Maria Shkapskaya
Encyclopedia
Maria Mikhailovna Shkapskaya was a Russian/Soviet poet and journalist.
She married in 1910 and lived with her husband in Pskov
. Here she participated in a study of the lake region organized by her husband's father. She conducted interviews and polls, and, as a hobby, collected a list of more than 200 dialectisms. This experience helped her later on in her journalistic work. She and her husband also joined a local marxist circle.
in Pskovian Life. In 1911 she enrolled in the department of general medicine at the Saint Petersburg Psycho-Neurological Institute, but only remained there for a year. She was arrested twice in 1912, once for taking part in a demonstration and again with her husband for participating in a student political organization. She and her husband were sentenced to 3 years of exile. A merchant philanthropist gave all of the defendants in the case scholarships so that they could continue studying in exile.
Shkapskaya and her husband spent 3 years in France, where she completed a course in literature at the University of Toulouse
in 1914, and attended lectures at the School of Oriental Languages in Paris
. During this time she published her poetry in Saint Petersburg journals with the help of recommendations from Vladimir Korolenko
, who she had met in Paris. While in Paris she also met Maximilian Voloshin
and Ilya Ehrenburg
.
After the outbreak of World War I
, she worked in organizations for the aid of Belgian and French refugees. Her observations provided her with material for a collection of 4 essays titled Over Here and Over There, published upon her return to Russia in 1916. She was shocked by the corruption and greed she found in Russia. She published several essays in 1916 making unfavorable comparisons between Russia and France. She and her husband experienced both red
and white
terror during the Russian Civil War
, and by 1919 they had 2 sons. In 1920 she was accepted into the Petrograd Poets Union, and in 1921 she worked with Alexander Blok
.
From 1916 to the early 1920s she published poetry with the themes of faith, motherhood, and lost love. After this her work began to take on a more propagandistic and ideological tone. Her collection of poetry Blood-Ore (1923) received several outspoken reviews; Valery Bryusov
expressed disappointment, while Maxim Gorky
praised the writer and her work for giving the woman's experience a new voice. Her book Tsa Tsa Tsa appeared in 1923. In 1925 she published a collection of nursery rhymes Alyosha's Galoshes, and her last collection of poetry The Earthly Crafts. In December, 1925 she joined the staff of Red Newspaper, where she worked as a reporter for 8 years. She was a prolific writer and erudite researcher, praised for the dynamic "cinematographic" technique of her writing style. Her works also appeared in Pravda
and other prominent journals. In 1927 Vera Inber
praised her as one of the 4 best Soviet journalists. Her third child, a daughter was born in 1928.
, founded in 1832 by Gustav Lessner. Her book Lessner's Workers was never published in full, with only excerpts being published in various newspapers. This was her favorite project. After 1929 her poems were no longer published in the Soviet Union, and in 1934 she renounced her former poetry as "socially uninformed".
She moved to Moscow
in 1937. After World War II
she worked as an editor for the Anti-Fascist Committee of Soviet Women, while suffering from ill-health, overwork, and accidental injuries. Her younger son, taken prisoner during the war, was sent to the Gulag
in 1950. Shkapskaya died in September, 1952.
Early life
Maria was born in Saint Petersburg in 1891, the youngest of 5 children. Her parents were educated and cultured, but the family struggled financially, depending on her father's small pension. Her mother suffered from paralysis and her father had retired from a minor government position due to mental illness. As a girl she attended school at the gymnasium on Vasilyevsky Island. She wrote her first essay at the age of 9. She began working at the age of 11, doing laundry, writing addresses at the post office, tutoring, and serving the actresses of a Ukrainian company. Her political education began at school, where she participated in a student reading group and published poetry in the group's journal. She graduated from the gymnasium with distinction in 1910.She married in 1910 and lived with her husband in Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
. Here she participated in a study of the lake region organized by her husband's father. She conducted interviews and polls, and, as a hobby, collected a list of more than 200 dialectisms. This experience helped her later on in her journalistic work. She and her husband also joined a local marxist circle.
Career
In 1910 she published a fable in the newspaper Narva Leaflet and a poem on the death of Leo TolstoyLeo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
in Pskovian Life. In 1911 she enrolled in the department of general medicine at the Saint Petersburg Psycho-Neurological Institute, but only remained there for a year. She was arrested twice in 1912, once for taking part in a demonstration and again with her husband for participating in a student political organization. She and her husband were sentenced to 3 years of exile. A merchant philanthropist gave all of the defendants in the case scholarships so that they could continue studying in exile.
