Erlich Wolf Iosifovich - Soviet poet: biography, creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

His name is not so loud, but it evokes so much warmth and sadness… An enthusiastic admirer of Armenia, a gifted poet and a good person, a friend of Sergei Yesenin, tragically and untimely gone, crushed by a wave of repressions, but not forgotten - Erlich Wolf. He is the author of amazing poems, children's books and serious works that have become classics of Soviet literature.

Wolf Iosifovich Erlich, biography

Wolf Iosifovich was born on June 7, 1902 in the town of Simbirsk, in a family of Volga Germans. His father is a pharmacist, Erlich Joseph Lazarevich. Mother - Anna Moiseevna, sister - Tolkacheva Mirra Iosifovna.

Wolf Erlich began to write poems and first stories while studying at the Simbirsk gymnasium. After graduation, he entered Kazan University. At first he studied at the medical faculty, then transferred to the historical and philological. In 1920 he served in the 1st territorial Kazan regiment. During the civil war, he was a Red Army soldier, secretary of the GPU of Education of the Committee of the Republic of Tatarstan.

Wolf Ehrlich arrived in Petrograd in 1921. At first he studied at the city university at the literary and artisticFaculty, but, unfortunately, was expelled for poor performance. He was an active participant in political and literary disputes, joined the then popular "Order of the Imagists". In addition to Erlich, it included some Leningrad poets: Semyon Polotsky, Nikolai Grigorov, Ivan Afanasiev-Soloviev, Grigory Shmerelson. In 1925, Wolf Ehrlich served as a responsible duty officer at the First House of the Leningrad Soviet.

First verses

Erlich Wolf published his first collection of poems called "Wolf Sun" in 1928. The Book of Memories came out next, followed by Arsenal. Next came The Book of Poems, a collection released in 1934, then The Order of Battle (1935). In 1929, Erlich wrote a poem about Sofya Perovskaya, a famous revolutionary who organized the assassination of Emperor Alexander II. In the 1930s he worked in the Leningrad magazine as a member of the editorial board, then in the Offensive newspaper. In 1932 he left for a construction site of national importance - the White Sea-B altic Canal. He spent the whole of 1935 in the Far East, creating Volochaev Days with other screenwriters.

When fame came

Erlich Wolff's "Book of Poems" is simple and concise, easy to read, like all his poetry and prose. All his works are filled with deep meaning, make you think. In 1937, Wolf Iosifovich, a member of the Union of Soviet Writers, published two collections of poems for children and the book Unusual Adventures of Friends. The works of Erlich Wolf were published in suchwell-known newspapers and magazines, such as "Literary Contemporary", "Red Night", "Star". In addition to his own literary works, Erlich Wolf was engaged in translations from Armenian. Among them are poems by Mkrtich Adzhemyan, Mkrtich Nagash.

Memories of Yesenin

For the first time when faced with the works of Yesenin, Wolf Iosifovich was impressed by the genuine sincerity, the depth of his poetry. They met in 1924 in Leningrad, later their acquaintance grew into a strong friendship that lasted until the last day of Sergei Yesenin's life.

At that time Erlich was already known, his poems were published in Leningrad newspapers and magazines. Just like other writers, he participated in poetry evenings. In 1924, Erlich Wolf and Sergei Yesenin actively performed with their poems in Leningrad and its suburbs, including Detskoye Selo. There they took a commemorative photo with the students of the Institute of Agriculture. Sergei Yesenin always shared his creative ideas with Erlich, evaluated both himself and his environment, which indicates their extreme trust in each other. Years after Yesenin's death, many will accuse Erlich of involvement in his murder, but it is worth remembering their relationship, their quivering warm friendship, and it becomes clear that all these rumors are lies.

Once, while visiting Anna Abramovna, Berzin Yesenin read a poem he had just written, his “Song of the Great Campaign”. Berzin offered to publish it in a magazine. Wolf Iosifovich immediately wrote down the entire poem from memory, Sergei Yesenin made only minor corrections and signed. After themAnna Abramovna took the manuscript to the editorial office of the October magazine.

Erlich's only book of memoir prose was The Right to Song, written in 1930. In the preface, the author compares the poet with the tin soldiers he dreamed of in a dream, which he later bought in reality. He wonders where does Sergei Yesenin, who died, begin, and where does the Yesenin whom he saw in a dream begin? He seems to be talking about different images of one person, real and invented by him, idealized. In these memoirs, he described only the most reliable facts known to him, but still he lived in such a time that he was afraid that he could not lie.

In this book, Wolf Iosifovich talks about his friendship with Yesenin, about the last two years of the great poet's life. In it, he also mentions Yesenin's last poem, which he gave to Erlich before his death.

Goodbye friend

On the tragic morning of December 28, 1925, Erlich Wolf was one of the first to discover Yesenin's body in the Angleterre Hotel. Heavily shaken by the death of his best friend, he nevertheless found the strength to take part in the ceremonial farewell, which took place on December 29 at the Leningrad House of Writers, on the embankment of the Fontanka River. Then Erlich and Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya-Yesenina, the poet's widow, escorted the coffin to Moscow. On December 31, 1925, Sergei Yesenin was buried at the Vagankovsky cemetery.

Armenia

At the end of the 1920s, Wolf Iosifovich and his friend Nikolai Tikhonov went tofirst trip to Armenia. There they visited Argaz, climbed the volcanic mountains above Sevan, overcame the Geghama Range, visited the monastery, which the locals call Ayrivank. The impression made by this country on Wolf Iosifovich could not but be reflected in the work of the poet. This is how “Alagez Tales” and “Armenia” appeared.

Not only majestic nature conquered Erlich, but also people. He told his friend Nikolai Tikhonov: "… I have already seen a lot of people, but I want to see even more …". And he really did return to Armenia more than once. In the Ararat Valley, he talked with winegrowers, on Arakas he made friends with border guards, was admired by the intellectuals of Armenia, and very closely accepted all the hardships of repatriates. Armenia completely swallowed Erlich's heart. Unfortunately, this love became fatal for him.

Interrupted

In 1937, while on a trip to Armenia, he wanted to write a script about repatriates, but this was not destined to come true. In the summer of July 19, he was arrested in Yerevan and sent under escort to Leningrad. In the autumn of November 19 of the same year, Erlich was sentenced to capital punishment for belonging to the Trotskyist terrorist organization, which in fact did not exist. The sentence was carried out on November 24, 1937. Only 19 years later, Erlich Wolf was rehabilitated by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court for lack of corpus delicti in his actions.