All famous writers and poets. The most prominent Russian writers

31.01.2019

According to the ranking of the Internet database Index Translationum UNESCO, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov are the most frequently translated Russian writers in the world! These authors are ranked second, third and fourth respectively. But Russian literature is also rich in other names who have made a huge contribution to the development of both Russian and world culture.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Not only a writer, but also a historian and playwright, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a Russian writer who made his name in the post-Stalin era and the debunking of the cult of personality.

In some way, Solzhenitsyn is considered the successor of Leo Tolstoy, since he was also a great truth-seeker and wrote large-scale works about the life of people and social processes that took place in society. Solzhenitsyn's works were based on a combination of autobiographical and documentary.

His most notable works- "The Gulag Archipelago" and "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich". With the help of these works, Solzhenitsyn tried to draw the attention of readers to the horrors of totalitarianism, which modern writers have not yet written about so openly. Russian writers that period; wanted to tell about the fate of thousands of people who were subjected to political repression, were sent to the camps innocent and were forced to live there in conditions that can hardly be called human.

Ivan Turgenev

Turgenev's early work reveals the writer as a romantic who felt nature very subtly. Yes and literary image"Turgenev's girl", which has long been presented as a romantic, bright and vulnerable image, is now something of a household name. At the first stage of his work, he wrote poems, poems, dramatic works and, of course, prose.

The second stage of Turgenev's work brought the author the most fame - thanks to the creation of the "Notes of a Hunter". For the first time, he honestly portrayed the landowners, revealed the theme of the peasantry, after which he was arrested by the authorities, who did not like such work, and sent into exile to the family estate.

Later, the writer's work is filled with complex and multifaceted characters - the most mature period the author's creativity. Turgenev tried to reveal such philosophical themes as love, duty, death. At the same time, Turgenev wrote his most famous work, both here and abroad, called "Fathers and Sons" about the difficulties and problems of relations between different generations.

Vladimir Nabokov

Creativity Nabokov completely runs counter to the traditions of classical Russian literature. The most important thing for Nabokov was the play of the imagination, his work became part of the transition from realism to modernism. In the author's works, one can distinguish the type of a characteristic Nabokov's hero - a lonely, persecuted, suffering, misunderstood person with a touch of genius.

In Russian, Nabokov managed to write numerous stories, seven novels (Mashenka, The King, the Queen, the Jack, Despair, and others) and two plays before leaving for the United States. From that moment on, the birth of an English-language author takes place, Nabokov completely abandons the pseudonym Vladimir Sirin, with which he signed his Russian books. Nabokov will work with the Russian language only once more - when he will translate his novel Lolita, which was originally written in English, for Russian-speaking readers.

It was this novel that became the most popular and even notorious work of Nabokov - not too surprising, because it tells about the love of a mature forty-year-old man for a teenage girl of twelve years. The book is considered quite shocking even in our free-thinking age, but if there are still disputes about the ethical side of the novel, then it is perhaps simply impossible to deny Nabokov's verbal skill.

Michael Bulgakov

Bulgakov's creative path was not at all easy. Deciding to become a writer, he abandons his career as a doctor. He writes his first works, "Fatal Eggs" and "Diaboliad", having settled down to work as a journalist. The first story evokes rather resonant responses, since it resembled a mockery of the revolution. Bulgakov's story dog's heart”, exposing the authorities, refused to publish it at all and, moreover, took away the manuscript from the writer.

But Bulgakov continues to write - and creates a novel " white guard", according to which they stage a play called "The Days of the Turbins". Success did not last long - due to another scandal because of the works, all performances based on Bulgakov were removed from shows. The same fate would later befall Bulgakov's latest play, Batum.

The name of Mikhail Bulgakov is invariably associated with The Master and Margarita. Perhaps it was this novel that became the work of a lifetime, although it did not bring him recognition. But now, after the death of the writer, this work is also a success with foreign audiences.

This piece is like nothing else. We agreed to designate that this is a novel, but which one: satirical, fantastic, love-lyrical? The images presented in this work amaze and impress with their uniqueness. A novel about good and evil, about hatred and love, about hypocrisy, money-grubbing, sin and holiness. At the same time, during the life of Bulgakov, the work was not published.

It is not easy to remember another author who could so deftly and aptly expose all the falsehood and dirt of the bourgeoisie, the current government and the bureaucratic system. That is why Bulgakov was subjected to constant attacks, criticism and bans from the ruling circles.

Alexander Pushkin

Despite the fact that not all foreigners associate Pushkin with Russian literature, unlike most Russian readers, it is simply impossible to deny his legacy.

The talent of this poet and writer truly had no boundaries: Pushkin is famous for his amazing poems, but at the same time wrote excellent prose and plays. Pushkin's work has received recognition not only now; his talent was recognized by others Russian writers and the poets of his contemporaries.

The theme of Pushkin's work is directly related to his biography - the events and experiences that he went through in his life. Tsarskoye Selo, Petersburg, time in exile, Mikhailovskoye, Caucasus; ideals, disappointments, love and affection - everything is present in the works of Pushkin. And the most famous was the novel "Eugene Onegin".

