Lydia Ginzburg: short biography and interesting facts

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

Ginzburg Lidia Yakovlevna is a serious and thoughtful literary critic and memoirist. Her memoirs formed the basis of many biographical articles about writers and poets of the 20th century. Her books make you think and reflect, their philosophical and psychological sound touches the heart and mind.

Childhood

Back in 1902, Lydia Yakovlevna Ginzburg was born into the family of a famous bacteriologist, whose brief biography originates in a bustling seaside town.

Odessa, with its endless sea expanse and muffled city bustle, was the birthplace of the future memoirist. Here lived her parents, brother, uncle, in whose family she was brought up from the age of eight after the death of her father.

Youth

At the age of eighteen, the girl graduated from high school, and she faced a choice: which way of life to choose? What will you dedicate your youth and later life to?

Brother, who is fond of theatrical art and created his own theater of miniatures, invited her to play on his stage. For more than a year, Lydia Ginzburg tried herself in the roleactresses, performing with Arkady Pogodin and Rina Zelena.

But the skill of acting was unnaturally phlegmatic and balanced nature of young Lydia, although she had the necessary makings to become a famous actress.

Beginning of scientific activity

In 1922, after much doubt and reflection, Lydia Ginzburg moved to Petrograd, whose biography and work now take on a new direction.

A young girl enters the Institute of Art History at the Department of Language. Four years later, after graduation, the management leaves her in this educational institution and transfers her to research assistants.

Since 1926, a young graduate student begins to work on her first scientific works in the field of literature and literature. Her early works belong to "Russian formalism" - a society for the study of the theory of poetic language, and are also close to literary and artistic avant-garde - experimenting with new concepts, the maximum simplification of the depicted subject. They even planned to publish the works of Lidia Ginzburg in the collections "Radix" and "Bath of Archimedes".

The aspiring scholar studied a variety of essays, memoirs, diaries, autobiographies, and created her own theory about “intermediate literature” and its importance and impact on public culture.

Times of repressions

The period of the late 1920s and early 1930s is characterized by strong attacks on the teachings of the “formal school” by the authorities,and later the brutal persecution of adherents of this theory.

Therefore, by decree from above, the institute where Lidia Ginzburg worked was closed, and the young woman herself was forced to become an ordinary teacher at the working faculty. In 1933, Lidia Yakovlevna even survived a two-week arrest, which, however, did not have serious consequences.

Growing Creativity

In 1935, Lidia Yakovlevna Ginzburg was admitted to the Writers' Union, and five years later she defended her doctoral dissertation at Leningrad University with her own research work, Lermontov's Creative Way.

A woman met the Great Patriotic War in Leningrad, survived the worst blockade in history, buried her mother, who died of starvation.

All the horrors and nightmares of the blockade Lidia Ginzburg reflected in her subsequent memoirs, as well as in books based on the memories of eyewitnesses.

Despite possible personal fears and worries, during the occupation, Lidia Yakovlevna tried to benefit her homeland, she worked as an editor of the radio committee. Her inspiring programs and programs instilled courage and confidence in the hungry, suffering people, were imbued with the spirit of true patriotism and love for the native land. For inexpressible courage and bravery Ginzburg Lydia Yakovlevna was awarded the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad". This happened in the summer of 1943.

Creativity in the post-war period

But a year after the end of the bloody war, the brave woman came under ideological purge as “unreliable”. As a result, she was unable to get a jobLeningrad University, was forced to take the position of assistant professor of literature in Petrozavodsk. If not for the death of Stalin, Lydia Ginzburg could have fallen under the terrible article “enemy of the people” and lost not only her job or freedom, but her life.

In 1957, Lidia Yakovlevna published a monograph about Herzen. Since then, the woman has declared herself not only as a progressive scientist, but also as a deeply thinking philologist of the Soviet Union, bringing literary and spiritual enlightenment to the masses.

Later, Ginzburg published such important works in literary criticism as “On Psychological Prose”, “On Lyrics”, “Literature in Search of Reality”, “On Old and New”.

“Notes of a Blockade Man”

The terrible time that many experienced in the occupied city was reflected in her work by Lydia Ginzburg - “Notes of a blockade man”. The idea to write a book did not come to her immediately, but only over time, when she began to think about what those long days of the siege of Leningrad meant for the people's memory.

The work is based not only on the memoirs of the writer. Before giving the book to the publishers, Lydia Ginzburg spent a lot of time talking with people who survived the blockade, she thought deeply about how to mention this or that fact, what should be described or explained to the uninitiated reader.

And although the story is told from the perspective of a man with the original name En,it immediately becomes clear that he is a conditional collective image, and that the main character of this book is a Woman with a capital letter.

A woman who could endure hunger and cold, who saw her loved ones die and tried to help them, who stood in long lines for a piece of bread and on whom the life of the whole family depended.

And although this woman is sick and hungry, although she trudges home almost unconscious, she is a real winner in the struggle for the life of all relatives and the entire Fatherland.

And those who could not endure the hardships and suffering and died as martyrs are also winners, as they left their descendants an example of how important it is to fight and not give up.

There are many different books and works written about the blockade period, written by both eyewitnesses and historians, and political scientists. It is noteworthy how Lydia Ginzburg depicted in her work the sensations and feelings of unfortunate people. “Notes of a Blockade Man” are filled with bitterness and suffering, hunger and cold, but not fear. This is because the brave woman herself, who experienced everything first hand, never experienced horror. She always knew to keep going no matter the cost.

Talented, vital and truthful “Notes of a blockade man” were translated and published in many languages of the world.

“Notebooks”

Another important work written by Ginzburg is her Notebooks. These are memoirs and memories of events and acquaintances from the life of both the writer herself and the people around her.

Lydia Yakovlevna was closeI am familiar with many outstanding legendary personalities, such as Mayakovsky, Akhmatova, Mandelstam. She had a sharp mind and good powers of observation, a lively bright style and an individual deep manner of description. Therefore, "Notebooks" are very interesting and entertaining not only for literary critics, but also for ordinary people.

From the pages of Ginzburg's memoirs you can find out what the famous poets, composers and writers really were, what mood they were in, what motivated them in certain cases…

Noticing the smallest details and delving into all sorts of subtleties, Lidia Yakovlevna makes readers look at celebrities from a side that has been hidden from the public for many years.

The book also contains her deep analyzes and reflections on the outside world, on literature and art, which make you think about the obvious, see the inconspicuous, rethink your views and beliefs.

Practical wisdom

Ginsburg's contribution to Russian literature is not limited to her memoirs and memoirs.

Educated and sane, noticing small details and able to instantly get to the heart of the matter, witty and specific - that was the wonderful writer Lidia Yakovlevna Ginzburg, whose quotes and aphorisms are still considered relevant and instructive.

Here are some of them:

• "It's terrible that it's easy to be miserable. Happiness, like everything beautiful, comes with difficulty."
• "Ideal old age is a natural and reconciled obsolescence."
• "A person who harms out of conviction can be persuaded; a person who harms out of personal malice can be mitigated. Only one who harms out of fear is invulnerable and adamant."

Death of a writer

The old age of the writer was happy and respected. Elderly Lydia Ginzburg, whose photos and interviews appeared in many periodicals, whose books were published in significant editions and read avidly, died at the age of eighty-eight, surrounded by young writers who highly appreciated her.

The talented memoirist lived a long and difficult, but very meaningful and rewarding life.