Aleksandr Kuprin
:
This article is about the writer. For the painter, see Alexander V. Kuprin. |
Kuprin in Gatchina (cartoon from the 1910s) |
Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin (Александр Иванович Куприн,
September 7,
1870 in the
Penza Oblast -
August 25,
1938 in
Leningrad) was a
Russian writer, pilot, explorer and adventurer whose best known novellas include
Moloch (1896),
Olesya (1898),
The Duel (1905),
Junior Captain Rybnikov (1906),
Emerald (1907), and
The Garnet Bracelet (1911).
Vladimir Nabokov styled him Russian
Kipling for his stories about pathetic adventure-seekers.
A son of Tatar princess, he tried many jobs in his life, working as an officer, circus performer, church singer, doctor, hunter, fisher, etc. His early short stories, including several on horses and other animals, seethe with love of life in all its manifestations. Kuprin's popularity spread quickly after
Leo Tolstoy had acclaimed him as a true successor to
Chekhov. The spy story
Junior Captain Rybnikov (1906) has been called the pinnacle of his art. Subsequently he paid less and less interest to literature, sharing his time between pubs and brothels. His novel about the life of prostitutes,
The Pit (1915), was accused by Russian critics of excessive
Naturalism.
After the
Russian Revolution Kuprin emigrated to
France, but eventually returned to
Moscow on
May 31 1937, just a year before his death. His return paved the way for publication of his works within
Soviet Union. Kuprin is interred next to his fellow writers at the
Volkovo Cemetery of Leningrad.
*
Website about Kuprin*http://www.kuprin.de (mostly in
PDF format)
*
Biography by Nicholas Luker - in English
*
Online stories in English - Read
Yama (The Pit) and the short story
The Outrage--a True Story*
Free ebook of Aleksandr Kuprin at
Project Gutenberg