Ivan Bunin

Ivan Bunin is the first writer from Russia to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The work of this author can be divided into two periods: before emigration and after.

Bunin was very close to the peasantry, the life of the common people, which had a great influence on the author's work. Therefore, among it is distinguished the so-called village prose, for example, "Sukhodol", "Village", which became one of the most popular works.

Nature also plays a significant role in Bunin's work, which inspired many great Russian writers. Bunin believed: she is the main source of strength and inspiration, spiritual harmony, that every person is inextricably linked with her, and in her lies the key to unraveling the mystery of being. Nature and love have become the main themes of the philosophical part of Bunin's work, which is mainly represented by poetry, as well as novels and short stories, for example, "Ida", "Mitina's Love", "Late Hour" and others.

Nikolay Gogol

After graduating from the Nizhyn gymnasium, he was the first literary experience Nikolai Gogol was the poem "Hans Küchelgarten", which was not very successful. However, this did not bother the writer, and he soon began working on the play "Marriage", which was published only ten years later. This witty, colorful and lively work smashes modern society to smithereens, which has made prestige, money, power its main values, and left love somewhere in the background.

Gogol was deeply impressed by the death of Alexander Pushkin, which affected others as well. Russian writers and artists. Shortly before this, Gogol showed Pushkin the plot of a new work called " Dead Souls”, so now he considered that this work was a “sacred testament” to the great Russian poet.

"Dead Souls" became a magnificent satire on the Russian bureaucracy, serfdom and social ranks, and it is this book that is especially popular among readers abroad.

Anton Chekhov

Chekhov began his creative activity from writing short essays, but very bright and expressive. Chekhov is best known for his humorous stories, although he wrote both tragicomic and dramatic works. And most often foreigners read Chekhov's play called "Uncle Vanya", the stories "The Lady with the Dog" and "Kashtanka".

Perhaps the most basic and famous hero Chekhov's works is a "little man", whose figure is familiar to many readers even after " stationmaster» by Alexander Pushkin. This is not a single character, but rather a collective image.

Nevertheless, Chekhov’s little people are not the same: one wants to sympathize, to laugh at others (“The Man in the Case”, “Death of an Official”, “Chameleon”, “Scumbag” and others). The main problem of this writer's work is the problem of justice ("Name Day", "Steppe", "Leshy").

Fedor Dostoevsky

Dostoevsky is best known for his works Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov. Each of these works is famous for its deep psychology - indeed, Dostoevsky is considered one of the best psychologists in the history of literature.

He analyzed the nature of human emotions, such as humiliation, self-destruction, murderous rage, as well as states that lead to insanity, suicide, and murder. Psychology and philosophy are closely linked in Dostoyevsky's portrayal of his characters, intellectuals who "feel ideas" in the depths of their souls.

Thus, "Crime and Punishment" reflects on freedom and inner strength, suffering and madness, disease and fate, the pressure of the modern urban world on the human soul, and raises the question of whether people can ignore their own moral code. Dostoevsky, together with Leo Tolstoy, are the most famous Russian writers in the whole world, and Crime and Punishment is the most popular of the author's works.

Lev Tolstoy

With whom do foreigners associate famous Russian writers So it is with Leo Tolstoy. He is one of the undeniable titans of world fiction, a great artist and person. Tolstoy's name is known all over the world.

There is something Homeric in the epic scope with which he wrote War and Peace, but unlike Homer, he depicted war as a senseless massacre, the result of the vanity and stupidity of the leaders of the nation. The work "War and Peace" was, as it were, a kind of result of all that had gone through Russian society for the period of the 19th century.

But the most famous all over the world is Tolstoy's novel called "Anna Karenina". It is eagerly read both here and abroad, and readers are invariably captivated by history. forbidden love Anna and Count Vronsky, which leads to tragic consequences. Tolstoy dilutes the narrative of the second storyline- the story of Levin, who dedicates his life to his marriage to Kitty, housekeeping and God. Thus the writer shows us the contrast between Anna's sin and Levin's virtue.

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"The writer who waits for the perfect set of circumstances will die without writing a line"

Any entrepreneur or startup sooner or later faces the problem of creating a daily routine. Today we will tell you about the prosaic details Everyday life great writers of the last two centuries.

Perhaps, having learned about how the geniuses of this world organized their creative work, you will finally understand whether it is worth sacrificing everything to achieve your goal, or is it enough to devote a few hours a day to this?

Ray Bradbury (1920 - 2012), famous American writer, classic science fiction, whose stories, novels, novels formed the basis of many adaptations, theatrical productions and musical compositions, in a 2010 interview with the literary magazine Paris Review, describes his routine as follows:

“Since I was 12 years old, I have been constantly attracted to a typewriter. I never worried about my schedule, because it was always determined by new ideas that suddenly appeared in my head. They seemed to be telling me: immediately sit down at the typewriter and finish what you started.

I can work anywhere. When I lived with my parents in a small house in Los Angeles, I wrote in the living room to the sound of the radio and the endless chatter of my parents. Later, after starting work on the novel Fahrenheit 451, I went to the Lawrence Powell Library at the University of California, Los Angeles, where, putting 10 cents into the typewriter, you could type for 30 minutes.

