Tvardosky, Aleksandr [A. Tvardovskii]

Vasily Tyorkin [Vasilii Terkin], Kniga pro Boitsa

Moscow: Goslitizdat, 1944. Wraps. Early edition. 8vo, wraps, good to very good, some wear, tanning and soil to covers, pages tanning. 127 pp. -- possibly expanded from the first edition of 1942, which was only 87 pp. We could find few if any comparable early copies curently for sale online. Tvardovsky's most popular long poem, Vasili Tyorkin is about an ordinary soldier in the German-Soviet War. Filled with humor, the poem was a hymn to the optimism and resourcefulness of the Russian soldier. It was surprisingly non-politicized, down-to-earth, and intentionally devoid of any picturesque heroism. It was printed chapter by chapter and immediately sent to the front in newspapers and magazines as well as read over the radio by Dmitry Orlov. Tvardovsky was awarded his second Stalin Prize for Vasili Tyorkin. The poem is regarded by critics as a masterpiece, remarkable for "positive good humor, its freedom from dogma, and its closeness to the reality of 'Soviet' life", "a national and even international horizon". It is also unique as a work written during Stalin's regime, as it lacks ideological content, glorification of Stalin and the Soviet state, and triumphalist tone which were required for a work of "Socialist realism". Tvardovsky's wife wrote in 1943: "I have the impression that it is getting dangerous here to pronounce your name aloud" but the poem's popularity saved it from the censorship. (Wikipedia). Good. Item #H29090

Price: $150.00