Evgenii Evtushenko

Evtushenko, Evgenii Aleksandrovich

 

Born July 18, 1933, at Zima Station Irkutsk Oblast. Soviet Russian poet.

Evtushenko studied at the Gorky Literary Institute (1951-54). His first collection of poems, Pioneers of the Future, came out in 1952 and was followed by the collections Highway of Enthusiasts (1956), The Promise (1957), Poems of Various Years (1959), A Wave of the Hand (1962), Tenderness (1962), Communications Boat (1966), and White Snowfalls (1969). He also wrote the narrative poems Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station (1965) and Kazan University (1970). Much of his verse appeared in magazines and news-papers.

Evtushenko’s best poetic works express with great power his eagerness to grasp the spirit of the day. Pointedly civic motifs predominate. His tours of the Soviet Union and foreign lands enrich his poetry with new themes and impressions. His creative output has attracted composers, including Dmitri Shostakovich (Symphony No. 13, The Execution of Step an Razin). Works by Evtushenko have been translated into many foreign languages, and he has been awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor.

REFERENCES

Runin, B. “Uroki odnoi poeticheskoi biografii.”Voprosy literatury, 1963, no. 2.
Ognev, V. F. Kniga pro stikhi. Moscow, 1963.
Makarov, A. “Razdum’ia nad poemoi Evg. Evtushenko.”Znamia, 1965, no. 10.
Solov’ev, V. “Doistoinstva i proschety: O novoi knige Evgeniia Evtushenko.” Literaturnaia gazeta, May 13, 1970.
Lavlinskii, L. ‘“Sorokalet’e— strogaia pora’: O lirike Evgeniia Evtushenko.”Druzhba narodov, 1971, no. 8.

V. I. GUSEV