Nadezhda Volpin is the civil wife of the poet Sergei Yesenin. Biography, creativity

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

Nadezhda Volpin is a poetess and translator who began her career at the dawn of the 20th century. However, it was not so much her writings that brought her the greatest popularity, but an affair with Sergei Yesenin, which began in 1920. This article will be devoted to the biographies of this amazing woman and her work.

Nadezhda Volpin: biography

The future poetess was born on February 6, 1900 in Mogilev. Her father, David Samuilovich Volpin, was a graduate of Moscow University and became famous for translating J. J. Fraser's book "Folklore in the Old Testament", earned a living by practicing law. Nadezhda's mother, Anna Borisovna Zhislina, was a music teacher, largely due to the fact that she graduated from the Warsaw Conservatory as a girl.

Volpin Nadezhda Davydovna herself did not follow in the footsteps of any of her parents and, having graduated from the so-called "Khvostovskaya" classical gymnasium in 1917, she entered the Moscow University at the Department of Physics and Mathematics. However, foreign languages, which she lateruseful in life and allowed to become a translator, the girl mastered just in the gymnasium. In addition, she studied at Volpin University for a little over a year, then dropped out, realizing that natural physics was not her calling.

The rich and vibrant life of Nadezhda Davydovna as a poetess began in 1919, when she joined the Imagists and began working in Andrei Bely's Green Workshop studio. In the same year, another significant event took place in her life.

First meeting with Yesenin

Sergey Yesenin and Nadezhda Volpin met at the Stoylo Pegas cafe, where the second anniversary of October was celebrated. On this occasion, many poets gathered in the cafe, who read their works from the stage. Yesenin was one of those invited guests, but when it was his turn, he replied to the entertainer that he was, they say, “reluctant.”

Volpin, who was present at the evening, was a passionate admirer of Yesenin's work, therefore, plucking up courage, she approached the poet and asked to read poetry. The poet, known for his weakness for the female sex, could not refuse a lovely girl. In response to her request, he bowed with the words: "For you - with pleasure."

From that moment on, their frequent meetings began in this cafe, after which Yesenin escorted the girl home. On the way they talked a lot about poetry and literature. Once, Yesenin even gave Volpin a book of his poems signed “Hope with hope.”

Conquest

Nadezhda Volpin, whose memories of Yesenin were not always the most pleasant, aboutduring this period of their communication, she wrote that she constantly had to fend off the confessions of the poet. For three whole years, the girl managed to keep Yesenin at a distance, despite her sincere love for him.

This was largely due to the fact that at that time the poet was still officially married to Zinaida Reich, who had two children from him. Yesenin had not lived with this woman for a long time, but the very fact of marriage seriously worried Nadezhda.

Only in 1921 did the lovers become truly close. However, this did not bring them much joy. They often quarreled, mainly because of the poet's wild life. Yesenin admitted that he was afraid to get too close to Nadezhda, which is why he disappears so often.

Yesenin's romance with Isadora Duncan

And in 1922 the poet's scandalous romance with the famous dancer Isadora Duncan began. Volpin, Yesenin's common-law wife, could not interfere with this union in any way, and did not intend to. For her, it was a blow. The situation was aggravated by the fact that everything happened before her eyes - they had a common circle of friends with Yesenin.

Nevertheless, when the poet broke up with his next passion and wished to return, Nadezhda Volpin accepted him. Resumed joint trips to friends, visits to cafes, gatherings at home. Gradually, she became the person who delivered the quickly tipsy poet home. And Yesenin got drunk more and more often, it began to seem to him that he was being pursued. He told Nadezhda about his fears more than once.

Childbirth

Soon Nadezhda Volpin found out that she was pregnant. Hearing about itYesenin was not happy, but said that he already had children and that he seemed to be enough. To this, Volpin replied that she did not need anything from Yesenin, and she was not trying to marry him to herself.

After this unpleasant conversation, Nadezhda leaves for St. Petersburg, deciding to break off all relations with the poet. Their son, Alexander, was born in 1924, on May 12, in the same place, in the Northern capital. Nadezhda tried her best to avoid possible meetings with Yesenin. She even settled not with the poet's friends, whom he asked to shelter her, but in a small, completely uncomfortable room. Yesenin strongly scolded Nadezhda for this, but she did not deviate from her own. Volpin has always strived for independence and independence.

The boy was very similar to Yesenin. The poet never saw him, but often asked his friends what he was like. To the answer that he was the spitting image of Sergei in childhood, Yesenin replied: “It should be so, because she loved me very much.”

After Yesenin's death

It was hard to live alone with a small child, and Nadezhda Volpin started making money with translations. These were mainly works by European classics: W alter Scott, Merimee, Cooper, Conan Doyle and others. She was able to reproduce the individual author's style, and the poet's experience helped with translations of poems by Goethe, Ovid and many others.

During the Great Patriotic War, Volpin was evacuated to Turkmenistan, to Ashgabat. Here she quickly mastered the Turkmen language and began translating national folklore and poetry.

Byears of repression Alexander Volpin-Yesenin was arrested for anti-Soviet activities. For Nadezhda, this was a severe test, which ended with her son's migration to the USA.

The life of the poetess ended in 1998, on September 9th. In recent years, Alexander's ex-wife, Victoria Pisak, courted her.

Volpin Nadezhda Davydovna: a creative path

As noted above, the creative path of the poetess began in the 1920s, although she tried to write poetry while still a schoolgirl. Moscow opened up new opportunities. In particular, the literary cafes Pegasus Stall and Poets' Cafe enjoyed great popularity. Here is one of Volpin's poems from this period:

Songs are torn from the throat, Blood sweat on the forehead…

Your chains, Revolution, Holy to the heart is freedom!"

However, Volpin is better known as a translator. The volume of work done by her is truly colossal - it is thousands of text pages. Nadezhda Davydovna was a very educated person with a broad outlook and an excellent memory. Many poems of poets knew by heart. The same phenomenal ability to memorize helped her master a considerable number of foreign languages. Since 1970, Volpin began work on her memoirs, in which she described in detail the poetic life of the Silver Age. She paid much attention to the life of Sergei Yesenin. Many of these works have now been published.