Mezhirov, Aleksandr Petrovich

Born Sept. 26, 1923, in Moscow. Soviet Russian poet. Member of the CPSU since 1943. Son of a lawyer.

Mezhirov served in the Great Patriotic War (1941-45) and began his literary career as a poet with the theme of war, such as in his collections Distant Road (1947) and The Return (1955). In subsequent collections, including The Windshield (1961), Farewell to Snow (1964), Ladoga Ice (1965), The Horseshoe (1967), and Late Verses (1971), Mezhirov’s lyricism has taken on a primarily philosophical nature. His poetry is linked with the tradition of A. Blok. He has been working successfully as a translator (for the most part, of Georgian poets) and has taught at the Gorky Literary Institute since 1967. Mezhirov’s poetry has been translated into many foreign languages.