Maxim Gorky (real name - Alexei Maksimovich Peshkov) - the largest Russian and Soviet writer, five times nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature. Many of Gorky's works became an obligatory part of the general educational program; more than 2, 000 streets, several settlements, theaters and cultural institutions were named after him. Gorky's complete works occupy dozens of volumes.
Gorky's stories
Over the course of his writing career, Maxim Gorky has written more than a hundred stories, while the early works were most famous for - many of them were filmed and included in the school curriculum in Russia and the CIS countries. The writer’s literary debut was the story “Makar Chudra”, published in 1892 by the small newspaper “Kavkaz”. The narration is conducted on behalf of the old gypsy Makar Chudra, who tells the legend of the love of Loiko Zobar and Rudda.
"The Old Woman Isergil" (1895) is a three-part story, including legends about Larra and Danko and the old woman's story about her youth and love. It is known from Gorky’s correspondence with other writers that he considered The Old Woman to be his best work.
In the same year, the story “Chelkash” was published, in which for the first time there was a turn towards realism (while the early works bear the stamp of romanticism). It was based on a story told by a tramp and a neighbor in the Gorky hospital ward in 1891. From the point of view of some researchers, it was Chelkash that became the pass to the world of "great literature".
Many literary scholars consider the story to be Gorky's signature genre. His stories are short and dynamic, fabulous, with an unpredictable ending and vivid images.
"Song of the Petrel" (1901)
Probably the most famous work of Gorky, a poem in prose, included in the compulsory school curriculum. It was written after the bloody dispersal of a student demonstration in St. Petersburg. During this period, Gorky himself engaged in revolutionary propaganda and called for protests. Initially, "Song" was a poem, part of the story "Spring Melodies", which was not allowed by the censors for publication. In a satirical tale, different sections of the population were portrayed as birds, and the performance of the song about the petrel belonged to Chihu. However, censorship imposed only a partial ban, which did not affect the song Chizhik, symbolizing the younger generation. As a result, Gorky published "The Song" as an independent work with minor changes. She was a stunning success, for some time the nickname "petrel" was fixed for the author himself.
Gorky playwright
The Philistines (1901)
Gorky's dramatic debut. In writing the play, the beginning writer was assisted by Nemirovich-Danchenko, who came to Nizhny Novgorod specifically for this. The protagonist of the work, Vasily Bessemenov, is a typical tradesman, home tyrant and traditionalist, concerned only with increasing his capital. The play exposed the inertness and conservatism of the philistines as a class and was repeatedly censored.
The premiere took place in March 1902 at the Panaevsky Theater during the Moscow Art Theater tour in St. Petersburg. The play was awarded the prestigious Griboedov Prize.
"At the bottom" (1902)
Perhaps the most famous play of Gorky, included in the compulsory school curriculum and written at the turn of 1901-1902. It depicts the residents of the shelter for the poor with realistic accuracy, which provoked indignation of censorship and the public. Her production was banned in all theaters except the Moscow Art Theater. On December 18, 1902, the premiere of the production of Stanislavsky was held, which was a resounding success. Nevertheless, until 1905, the production was allowed with large bills, and each time it had to be coordinated with the local authorities. In 1904, the play received the Griboedov Prize.
"Vassa Zheleznova" (1910)
The tragedy of the wealthy owner of the shipping company Vassa Zheleznova, whose unlucky but measured life is disturbed by the sudden arrival of Rachel’s daughter-in-law, a rebel and a wanted revolutionary. The situation is even more heated when Vassa’s husband is involved in seducing a minor, and the woman decides to poison him.
"Egor Bulychov and others" (1932)
The play was released after a long break - in the 20s the writer did not engage in drama at all. Gorky intended to create a cycle dedicated to pre-revolutionary Russia, the beginning of which would be the play "Yegor Bulychov and Others."
The main character, a cancer patient, merchant Yegor Bulychov, returns from the hospital in 1917 and is horrified by the consequences of the war, which he considers unnecessary. While waiting for death from an incurable disease then, he also foresees the collapse of the social system, but none of his entourage takes his reasoning seriously.
The premiere took place in the theater named after Evgeny Vakhtangov.
Gorky's novels
"Mother" (1906)
Little is known that one of Gorky’s most famous novels, “Mother, ” was written during a trip to the United States of America. The work is replete with biblical references (although the writer himself considered himself an atheist, but due to his upbringing and education he was well versed in the subject), the May Day demonstration was compared to the procession, and the characters reinterpret the commandments. After the book was published, a criminal case was opened against the writer accused of blasphemy.
"The Life of Klim Samghin" (1927)
Alternative names are Forty Years and The Story of an Empty Soul. An epic novel of 1, 500 pages, Gorky's largest work, over which the writer worked for more than a decade, remained unfinished and was interrupted immediately after the 1917 revolution. The author died without completing the final fourth part.
The action takes place at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. At the center of the story is Klim Samghin, an intellectual enthusiastic about the ideas of Narodism, but infinitely far from the people. Gorky conceived the book back in 1905 after the February events. According to him, he wanted to show "an average-value intellectual who goes through a number of moods looking for (
.) wherever it was convenient both materially and internally."The year after the publication of “The Life of Klim Samghin”, in 1928, Gorky was nominated for the Nobel Prize. In 1987, a television adaptation of the director Victor Titov’s novel was released. The series made a winged quote "Was there a boy?".
Autobiographical works
Maxim Gorky wrote a trilogy of autobiographical works: "Childhood", "In People" and "My Universities" (1932). In "Childhood", the writer spoke about the early years of his life when his father died and at the age of 11 he had to earn a living himself. He earned money as a delivery man, a baker, a washer, a loader, etc. After the death of his grandmother in 1887, the young man tried to shoot himself, but the bullet went through the lung without hitting the heart. At the age of 24, Gorky began working as a journalist in provincial publications - this period of his life is described in My Universities. It was then that the pseudonym of the writer appeared, hinting at the "bitter" life of the heroes he describes.
Gorky's works for children
Gorky gained fame thanks to revolutionary prose and controversial plays for his time, but he also dealt with children's literature. Gorky's tales such as “Vorobishko”, “Burning Heart”, “Once upon a Time there was a samovar”, “About Ivan the Fool”, “The Case with Euseika”, “Morning” are widely known. This cycle was written for pedagogical purposes especially for students of the correctional "School of tricks" in Baku.
Another cycle of stories for children, "Tales of Italy", was created during the first emigration of Gorky, when he lived in Italy on the island of Capri and traveled around the country. In 1906, the writer was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and the next seven years he spent in Italy, whose climate has a beneficial effect on lung health. Gorky began printing stories that later became the basis of the cycle in 1911.
Not being a professional teacher, Gorky thought a lot about raising children and in the 30s corresponded a lot with small readers. In letters, he advised the children to read the classics of Russian literature: Pushkin, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Leskov, etc. The writer’s childhood was difficult, and he advocated protecting children, equating it to the protection of culture.
In the article "A man whose ears are plugged with cotton wool" (1930), Gorky defended entertainment literature for children. At the same time, in another publication of the same year - “On irresponsible people and the children's book of our days” - he argues with those who believe that “adult” art is not intended for children. The writer argued that "even the difficult dramas of the past can and should be told with a laugh." Children should know how "the idiocy of people who cared forever to affirm their personal well-being made it difficult to develop a universal culture." In the article "Literature for Children" (1933), Gorky complains that major and serious writers do not consider it necessary to write for children and tries to outline an educational program for preschool children and primary school children.
