Mikhail Kuzmin

Russian poet, novelist. His novel Wings was the first Russian novel centred on homosexuality. Kuzmin met poet Yuri Yurkun in 1913. The 2 lived together with Yurkun's mother, + wife, Olga. Their relationship lasted until Kuzmin's death in 1936. Yurkun was arrested (along with many other writers) 2 years later by Soviet authorities and shot.

1) Kuzmin
2) Yuri Yurkin
3) Kuzmin

#MikhailKuzmin #Михаи́лКузми́н #Russianpoet #novelist #writer #russianwriter #Wings #Крылья #Russiannovel #yuriyurkin #poets #russianpoets #gaylit #gayliterature

Mikhail Kuzmin

Russian poet, novelist. His novel Wings was the first Russian novel centred on homosexuality. Kuzmin met poet Yuri Yurkun in 1913. The 2 lived together with Yurkun's mother, + wife, Olga. Their relationship lasted until Kuzmin's death in 1936. Yurkun was arrested (along with many other writers) 2 years later by Soviet authorities and shot.

1) Portrait by Konstantin Somow
2) Portrait by Aleksandr Golovin
3) Portrait by Yury Annenkov

#MikhailKuzmin #Михаи́лКузми́н #Russianpoet #novelist #writer #russianwriter #Wings #Крылья #Russiannovel #kontantinsomow #aleksandrgolovin #yuriyurkin #yuryannenkov #portraits #art #artists #poets #russianpoets #gaylit #gayliterature

" ... And people saw that every sort of beauty, every sort of love was from the gods, and they became free and bold, and they grew WINGS." 🪽 ---- Mikhail Kuzmin from his novella Wings, 1906

#wings #novella #novel #mikhailkuzmin #quote #beauty #love #onbeauty #onlove #onloveandbeauty #thegods #russianwriter #russianliterature #russianauthor #russiannovelist #fiction #books #book #livres #mybookshelf

Marlene Dietrich & Konstantin Paustovsky

Just finished 'The Story of a Life' by Konstantin Paustovsky (1892-1968), Russian writer nominated 4 times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was of Zaporozhian, Turkish + Polish descent + raised mostly in Ukraine

In her autobiography, Marlene Dietrich devoted an entire chapter to the author inspired by his novel 'Telegram' :
"This novel made so great an impression on me that I could no more forget it than I could the name of the author, of whom I had never heard before"
In 1964, Dietrich arrived in the Soviet Union on a concert tour. As soon as she got off the plane she asked about Paustovsky. Despite being ill, Paustovsky attended the performance + afterwards went up on the stage. “I was so shocked by his presence that, being unable to utter a word in Russian, I did not find any other way to express my admiration for him, except to kneel in front of him"

#konstantinPaustovsky #marlenedietrich #thestoryofalife #autobiography #sovietauthor #sovietwriter #russianwriter #russiannovelist #russianauthor #instabooks #booksofinstagram #mybookshelf #readinglist #mybooks #bookworld #books #ilovebooks #livres #biblio #buch #bücher #книги

"But then, sometimes it's the mere anticipation of happy days - and not the days themselves - that is the most enjoyable part. At the time I knew nothing about this strange quality of life, but I would become convinced of it later."

--- The Story of a Life, Konstantin Paustovsky (Translation by Douglas Smith)

Photographs from Missoula, Montana, Boulder, Colorado and Somerville, Ma. (1986/7)

#thestoryofalife #happydays #konstantinpaustovsky #quotes #missoula #boulder #boston #mylife #russianwriter

Lyudmila Ulitskaya is a Russian writer, now living in Berlin, after speaking out against the war in Ukraine. Last night I finished what could be her final novel Jacob’s Ladder - a family saga spanning a century of recent Russian history. The story alternates effortlessly between characters and time frames, leading to an extremely satisfying conclusion in modern Russia. Ulitskaya has used excerpts from actual family letters and KGB files for details.

#lyudmilaulitskaya #jacobsladder #novel #novelist #author #writer #russianauthor #russianwriter #antiwar #familysaga #jewishfamily #sovietrussia #book #books #mybookshelf #booklist #bookrecommendation #bookrecommendations #bookworld #activist #buch #buchen #livre #livres #libros #ЛюдмилаУлицкая #Книги