The daily routine of the American writer Joan Didion, who became famous thanks to the collections of essays “Walking to Bethlehem” (1968) and “The White Album” (1979), included a certain “incubation period of nurturing ideas”:

“Before dinner, I spend an hour all alone. I need this time to sum up the results of the past day, think about plans for the coming day and take a little break from work. When I am really busy, I very rarely leave the house and never invite guests to dinner, because I risk losing this precious hour.

If I never had the opportunity to be alone for at least some time, the next day is unlikely to be productive, because I will not have inspiration or mood.

Also, when the work on the next book is nearing completion, I have to sleep in the same room with her. That is why, in order to finish this or that work, I always go home to Sacramento. Nobody cares about me there — I wake up and start typing.”

Alvin Brooks White (1899 - 1985), American writer and publicist, in a 1968 interview for the Paris Review, talks about the role and responsibility of the writer to society and the conditions in which he likes to work:

“The writer must devote himself entirely to what excites his imagination and makes his heart beat faster. I feel that I have a responsibility to my readers, because sooner or later my works become public. Every writer must be truthful, interesting and scrupulous, not deceitful, boring and sloppy. He should inspire and inspire his readers, and not arouse in them apathy and indifference. After all, writers do not just talk about life - they give it a unique form.

I never listen to music when I'm writing - I can't concentrate on my work so much that I don't notice musical accompaniment. But, on the other hand, the influence of standard stimuli on my productivity has practically no effect.

To get to any of the corners of my house - the kitchen, the basement or the bathroom - you need to bypass the living room. This is a bright, cozy room and despite the eternal carnival that takes place there, I often use it for work.

It never annoyed me when the maid carelessly brushed against the legs of my typewriter with a carpet brush. Moreover, it never distracted me from work. This only happened when the girl was damn attractive or awfully clumsy.

Praise the Lord, my wife never built protective barriers around me. My family members never gave special significance because I am a man of my word, and made as much noise and fuss as they pleased. If all this bothered me, I could retire to any other room.

The writer who waits for the perfect set of circumstances will die without writing a line."

The American poet and writer Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) speaks of his daily rituals and writerly superstitions:

“I had one little ritual: I would write by candlelight, and before I set to work, I would kneel down and pray... (this habit was borrowed from French film about George Frideric Handel).

My superstitions? I don't trust the full moon. In addition, I am obsessed with the number 9, despite the fact that everyone around tirelessly says that people born under the sign of Pisces should honor the seven. For example, I touch the floor with my thumb 9 times. right foot standing on your head in the bathroom. By the way, it's much more difficult than yoga, it's real sporting achievement. Believe me: I know everything about balance ... well, almost everything.

Every day I pray to Jesus that he will keep my sanity and energy so that I can help my family: my paralyzed mother, my beloved wife and the ubiquitous kitties.”

In 1977, the American writer Susan Sontag (1933 - 2004) wrote the following entry in her diary:

“I’ll start tomorrow, if not today.

Every day I will wake up no later than 8 o'clock in the morning. (This rule can be broken once a week).

I will have breakfast only in the company of Roger [ostrich]. (This rule can be broken once a week).

I will regularly write notes in my diary. (Example: Lichtenberg notes).

I will warn people not to call in the morning, or just not pick up the phone.

I will answer emails once a week. (Perhaps on Fridays).

Twenty years later, in an interview with the Paris Review, Sontag spoke about her routine in more detail:

“I write with a felt-tip pen or pencil in a notepad with yellow lined paper, and then retype my scribbles on a typewriter, editing the text as I go. About five years ago it was exactly like that. Then the computer came into my life, and the need to retype the entire manuscript disappeared. But I still make certain adjustments by hand, having previously printed out the almost completed work.

I write in jerks: only when I feel that a good idea has matured in my head, worthy of being on paper. But when work goes full I can’t do anything else: I don’t leave the house, I forget to eat and I hardly sleep. I am well aware that this is not the most disciplined and responsible approach to work, but I can not help myself - I am interested in too many other things.

In 1932, while working on the novel Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller (1891 - 1980) created a creative daily routine that helped him complete the work.

“Morning: if you are not in the mood, write and sort notes. Otherwise, get to work.

Day: work on a certain piece of material. Don't let yourself get distracted. Keep writing until you finish this part.

Evening: meet friends and read books. Take a walk in unknown places: on foot if it's raining outside, by bike if it's dry. Write if you are in the mood. Draw if you feel tired and empty.

Note: Leave some time for an unplanned trip to a museum, a new sketch, or a bike ride. Sketch everywhere: in cafes, on trains or on the street. Watch less movies! Go to the library once a week."

In his 1965 interview for the literary publication Paris Review French writer Simone de Beauvoir (1908 - 1986) dispels the myth of the "genius martyr":

“For as long as I can remember, I have always been itching to get to work as soon as possible. I usually start writing around 10 am. I meet my friends around one o'clock, get home at 5 pm and work until 9 pm. I've never had any difficulty making myself write in the afternoon.

If the work is going well, I spend 15-30 minutes reading the texts written the day before and making some corrections. It helps me to catch the lost thread. Only then can I continue writing.”

