Konstantin Balmont: biography of the poet of the Silver Age

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

Konstantin Dmitrievich Balmont (1867-15-06, Gumnishchi, Vladimir province - 1942-23-12, Noisy-le-Grand, France) - Russian poet.

Konstantin Balmont: biography

By origin, the future poet was a nobleman. Although his great-grandfather bore the surname Balamut. Later, the named surname was redone in a foreign way. Balmont's father was the chairman of the zemstvo council. Konstantin received his education at the Shuya gymnasium, however, he was expelled from it, because he attended an illegal circle. A brief biography of Balmont tells that he created his first works at the age of 9.

In 1886, Balmont began his studies at the law faculty of Moscow University. A year later, due to participation in student unrest, he was expelled until 1888. Soon he left the university of his own free will, enrolling in the Demidov Law Lyceum, from which he was also expelled. It was then that the first poetry collection written by Balmont was published.

The biography of the poet tells that at the same time, due to constant disagreements with his first wife, he tried to commit suicide. A suicide attempt ended for him with a broken leg and a lifelong limp.

Among the first books by K. Balmont, it is worth mentioning the collections "Burning Buildings" and "In the Vastness". The poet's relationship with the authorities was tense. So, in 1901, for the verse "Little Sultan", he was deprived of the right to reside in university and capital cities for 2 years. K. Balmont, whose biography has been studied in some detail, leaves for the Volkonsky estate (now the Belgorod region), where he works on a poetry collection “We will be like the sun”. Moves to Paris in 1902.

In the early 1900s, Balmont created many romantic poems. So, in 1903, the collection “Only Love. Semitsvetnik", in 1905 - "The Liturgy of Beauty". These collections bring fame to Balmont. The poet himself travels at this time. So, by 1905 he managed to visit Italy, Mexico, England and Spain.

When political unrest begins in Russia, Balmont returns to his homeland. He collaborates with the social democratic publication "New Life" and with the magazine "Red Banner". But at the end of 1905, Balmont, whose biography is rich in travel, again comes to Paris. In later years, he continues to travel extensively.

When amnesty was granted to political emigrants in 1913, K. Balmont returned to Russia. The poet welcomes the February Revolution, but opposes the October Revolution. In this regard, in 1920 he again left Russia, settling in France.

While in exile, Balmont, whose biography is inextricably linked with his homeland, actively worked in Russianperiodicals published in Germany, Estonia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Poland and Czechoslovakia. In 1924, he published a book of memoirs en titled “Where is my home?”, wrote essays on the revolution in Russia “White Dream” and “Torch in the Night”. In the 20s, Balmont published such collections of poems as "Gift to the Earth", "Haze", "Bright Hour", "Song of the Working Hammer", "In the Parted Distance". In 1930, K. Balmont completed the translation of the Old Russian work "The Tale of Igor's Campaign". The last collection of his poems was published in 1937 under the title Light Service.

At the end of his life, the poet suffered from mental illness. K. Balmont died in a shelter known as the "Russian House", located near Paris.