Davitashvili, Iosif Simonovich

Born July 1 (13), 1850, in the village of Ruisi, in present-day Kareli Raion, Georgian SSR; died Mar. 13 (25). 1887, in Telavi. Georgian poet. Son of a serf. He was an engraver in wood.

Davitashvili began to publish in the 1870’s. He felt the influence of I. Chavchavadze and A. Tsereteli, who had been progressive social and political figures of the 1860’s in Georgia. Davitashvili’s poems depict the difficult daily life of the peasants and artisans. His poems are imbued with hatred for the nobility, the merchants, and the tsarist bureaucrats— “The Source of Happiness” and “Is This the Bright Time?” (1885); “To Him Who Despises the Worker.” Davitashvili was the first in Georgian poetry to address himself to the life of the worker and artisan (“Songs of the Artisans,” 1878; “To the Worker.” 1879; and “Our Time.” 1881).