Ernest Hemingway (1899 - 1961), famous American writer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, wrote his works while standing. The typewriter was at the level of his chest, to the left of it was a stack of paper, from which the writer took out a sheet, put it on the reading board and began to write by hand. He typed the text at once, only when the stories were given to him very easily. Hemingway treated his craft with the same amount of inspiration and pragmatism:

“When working on another book or story, I start writing at the first light, when no one can disturb you. At this time, it is still a little cool outside, and you warm up in the process of work. You write no further than the moment when you still have strength in you, and you know exactly what will happen next - then you stop and live it until tomorrow.

You start, say, at 6 am and continue writing until noon. When you stop, you feel empty, but at the same time filled with feelings, as if you were making love with your loved one. Nothing can hurt you, nothing matters. You're just waiting for the moment when you get back to work. Waiting for the next day is perhaps the most difficult thing to face.”

Don DeLillo, a well-known American postmodernist writer, in a 1993 interview for the Paris Review, describes his routine as follows:

“I work in the morning on a manual typewriter. I write for 4 hours, and then I go for a run - this helps me get rid of the shackles of the literary world and return to the real one. Trees, birds and light rain - a pretty good interlude. After that I work another 2-3 hours. No food, coffee or cigarettes (I quit smoking many years ago). Absolute silence and tranquility reign around.

The writer goes to extreme lengths to achieve a state of loneliness, and then finds hundreds of ways to squander it: watch passers-by or read a few random headings in the dictionary. To break this spell, I look at a photo of Borges - a wonderful picture that was sent to me once Irish writer Colm Toibin. Despite the fact that I have read Borges, I do not know anything about how this man works. But it seems to me that the photograph depicts a writer who does not waste his time in vain. So, he is my guide to the world of art and magic."

In his book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Haruki Murakami talks about how he became a freelance writer and how his life changed after that:

“When I am in the mood to write, I wake up at 4 am and work for 5-6 hours. During the day I run 10 kilometers or swim 1500 meters (sometimes I do both), then I read a little and listen to music. I go to bed at 9 pm. I strictly follow this routine, because I am sure that repeating it many times is a kind of hypnosis - I hypnotize myself to find peace.

In a 2011 interview with the Paris Review, William Gibson, an American science fiction writer, had this to say about his routine:

“When I write a book, I usually wake up at 7 am, have a cup of coffee, check email and spend short review news. Three times a week I attend Pilates classes, get home around 10 and try to start writing. If absolutely nothing happens, I allow myself to take a break and go mow the lawn.

I must say that in most cases a little effort on yourself is enough to start working. I break for lunch, come back, work a couple more hours, and then usually sleep. Quiet time is the key to my productivity.

As work progresses on the book, I write longer and longer: if at the beginning I work 5-6 hours a day, then when I finish the work, I write 12 hours 7 days a week.

The famous American writer, poet, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou (1928 - 2014) describes her routine as follows:

“I write in the morning. I take a shower around noon, because writing, as you know, is very hard work and requires a double bath. After that I go shopping. In public, I prefer to play the role of a sane person: “ Good morning. OK, thanks. How are you?". When I get home, I cook dinner.

After removing everything from the table, I reread what I wrote in the morning. More often than not, 7 of the 9 pages written end up in the trash. Probably the hardest part of being a writer is admitting that what you've created doesn't make any impression.

I have been working with my editor since 1967. He asked me hundreds of times the same question: “Why do you use a semicolon instead of a colon?”. And I answered hundreds of times: “I will never talk to you again! Goodbye. Thanks for all. I'm leaving". Then she calmed down, reread the text, considered his proposal and sent him a telegram: “Okay, you're right. But that doesn't mean anything. Don't you dare mention it again or I'll stop talking to you!".

Two years ago he invited me to stay with him in the Hamptons. I sat at the end of the dinner table and told one of the guests the story of the dozens of insulting telegrams I had written. At some point, from the other end of the table came: “And I saved them all.” Brutus!

But I still remain of my opinion: it is simply necessary to correct the text before the editor sees it.

An example of the routine of the American satirist writer Kurt Vonnegut (1922 - 2007), who became famous thanks to such works as "Breakfast for Champions", "Sirens of Titan", "Cat's Cradle", "Farce, or Down with Loneliness" will complete our selection. In a letter to his wife (1965), Vonnegut wrote:

“My sleep, hunger and desire to work themselves plan the day. Honestly, I'm very glad that they saved me from having to think about all sorts of nonsense.

Here is the routine they developed: I wake up at 5:30 and immediately start writing, have breakfast at 8:00 sharp and go back to work. At 10:00 I go for a walk, then I go to the nearest pool and swim for half an hour. Returning home at 11:45, I read the mail and have lunch. In the afternoon I work at school: I teach or prepare for lessons.

I come home at 5:30 pm, cook dinner, read and listen to jazz. Yesterday my time and body decided that I should go to the movies. I watched The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. This is a heartbreaking film, especially for a middle-aged man. But it's okay: I love it when my heart is broken.

Representatives of creative professions often use pseudonyms, the reasons for this can be very different, I have always wondered why people take a different name for themselves, and in general it is surprising to find out that the name of the writer you are used to is not real. I decided to compile a selection of famous writers who used a pseudonym.

