There in the reading hall of the Department of world literature is organized the book exhibition dedicated to the 125-th anniversary of the Russian poet and translator Osip Mandelshtam (1891-1938).

 

   Osip Emilovich Mandelshtam was born on January 15, 1891 in Warsaw in the merchant’s family. In 1892 the family settled in Pavlovsk and in 1897 moved to Petersburg. O.Mandelshtam finished the Tenishevsk commercial school in Petersburg. In 1907 he went to Paris, listened to lectures in Sorbonna, after that he studied for one year in the Heidelberg university. In 1910 there in the magazine “Apollo” for the first time were published his five verses. At this time O.Maldenshtam became enamoured with the ideas of the poets-symbolists. In 1911 he entered the historical-philological faculty of the Petersburg university. By this time he had strongly entered the literary environment and belonged to the group of the akmeists, organized by N.Gumilev which was called “The poets’ shop”.
   There in 1913 was published his first book of verses named “The stone”. In 1918-1921 he worked in the cultural establishments of Crimea and Georgia. In 1922 he moved to Moscow. The 1920-ss were for Mandelshtam the time of intensive and various literary work: there were published several poetical collections – “Tristia” (1922), “The second book” (1923), “The verses” (1928).
He continued to publish articles about literature in the collection named “About poetry” (1928). There were published two books “The noise of the times” (1925) and “The Egyptian poststamp” (1928). There were also published several books for children – “The two trams”, “The primus” (1925), “The balls”, “The kitchen” (1926). He devoted much time to translation work. Perfectly knowing the French, German and English languages, he undertook to translate the pieces of prose of the modern foreign writers. With a special care he treated the translations of the verses, showing here a high degree of mastery. In the 1930-s when there began an open persecution of the poet and it became harder to get published, translating remained the very outlet through which the poet could preserve himself. During these years he translated dozens of books. In the autumn of 1933 he writes the verse named “We are living without sensing the country underfoot…”, for which in the autumn of 1934 he was repressed aqnd exiled to Cherdyn city, after that to Voronezh where he worked in the newspapers and magazines, and at the radio. He perished after the second arrest in 1938.

   The writer Shklovskiy said about O.Mandelshtam: “He was a strange, difficult, touching man and had a genious touch within himself!”. The wife of the poet Nadezhda Mandelshtam and also some proven friends of the poet preserved his verses and thanks to them they were published for the first time in the 1960-s. At the present time the whole of his literary heritage has been published with amazing totality. Osip Mandelshtam is one of the most studied and valued poets in the world.

   There at the exhibition is presented literature about the life and creative activity of the poet and his works from the fond of the National library of the RK.