Shkapskaya and her husband spent 3 years in France, where she completed a course in literature at the University of Toulouse
University of Toulouse
The Université de Toulouse is a consortium of French universities, grandes écoles and other institutions of higher education and research, named after one of the earliest universities established in Europe in 1229, and including the successor universities to that earlier university...
in 1914, and attended lectures at the School of Oriental Languages in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. During this time she published her poetry in Saint Petersburg journals with the help of recommendations from Vladimir Korolenko
Vladimir Korolenko
Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko was a Ukrainian-Russian short story writer, journalist, human rights activist and humanitarian. His short stories were known for their harsh description of nature based on his experience of exile in Siberia...
, who she had met in Paris. While in Paris she also met Maximilian Voloshin
Maximilian Voloshin
Maximilian Alexandrovich Kirienko-Voloshin was a Russian poet and famous Freemason. He was one of the significant representatives of the Symbolist movement in Russian culture and literature...
and Ilya Ehrenburg
Ilya Ehrenburg
Ilya Grigoryevich Ehrenburg was a Soviet writer, journalist, translator, and cultural figure.Ehrenburg is among the most prolific and notable authors of the Soviet Union; he published around one hundred titles. He became known first and foremost as a novelist and a journalist - in particular, as a...
.
After the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, she worked in organizations for the aid of Belgian and French refugees. Her observations provided her with material for a collection of 4 essays titled Over Here and Over There, published upon her return to Russia in 1916. She was shocked by the corruption and greed she found in Russia. She published several essays in 1916 making unfavorable comparisons between Russia and France. She and her husband experienced both red
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
and white
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
terror during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, and by 1919 they had 2 sons. In 1920 she was accepted into the Petrograd Poets Union, and in 1921 she worked with Alexander Blok
Alexander Blok
Alexander Alexandrovich Blok was a Russian lyrical poet.-Life and career:Blok was born in Saint Petersburg, into a sophisticated and intellectual family. Some of his relatives were literary men, his father being a law professor in Warsaw, and his maternal grandfather the rector of Saint Petersburg...
.
From 1916 to the early 1920s she published poetry with the themes of faith, motherhood, and lost love. After this her work began to take on a more propagandistic and ideological tone. Her collection of poetry Blood-Ore (1923) received several outspoken reviews; Valery Bryusov
Valery Bryusov
Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov was a Russian poet, prose writer, dramatist, translator, critic and historian. He was one of the principal members of the Russian Symbolist movement.-Biography:...
expressed disappointment, while Maxim Gorky
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:...
praised the writer and her work for giving the woman's experience a new voice. Her book Tsa Tsa Tsa appeared in 1923. In 1925 she published a collection of nursery rhymes Alyosha's Galoshes, and her last collection of poetry The Earthly Crafts. In December, 1925 she joined the staff of Red Newspaper, where she worked as a reporter for 8 years. She was a prolific writer and erudite researcher, praised for the dynamic "cinematographic" technique of her writing style. Her works also appeared in Pravda
Pravda
Pravda was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991....
and other prominent journals. In 1927 Vera Inber
Vera Inber
Vera Mikhailovna Inber, born Shpenzer, was a Russian-Soviet poet and writer.-Biography:...
praised her as one of the 4 best Soviet journalists. Her third child, a daughter was born in 1928.
Later life
From 1931 to 1936 she participated in the huge project started by Gorky, The History of Factories and Plants. The project involved thousands of writers from across the Soviet Union. Shkapskaya worked on the Karl Marx Factory in LeningradLeningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
, founded in 1832 by Gustav Lessner. Her book Lessner's Workers was never published in full, with only excerpts being published in various newspapers. This was her favorite project. After 1929 her poems were no longer published in the Soviet Union, and in 1934 she renounced her former poetry as "socially uninformed".
She moved to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1937. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
she worked as an editor for the Anti-Fascist Committee of Soviet Women, while suffering from ill-health, overwork, and accidental injuries. Her younger son, taken prisoner during the war, was sent to the Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
in 1950. Shkapskaya died in September, 1952.
English translations
- No Dream, (narrative poem), from An Anthology of Russian Women's Writing, 1777-1992, Oxford University Press, 1994.