1. Boris Akunin, aka Anatoly Brusnikin and Anna Borisova - pseudonyms of Grigory Chkhartishvili

Initially, he published his works as B. Akunin. The Japanese word "akunin" (jap. 悪人), according to one of the heroes of the novel "Diamond Chariot" is translated as "scoundrel, villain", but on a gigantic scale, in other words, outstanding personality standing on the side of evil. And it was precisely such villains that Erast Fandorin met throughout his career. Deciphering "B" as "Boris" appeared a few years later, when the writer began to be interviewed frequently.

He publishes critical and documentary works under his real name.

2. George Sand - real name Amandine Aurora Lucile Dupin, married - Baroness Dudevant.

At the beginning of his writing career Aurora wrote together with Jules Sando (French novelist): the novels "The Commissioner" (1830), "Rose and Blanche" (1831), which had readers big success, came out for his signature, since the stepmother of Casimir Dudevant (Aurora's husband) did not want to see her last name on book covers. Already independently Aurora started new job over the novel "Indiana", the theme of which was the opposition of a woman looking for ideal love, a sensual and conceited man. Sando approved the novel, but refused to sign someone else's text. Aurora chose a male pseudonym: it became for her a symbol of deliverance from the slave position to which modern society doomed a woman. Keeping the surname Sand, she added the name Georges.

3. Richard Bachman is the pseudonym under which Stephen King published The Fury, The Long Walk, Roadworks, The Running Man, and Losing Weight.

There are two versions of the reasons that prompted King to take a pseudonym. The first is to see if his alter ego can achieve the same success as himself. The second explanation is that the publishing standards of the time allowed only one book per year. The surname Bachman was not taken by chance, he is a fan of the Bachman-Turner Overdrive musical group.

4. Joe Hill Real name - Joseph Hillstrom King, son of Stephen King.

Wanting to achieve literary success on his own, without using the fame of his father's name, he adopted the pseudonym "Joe Hill". It was both short for his real name Joseph and his middle name Hillstrom, and alluded to the man after whom, in fact, he received the name Joseph Hillstrom - a famous American labor activist of the early XX century and songwriter Joe Hill, who was unjustly accused of murdered and executed in an American prison in 1915.

5. Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym of JK Rowling, used for the Cormoran Strike detective cycle.

According to Rowling herself, the publication of the book under a pseudonym relieved her of the pressure to meet the expectations of readers and meet the fixed level of quality, and, on the contrary, made it possible to hear criticism of a work that does not contain her name. She told the Sunday Times magazine that she hoped that her involvement in writing the novel would not be revealed soon.

The publisher's website claimed that Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym of a former member of the Royal Military Police's Special Investigations Department, who quit in 2003 and moved into the private security business.

6. George Elliot real name Mary Ann Evans

Like many other writers of the 19th century (George Sand, Marco Vovchok, the Bronte sisters - “Carrer, Ellis and Acton Bell”, Krestovsky-Khvoshchinskaya) - Mary Evans used a male pseudonym in order to evoke in the public serious attitude to their writings and taking care of the inviolability of their personal lives. (In the 19th century, her writings were translated into Russian without disclosing a pseudonym, which was inclined like a male name and surname: "George Eliot's novel").

7. Kir Bulychev real name Igor Vsevolodovich Mozheiko

Published fantastic works exclusively under a pseudonym. The first fantasy work, the story "The Debt of Hospitality", was published as a "translation of the story of the Burmese writer Maun Sein Ji". Bulychev subsequently used this name several more times, but most fantastic works were published under the pseudonym "Kirill Bulychev" - the pseudonym was composed of the name of his wife - Kira and the maiden name of the writer's mother. Subsequently, the name "Kirill" on the covers of books began to be written in abbreviated form - "Kir." There was also a combination of Kirill Vsevolodovich Bulychev. The writer kept his real name secret until 1982, because he believed that the leadership of the Institute of Oriental Studies would not consider science fiction a serious occupation, and was afraid that after the disclosure of the pseudonym he would be fired.

8. Arkady Gaidar, real name Golikov

Vladimir Soloukhin in the artistic and publicistic book "Salt Lake" cites a story according to which the pseudonym "Gaidar" is associated with the activities of A.P. Golikov in the position of head of the 2nd combat region of the CHON of the Achinsk district of the Yenisei province (now the Republic of Khakassia) in 1922-1924 years:

“Gaidar,” Misha said slowly, as usual, “the word is purely Khakassian. Only correctly it sounds not "Gaidar", but "Khaidar"; and it means not “going forward” and not “forward-looking”, but simply “where”. And this word stuck to him because he asked everyone: “Haydar?” That is, where to go? He did not know any other Khakas words.

The name "Gaidar" reminded the writer of his school years, bearing in mind that "G" in this name meant "Golikov", "ay" - "Arkady", and "gift", as if echoing the hero of Alexander Dumas D'Artagnan, "in the French manner" meant "from Arzamas ". Thus, the name "Gaidar" stands for "Golikov Arkady from Arzamas".

