. He has also translated more than forty contemporary Irish, English and American poets into Russian, and his own work has been translated into nine languages. He won the Edgeworth Prize for Poetry in 2003, and in 2005 was shortlisted for the Robert Graves Poetry Award.
[edit] Haiku involvement
Anatoly Kudryavitsky started writing haiku in Ireland. He won the Highly Recommended Prize at [Samhain International Haiku Competition] 2005 with this haiku:
summer night –// blossoming in the pond,// water-lilies and stars
In 2007, another one of his haiku won Honourable Mention at [Vancouver International Cherry Blossom Festival]:
between snowfalls:// the moon through// cherry blossom petals
In 2006 Kudryavitsky founded the Irish Haiku Society with Siofra O'Donovan and Martin Vaughan. He is currently Chairman of the society and Editor of Shamrock Haiku Journal. He has also translated haiku from several European languages into English.
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] Poetry
[edit] In Russian
- The Ship of Autumn (UDN University Press, Moscow, 1991)
- Sealed Up Messages (Valentine Books, Moscow, 1992)
- Sounds and the Stars (Lenore Books, Moscow, 1993);
- In the White Flame of Waiting (Sov-VIP Press, Moscow - Oslo, 1994)
- The Field of Eternal Stories (Third Wave, Moscow/Jersey City, N.J., 1996)
- Graffiti (Third Wave, 1998)
- Visitors’ Book (Third Wave, 2001)
[edit] Limited edition publications
- Between the Lines (Third Wave, 1997)
[edit] In English
- Shadow of Time (Goldsmith Press, Newbridge, Ireland, 2005
[edit] Anthology editing
- Poetry of Silence (A&B Press, Moscow, 1999
- Zhuzhukiny Deti. Russian Short Stories in the Second Half of the 20th Century (NLO Books, Moscow, 2000).
- Imagism, an anthology. (Progress Publishing, Moscow, 2001).
- A Night in the Nabokov Hotel. 20 Contemporary Poets from Russia Edited by Anatoly Kudryavitsky. Dublin, Dedalus Press 2006) (Online)
[edit] References
[edit] In English
- Carry, R. Gulag survivor's grandson helps migrants put pen to paper. Metro Eireann, Dublin, 19 - 24 January 2007
- Schwartz, L. Post-modern Moscow Poetry. Poetry Project Newsletter, 1998.
- O'Sullivan, M. Anatoly Kudryavitsky. The Event Guide, Dublin, February 2003
