| Pushkin is Russia's best-loved poet and writer. Although
born of minor aristocracy, he wrote in Russian - the language of the
ordinary people - at a time when French was considered the language
of literature. He gave the Russian people a new pride in their language
and culture.
"There is something so fresh and vigorous and positive
about Pushkin's writing that it has always held a strong appeal
for young people, and the fact that he himself died young, like
so many other poets of that time (Burns, Byron, Keats, Shelley)
seems to remove him for ever from the fate of becoming a 'sage'
burdened with some baffling generation gap.
From our point of view, Pushkin's work with its immense variety
must encourage young writers not to be afraid to take up any subject
that interests them. Pushkin was fascinated by ballads and folklore,
and has written poems of tragic love, of gypsies, of ghosts and
the supernatural. He loved storytelling, and whether the story is
set in older times, or imaginary places or within contemporary life,
he knew how to keep the story moving along and hold the reader's
attention. He had a strong feeling for nature in all its aspects,
but especially in scenes of winter, with snow-blizzards, sledging
and skating. The sea too, often in its wilder moods, makes its appearance,
as do many animals and birds. But equally town and city life is
captured: theatres, restaurants, dancing, crowds, friends, parties,
being excited and being bored. And the wider issues of Russian life;
politics, prisoners, national language and identity all find their
place. Everything is grist to his mill."
Edwin Morgan
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