The third version of the origin of the pseudonym and surname: from the Ukrainian "gaidar" is a shepherd of sheep. Arkady Golikov's childhood is connected with the Gaidars, as he spent several summer months with them for several years in a row. He liked these places and childhood memories so much that he chose the pseudonym Arkady Gaidar.

9. Teffi Real name Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Lokhvitskaya

For the first time, the name Teffi (still without initials) appears in the 51st issue of the Theater and Art magazine, in December 1901 (this is the second publication of the writer). Perhaps Taffy took a pseudonym because long before her literary activity fame was gained by her older sister, the poetess Mirra Lokhvitskaya, whom critics called the "Russian Sappho". (By the beginning of his literary career Teffi had already divorced her first husband, after whom she bore the surname Buchinskaya). According to the researchers of Teffi's work, E. M. Trubilova and D. D. Nikolaev, a pseudonym for Nadezhda Alexandrovna, who loved hoaxes and jokes, and was also the author literary parodies, feuilletons, became part of literary game aimed at creating an appropriate image of the author.

The version of the origin of the pseudonym is stated by the writer herself in the story "Pseudonym". She didn't want to sign her lyrics male name, as contemporary writers often did: “I didn’t want to hide behind a male pseudonym. Cowardly and cowardly. It is better to choose something incomprehensible, neither this nor that. But what? You need a name that would bring happiness. Best of all is the name of some fool - fools are always happy. She “remembered one fool, really excellent and, in addition, one who was lucky, which means that fate itself recognized him as an ideal fool. His name was Stepan, and his family called him Steffi. Having discarded the first letter out of delicacy (so that the fool would not become arrogant), "the writer "decided to sign her play" Teffi "". After the successful premiere of this play, in an interview with a journalist, when asked about her pseudonym, Teffi replied that "this is ... the name of one fool ... that is, such a surname." The journalist remarked that he was "told it was from Kipling." Taffy, who remembered such a name from Kipling, as well as the song "Taffy was a walesman / Taffy was a thief ..." from Trilby, agreed with this version.

10. Mark Twain Real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens

Clemens claimed that the pseudonym Mark Twain was taken by him in his youth from the terms of river navigation. Then he was a pilot's assistant on the Mississippi, and the cry "mark twain" (English mark twain, literally - "mark deuce") meant that, according to the mark on the lotlin, the minimum depth suitable for the passage of river vessels was reached - 2 fathoms (≈ 3 .7 m).

However, there is a version literary origin this pseudonym: in 1861, Vanity Fair published humorous story Artemus Ward (real name Charles Brown) "Northern Star" about three sailors, one of whom was named Mark Twain. Samuel was very fond of the comic section of this magazine and read Ward's works in his first speeches.

In addition to "Mark Twain", Clemens signed once in 1896 as "Sir Louis de Comte" (fr. Sieur Louis de Conte) - under this name he published his novel "Personal Memories of Joan of Arc by Sir Louis de Comte, her page and secretary.

11. Max Frei is a literary pseudonym of two authors - Svetlana Martynchik and Igor Styopin

The book cycle was written by Svetlana Martynchik in collaboration with Igor Stepin and published under the pseudonym "Max Fry". The authors maintained some anonymity by not revealing a pseudonym and not appearing in public precisely as the authors of the novels (while they were known as artists). On the site "Physiognomy of the Russian Internet" under the name of Max Fry, there was a portrait of an unknown black man. Together with the jokes of the Azbuka publishing house that Max Fry is a blue-eyed black man, this served as food for rumors that “literary blacks” write under a pseudonym.

My pseudonym was chosen precisely because of my hero. I wanted the name of the author and the name of the character from whom the story is being told to match. Svetlana Martynchik

Maria Zakharova notes that the language game characteristic of Max Frei's texts also manifests itself in the choice of a pseudonym: "for example, Max Frei - max frei (German) -" maximally free "" and "it is important to note that both Max Frei and Holm Van Zaichik - fictitious, “game”, pseudonyms of Russian-speaking authors"""

12. O. Henry real name William Sidney Porter

In prison, Porter worked in the infirmary as a pharmacist (a rare profession in prison came in handy) and wrote stories, looking for a pseudonym for himself. In the end, he settled on the O. Henry variant (often spelled incorrectly like the Irish surname O'Henry - O'Henry). Its origin is not entirely clear. The writer himself claimed in an interview that the name Henry was taken from the secular news column in the newspaper, and the initial O. was chosen as the simplest letter. He told one of the newspapers that O. stands for Olivier ( french name Olivier), and indeed, he published several stories there under the name Olivier Henry.

According to others, this is the name of the famous French pharmacist Etienne Ocean Henry, whose medical reference book was popular at that time.

Another hypothesis was put forward by the writer and scientist Guy Davenport: “Oh. Henry" is nothing more than an abbreviation of the name of the prison where the author was imprisoned - Ohio Penitentiary (Ohio State Penitentiary). Also known as the Arena District, which burned to the ground on April 21, 1930.

Al Jennings, who was in prison with Porter and became famous as the author of the book Through the Darkness with O. Henry , where there are such lines: "The beloved returned at 12 o'clock. Tell me, about Henry, what is the sentence?" .

