In 1945 Isaiah Berlin, working in Russia for the British Foreign Office, met Anna Akhmatova almost by chance in what was then Leningrad. Their time together, only 14 hours in all, was a transforming experience for both and a cardinal moment in literary history. For Akhmatova, Berlin was a "guest from the future" where her work would survive beyond the nightmare of Stalinism. He had also known St Petersburg as a child before 1914 and was thus a link with that lost world - the subject of her last masterpiece, "Poem without a ...
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In 1945 Isaiah Berlin, working in Russia for the British Foreign Office, met Anna Akhmatova almost by chance in what was then Leningrad. Their time together, only 14 hours in all, was a transforming experience for both and a cardinal moment in literary history. For Akhmatova, Berlin was a "guest from the future" where her work would survive beyond the nightmare of Stalinism. He had also known St Petersburg as a child before 1914 and was thus a link with that lost world - the subject of her last masterpiece, "Poem without a hero", on which she was already at work. For Berlin, the encounter was the most memorable of his life, a return to his homeland and a spur to his ideas on liberty and on history. It had tragic consequences, however. To the Soviet authorities Berlin was a British spy, and Akhmatova became ideological enemy number one. From that moment she was constantly watched by the KGB, isolated and expelled from the Writer's Union. Members of her family were sent to the camps. She herself was convinced that the Cold War dated from her meeting with Berlin, yet she remembered it with emotion for the rest of her life, and it led to some of the finest love poems of the 20th century. While writing this book, Gyorgy Dalos interviewed Isaiah Berlin and other contemporaries who knew Akhmatova well, and had access to hitherto secret Politburo and KGB files. His book throw light on the bitter conflict between dissident writers and the Soviet state.
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Add this copy of The Guest From the Future: Anna Akhmatova and Isaiah to cart. $2.98, good condition, Sold by Gulf Coast Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Memphis, TN, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
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Add this copy of The Guest From the Future: Anna Akhmatova and Isaiah to cart. $3.99, very good condition, Sold by Books From California rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Simi Valley, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
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Very good Fair jacket. New York. 1999. Farrar Straus Giroux. 1st American Edition. Water Staining to Back Bottom Edge Near the Spine, Otherwise Good in Water-Stained Dustjacket. 0374167273. Translated from the German by Antony Wood. 256 pages. hardcover. Photograph of Isaiah Berlin in the 1950s: J. Russell and Sons. Illustration of Anna Akhmatova: For Requiem by S. Avakyan. Jacket design by Lynn Buckley. keywords: Europe Hungary Literature Russia Biography Translated World Literature. DESCRIPTION-In 1945 Isaiah Berlin, working in Russia for the British Foreign Office, met Anna Akhmatova almost by chance in what was then Leningrad. The brief time they spent together one long November evening was a transformng experience for both, and has become a cardinal moment in modern literary history. For Akhmatova, Berlin was a 'guest from the future, ' her ideal reader outside the nightmare of Soviet life and a link with a lost Russian world; he became a figure in her cryptic masterpiece 'Poem without a Hero. ' For Berlin, this 'most memorable' meeting with the beautiful poet of genius was a spur to his ideas on liberty and on history. But there were tragic consequences: the Soviet authorities thought Berlin was a British spy, Akhmatova became a suspected enemy, and until her death in 1966 the KGB persecuted her family. Though Akhmatova was convinced that she and Berlin had inadvertently started the Cold War, she remembered him gratefully and he inspired some of her finest poems. György Dalos-who inteviewed Berlin and many others who knew Akhmatova well, and who examined hitherto-secret KGB and Poliburo files-tells the inside story of how Stalin and other Soviet leaders dealt with Akhmatova. He ends with the touching story of her posthumous rehabilitation, when Russians astronomers discovered a new star and name it after her. inventory #27248.
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