Biography of Valentin Berestov and his career

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

Today we will consider the biography of Valentin Berestov. We are talking about a Russian poet, lyricist, who wrote for children and adults. He was also a researcher, Pushkinist, memoirist and translator.

Early years and activities

The biography of Valentin Berestov began in 1928, on April 1, in Meshchovsk, a city in the Kaluga region. The future poet learned to read when he was four years old. In 1942, during the Great Patriotic War, the entire Berestov family was evacuated to Tashkent.

The biography of Valentin Berestov continued with an acquaintance with Nadezhda Mandelstam. The latter, in turn, organized a meeting of our hero with Anna Akhmatova. Then there was an acquaintance with Korney Chukovsky. They played a big role in the fate of Valentin Berestov.

In 1944 our hero went to Moscow with letters of recommendation from Anna Akhmatova. He finishes ten years in the boarding school for gifted children. The educational institution is located in the Moscow region, Gorki Leninsky. On weekends, our hero visits his family in Kaluga.

The future poet studied at the Faculty of History of Moscow State University. Graduated from this university. Thencompleted postgraduate studies at the Institute of Ethnography. In 1946, while still a student, our hero went to archaeological excavations.

The poet Valentin Berestov published his first adult poems on the pages of the Youth magazine. They were dedicated to an exotic profession, so they turned into a favorite topic for parodists. The works of our hero appeared in 1946 in the publication "Change". In 1957, the first collection of poetry appeared under the title Departure. Soon the debut children's book for preschool audience "About the car" was published. Further, various collections of fairy tales and poems appeared.

Our hero was a member of the Union of Writers of the USSR. In 1966 he signed a letter written in defense of Daniel and Sinyavsky. He wrote children's fairy tales together with his wife Tatyana Alexandrova, a writer and artist. Compiled with his wife "Favorites" based on Dahl's "Explanatory Dictionary".

Many writers and poets, both adults and children, with whom he maintained friendly relations and even patronized, have a feeling of gratitude to Valentin Berestov. The poet is buried on the territory of the Khovansky cemetery.

Books

Above, we have already briefly talked about the life path Valentin Berestov went through. His poems were, in particular, published in 1957 by the publishing house "Soviet Writer" and compiled the collection "Departure". In 1962, the book "Wild Dove" was published. In 1964, the publishing house "Young Guard" published the prose work "The Sword in a Golden Scabbard". Its author is also Valentin Berestov. PoetryThe poet also compiled the book “Family Photography”, which was published in 1973. In 2015, the work “Three Roads” was published.

For the little ones

Our hero actively created literature for children, as well as the younger generation. So in 1981, the book "School Lyrics" was published. "Poems about childhood and youth" are published. Soon the continuation of the work "School Lyrics" appears.

The book "Smile" was compiled from poems and fairy tales, published in 1986. The collection of poems "The Definition of Happiness" appeared in 1987. In 1988, "Lark" was published.

The story-tale "Katya in a toy city" was published in 1990. Work on this book was carried out together with T. I. Alexandrova. Soon the collections of poems “On the path to the first grade” and “The first leaf fall” will be published.

In 1996, the books "Pictures in the Puddles" and "Merry Summer" appeared. In 1997, the works "The Princess" and "Favorite Poems" were published. Also, our hero owns the authorship of the work "The Fifth Leg", consisting of epigrams and songs. In 1998, selected works of the writer were published in two volumes. Soon the book "Hello, fairy tale" was published.

Next, we will simply name the main children's works created by Valentin Berestov. "Counting" is one of the most famous of them. Also, the works of our hero belong to the pen: “How to find a path”, “Vitya, Fitulka and Eraser”, “Snake-braggart”, “Honest caterpillar”, “Cat-and-stepmother”, “River Sknizhka”, “Evil Morning”, "Master Bird", "Stork and Nightingale", "Brought!", "Ball", "Twig", "Realmale.”

Recognition and awards

The poet was awarded in 1990 the State Prize of the RSFSR Krupskaya. In this way, his book of poems "Smile" is marked. In 2000, the writer became an Honorary Citizen of the Kaluga Region. The poet's poems are carved in a stone book in Italy, in the homeland of Cicero in the city of Arpino.

Co-authored works

Together with T. Aleksandrova, our hero wrote a number of books. In particular, "Magic Garden", "Katya in Toy City" and "Chest with books".

Together with N. Panchenko, the fairy tale "The Extraordinary Adventures of a Sunny Bunny" was written. Books were also created dedicated to the life and work of our hero. Among such works, the Bio-Bibliographic Index, which was published in 2001, should be noted. Its compilers were V. G. Semenova, T. S. Rozhdestvenskaya and E. M. Kuzmenkova. That's all. The biography of Valentin Berestov and his creative path have been described in detail above.