There is an opinion that “The famous American writer W. Porter took the pseudonym O. Henry in honor of the physicist J. Henry, whose name was constantly pronounced with admiration by the school teacher: “Oh! Henry! It was he who discovered that the discharge of a capacitor through a coil is oscillatory! "" His first story under this pseudonym - "Dick the Whistler's Christmas Present", published in 1899 in McClure's Magazine - he wrote in prison.

13. George Orwell. Real name Eric Arthur Blair

Starting with the story based on autobiographical material "Pounds of dashing in Paris and London" (1933), he published under the pseudonym "George Orwell".

14. Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov

Ilya Ilf - Ilya Arnoldovich Fainzilberg The pseudonym is formed from part of the name and the first letter of the surname: ILYA Fainzilberg. Evgeny Petrov - Evgeny Petrovich Kataev Younger brother writer Valentin Kataev did not want to use his literary fame, and therefore came up with a pseudonym formed from his father's name.

15. Alexander Grin real name Grinevsky

The writer's pseudonym was childhood nickname Green - this is how the long surname Grinevsky was shortened at school.

16. Fannie Flagg Real name Patricia Neal

At the beginning of her acting career, she had to change her name, because despite the sonority, the Oscar winner was also called.

17. Lazar Lagin Real name Ginzburg

Pseudonym Lagin - short for Lazar Ginzburg - the name and surname of the writer.

18. Boris Polevoy Real name Kampov

The pseudonym Polevoy was obtained as a result of the proposal of one of the editors to “translate the Kampov surname from Latin” (campus - field) into Russian. One of the few pseudonyms invented not by the carrier, but by other persons.

19. Daniil Kharms Real name Yuvachev

Around 1921-1922, Daniil Yuvachev chose the pseudonym "Kharms" for himself. Researchers have put forward several versions of its origin, finding its origins in English, German, French, Hebrew, Sanskrit. It should be noted that in the writer's manuscripts there are about forty pseudonyms (Khharms, Khaarms, Dandan, Charms, Karl Ivanovich Shusterling and others). When applying for entry into the All-Russian Union of Poets on October 9, 1925, Kharms answers the questions of the questionnaire in the following way:

1. Surname, name, patronymic: "Daniil Ivanovich Yuvachev-Kharms"

2. Literary pseudonym: "No, I'm writing Kharms"

20. Maxim Gorky real name - Alexei Maksimovich Peshkov

The pseudonym M. Gorky first appeared on September 12, 1892 in the Tiflis newspaper "Kavkaz" in the caption to the story "Makar Chudra". Subsequently, the author said: “Don’t write to me in literature - Peshkov ...”

21. Lewis Carroll real name Charles Lutwidge Dodgson

This pseudonym was coined on the advice of the publisher and writer Yates. It is formed from the real names of the author "Charles Lutwidge", which are correspondences of the names "Karl" (lat. Carolus) and "Louis" (lat. Ludovicus). Dodgson chose other English equivalents of the same names and swapped them.

22. Veniamin Kaverin real name Zilber

The pseudonym "Kaverin" was taken by him in honor of the hussar P.P. Kaverin, a friend young Pushkin, deduced by him under his own surname in the first chapter of "Eugene Onegin"

23. Voltaire's real name is François-Marie Arouet

Voltaire - an anagram of "Arouet le j (eune)" - "Arue the younger" (Latin spelling - AROVETLI

24. Kozma Prutkov

The literary mask under which they appeared in the magazines Sovremennik, Iskra and others in the 50s and 60s XIX years century poets Alexei Tolstoy (the largest contribution in quantitative terms), brothers Alexei, Vladimir and Alexander Zhemchuzhnikovs (in fact, the collective pseudonym of all four)

25. Stendhal's real name is Marie-Henri Beyle

As a pseudonym, he took the name of Winckelmann's hometown, the laurels of which he claimed. Why Frederick is often added to the pseudonym Stendhal is a mystery.

26. Alberto Moravia

His real surname was Pinkerle, and his later pseudonym Moravia was the surname of his Jewish paternal grandmother.

27. Alexandra Marinina real name - Marina Anatolyevna Alekseeva

In 1991, Marina Alekseeva, together with her colleague Alexander Gorkin, wrote the detective story "Six-winged Seraphim", which was published in the magazine "Police" in the fall of 1992. The story was signed with the pseudonym "Alexandra Marinina", made up of the names of the authors.

28. Andrey Platonov - real name Andrey Platonovich Klimentov

In the 1920s, he changed his surname from Klimentov to Platonov (a pseudonym derived from the name of the writer's father).

29. Eduard Limonov real name Savenko

The pseudonym "Limonov" was invented by cartoonist Vagrich Bakhchanyan

30. Joseph Kell - under this pseudonym, the novel "Inside Mr. Enderby" by Anthony Burgess was released

Fun fact - the editor of the newspaper where Burgess worked didn't know that he was the author of Inside Mr. Enderby, so he assigned Burgess to write a review - thus the author wrote a review of his own book.

31. Toni Morrison Real name - Chloe Ardelia Wofford

While studying at Harvard, she acquired the pseudonym "Tony" - a derivative of her middle name Anthony, which, according to her, was given to her when she converted to Catholicism at the age of 12

32. Vernon Sullivan

The pseudonym of Boris Vian, who used 24 pseudonyms, Vernon Sullivan is the most famous of them.

