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PUSHKIN, Alexander (1799-1837). 'K drugu stikhotvortsu' [To a poet friend]. [In:] Vestnik Evropy [The Herald of Europe] Part 76, N.13. Moscow: University Press, 1814.
The first appearance of Pushkin in print, exceptionally well-preserved in pristine condition. His address ‘To a friend of the poet’ occupies pp.9-12 of this issue of the journal The Herald of Europe. This verse epistle marks Pushkin’s literary debut, which he made, aged fifteen, whilst studying at the newly founded Imperial Lyceum at Tsarskoye Selo. ‘In 1812 the Lycee classmates were overtaken by a wave of patriotism and envy, as they watched guardsmen billeted nearby (some of them brothers) depart for the war against Napoleon. Pushkin continued to read avidly and began writing love elegies and verse epistles to friends. In the poem “The Little Town” (“Gorodok,” 1814) the teenage poet lists his favorite authors: Homer, Virgil, Horace, Tasso, Moliere, Racine, Voltaire, Rousseau, Parny, Derzhavin, Fonvizin, Karamzin, Dmitriev and Krylov — of these, however, Voltaire and Parny are granted exalted status’ (S. Davydov, ‘Pushkin’s Biography’ in D. M. Bethea, The Superstitious Muse: Thinking Russian Literature Mythopoetically, Academic Studies Press, Brighton, MA, 2009, p.209) – several of these authors have been indicated as sources for the young author’s inspiration in this very first engagement with the publishing world. Smirnov-Sokol'skii Pushkin, 45.
Octavo (227 x 132mm). Uncut with deckle edges. Original printed wrappers (minor chips to the spine, a little dusty).
The first appearance of Pushkin in print, exceptionally well-preserved in pristine condition. His address ‘To a friend of the poet’ occupies pp.9-12 of this issue of the journal The Herald of Europe. This verse epistle marks Pushkin’s literary debut, which he made, aged fifteen, whilst studying at the newly founded Imperial Lyceum at Tsarskoye Selo. ‘In 1812 the Lycee classmates were overtaken by a wave of patriotism and envy, as they watched guardsmen billeted nearby (some of them brothers) depart for the war against Napoleon. Pushkin continued to read avidly and began writing love elegies and verse epistles to friends. In the poem “The Little Town” (“Gorodok,” 1814) the teenage poet lists his favorite authors: Homer, Virgil, Horace, Tasso, Moliere, Racine, Voltaire, Rousseau, Parny, Derzhavin, Fonvizin, Karamzin, Dmitriev and Krylov — of these, however, Voltaire and Parny are granted exalted status’ (S. Davydov, ‘Pushkin’s Biography’ in D. M. Bethea, The Superstitious Muse: Thinking Russian Literature Mythopoetically, Academic Studies Press, Brighton, MA, 2009, p.209) – several of these authors have been indicated as sources for the young author’s inspiration in this very first engagement with the publishing world. Smirnov-Sokol'skii Pushkin, 45.
Octavo (227 x 132mm). Uncut with deckle edges. Original printed wrappers (minor chips to the spine, a little dusty).
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