33. André Maurois Real name - Emil Erzog

Subsequently, the pseudonym became his official name.

34. Mary Westmacott (Westmacott)- pseudonym English writer, the master of detectives, Agatha Christie, under which she released 6 psychological novels: "Bread of Giants", "Unfinished Portrait", "Separated in the Spring" ("Missing in the Spring"), "Rose and Yew", "Daughter is a Daughter", "Burden "(The Burden of Love").

35. Molière's real name is Jean-Baptiste Poquelin

36. Yuz Aleshkovsky real name Joseph Efimovich Aleshkovsky

37. Sirin V. - pseudonym of Vladimir Nabokov

38. Pamela Travers real name Helen Lyndon Goff

39. Daria Dontsova - real name - Agrippina

40. Knut Hamsun real name Knud Pedersen

41. Anatole France real name - Francois Anatole Thibaut

42. Daniel Defoe - real name Fo

43. Ayn Rand, nee Alisa Zinovievna Rosenbaum

44. Irving Stone real name Tennenbaum

It is impossible to deny the fact that the nature of the approaching or imminent changes in the life of human civilization was the first to be felt by those who were ahead of their time - famous writers.

Writers - liaison between the future and the present

Among the infinite multitude of writers of each epoch are those authors who, in addition to the merits recognized by all, fiction generously give humanity a new vision. It was they who, much more convincingly than scientists, formulated new concepts and ideas and, as a result, created the intellectual and emotional argumentation of the future. They managed to see his challenge in the everyday and everyday, expose unsightly problems, point to ongoing conflicts, helping to realize the coming threats and give new hopes.

Great writers of world literature

This list is not perfect. It contains individual famous writers who can be safely called the greatest writers of all times and peoples.


Pleiad of geniuses of poetry and prose

The 19th century was so rich in talent that it managed to give birth to an outstanding galaxy of prose and poetry geniuses. The most famous writers are N. M. Karamzin, A. S. Griboyedov, A. S. Pushkin, K. F. Ryleev, M. Yu. Lermontov, N. A. Nekrasov, N. V. Gogol, A. A. Fet, I. S. Turgenev, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, G. Chernyshevsky, A. P. Chekhov, F. M. Dostoevsky.

Writers who had a significant impact on English literature

The famous created a great multitude outstanding works, which laid a powerful message, so they have retained their relevance in our days.

  • Thomas More, and translator. Author of many translations from ancient Greek and poems, as well as 280 Latin epigrams.
  • Jonathan Swift, a brave publicist and brilliant satirist, poet, is known to the general public as the creator of Gulliver's Travels.
  • founding father of romantic "sensual" literature in Great Britain. With his three whale novels, he undoubtedly formed a stable foundation for his imperishable world fame.
  • founder of English realistic novel, a prolific, profound playwright.
  • Walter Scott, a comprehensively developed personality, warrior, writer, poet, specialist in advocacy and history, founder historical novel 19th century.

Writers who changed the world

After the horrors of the Second World War, it seemed to everyone that henceforth the world would rest on clear, simple and sound principles. social relations, global politics relied on the modernization of progress and positive trends, faith in education, science. However, from the beginning of the 70s, the idealistic world began to inexorably collapse, and people came to know a different reality. Famous writers and poets, who determine the mindset of the new generation, have taken the brunt of the dramatic changes that have come.

Soul and mind of modernity

Below is a list of those writers who determined the soul and mind of our time.

  • Marquez (lawyer). Major works: "The General in His Labyrinth", "Nobody Writes to the Colonel", "One Hundred Years of Solitude", "Born Leaves" and many others.
  • Alexander Solzhenitsyn (teacher of physics and mathematics, famous Russian writer). Main works: " cancer corps”, “Red Wheel”, “In the First Circle” and more than provocative “Gulag Archipelago”. Famous writers often fell into disgrace to the ruling system.
  • Toni Morrison (editor). Main works: "Favorite", "Resin Scarecrow", "Jazz", "Love", "Paradise".
  • Salman Rushdie (philologist). Main works: "Shame", "Rage", "Midnight's Children", "Shalimar the Clown", "Satanic Verses".
  • Milan Kundera (director) Main works: "Ignorance", "Immortality", "Slowness", "Funny Loves" and others.
  • Orhan Pamuk (architect). Main works: "Istanbul", "White Fortress", "Other Colors", "New Life", "Snow", "Black Book".
  • Michel Houellebecq (environmental engineer). Main works: "Platform", " Elementary particles”,“ The possibility of the island ”,“ Lanzarote ”.
  • JK Rowling (translator). 7 Harry Potter novels.

  • Umberto Eco (philologist). Major works: "Baudolino", "The Name of the Rose", "The Island of the Eve", "Foucault's Pendulum".
  • Carlos Castaneda (anthropologist). Major works: "The Gift of the Eagle", "The Power of Silence", "Special Reality", "Tales of Power", "Inner Fire", "The Wheel of Time", "The Second Circle of Power" and others. The category "famous writers" would be deprived without mentioning this outstanding person.


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