Valery Bryusov
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[[Image:Vrubel Bryusov.jpg|thumb|right|Portrait by [[Mikhail Vrubel]] ]]
'''Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov''' ({{lang-ru|Вале́рий Я́ковлевич Брю́сов}}) ({{OldStyleDate|December 13|1873|December 1}} – [[October 9]] [[1924]]) was a Russian poet, prose writer, dramatist, translator, critic and historian. He was one of the principal members of the [[Russian Symbolism|Russian Symbolist movement]].
==Biography==
Valery Bryusov was born on {{OldStyleDate|December 13|1873|December 1}} in [[Moscow]], into a merchant's family. His parents had little do with his upbringing, and as a boy Bryusov was largely left to himself. He spent a great deal of time reading "everything that fell into [his] hands," including the works of [[Charles Darwin]] and [[Jules Verne]], as well as various materialistic and scientific essays. The future poet received an excellent education, studying in two Moscow [[Gymnasium (school)|gymnasiums]] between 1885 and 1893.
Bryusov began his literary career in the early 1890s while still a student at [[Moscow State University]] with his translations of the poetry of the [[French Symbolists]] ([[Paul Verlaine]], [[Maurice Maeterlinck]], and [[Stéphane Mallarmé]]) as well at that of [[Edgar Allan Poe]]. Bryusov also began to publish his own poems, which were very much influence by the [[Decadence|Decadent]] and [[Symbolism (arts)|Symbolist movements]] of his contemporary [[Europe]].
At the time, Russian Symbolism was still mainly a set of theories and had few notable practitioners. Therefore, in order to represent Symbolism as a movement of formidable following, Bryusov adopted numerous [[pen name]]s and published three volumes of his own verse, entitled ''Russian Symbolists. An Anthology'' (1894-95). Bryusov's mystification proved successful - several young poets were attracted to Symbolism as the latest fashion in Russian letters.
With the appearance of ''Tertia Vigilia'' in 1900, he came to be revered by other Symbolists as an authority in matters of art. In 1904 he became the editor of the influential [[literary magazine]] ''[[Vesy (Magazine)|Vesy]]'' (''The Balance''), which consolidated his position in the Russian literary world. Bryusov's mature works were notable for their celebration of sensual pleasures as well as their mastery of a wide range of poetic forms, from the [[acrostic]] to the [[carmina figurata]].
By the 1910s, Bryusov's poetry had begun to seem cold and strained to many of his contemporaries. As a result, his reputation gradually declined and, with it, his power in the Russian literary world. He was adamantly opposed to the efforts of [[Georgy Chulkov]] and [[Vyacheslav Ivanovich Ivanov|Vyacheslav Ivanov]] to move Symbolism in the direction of [[Mystical Anarchism]].
Though many of his fellow Symbolists fled Russia after the [[Russian Revolution of 1917]], Bryusov remained until his death in 1924. He supported the [[Bolsheviks|Bolshevik]] government and received a position in the cultural ministry of the new [[Soviet Union|Soviet state]].
==Literature==
===Prose===
Bryusov most famous [[prose]] works are the historical novels ''The Altar of Victory'' (depicting life in Ancient Rome) and ''The Fiery Angel'' (depicting the psychological climate of 16th century [[Germany]]). The latter tells the story of a scholar and his attempts to win the love of a young woman whose spiritual integrity is seriously undermined by her participation in occult practices and her dealings with unclean forces. It served as the basis for [[Sergei Prokofiev]]'s [[opera]] ''[[The Fiery Angel (opera)|The Fiery Angel]]''.
===Translation===
As a translator, Bryusov was the first to render the works of the [[Belgium|Belgian]] poet [[Emile Verhaeren]] accessible to Russian readers, and he was one of the major translators of [[Paul Verlaine]]'s poetry. His most famous translations are of Edgar Allan Poe, [[Romain Rolland]], [[Maurice Maeterlinck]], [[Victor Hugo]], [[Jean Racine]], [[Ausonius]], [[Molière]], [[Byron]], and [[Oscar Wilde]]. Bryusov also translated [[Johann Goethe]]'s [[Faust]] and [[Virgil]]'s [[Aeneid]]. During the 1910s, Bryusov was especially interested in translating [[Armenians|Armenian]] poetry.
==List of Major Works==
* Juvenilia, 1894
* Chefs d’oeuvre, 1895
* Me eum esse, 1897
* Tertia Vigilia, 1900
* Urbi et Orbi, 1903
* Stephanos, 1906
* All Melodies, 1909
* The Fiery Angel, 1908
* The Altar of Victory, 1913
* Rea Silvia, 1916
==External links==
*[http://gaslight.mtroyal.ab.ca/repsouth.htm Translation of "Republic of the Southern Cross"]
*[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9017840 Britannica article]
==References==
* Mark Willhardt, Alan Parker. "Briusov, Valerii Iakovlevich" in ''Who's Who in Twentieth Century World Poetry'', Routledge, 2000, ISBN 0-415-16356-0, p.47
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryusov, Valery}}
[[Category:Russian poets]]
[[Category:Symbolist poets]]
[[Category:Moscow State University alumni]]
[[Category:1873 births]]
[[Category:1924 deaths]]
{{Link FA|ru}}
[[bg:Валерий Брюсов]]
[[de:Waleri Jakowlewitsch Brjussow]]
[[fr:Valéry Brioussov]]
[[hy:Վալերի Բրյուսով]]
[[he:ולרי בריוסוב]]
[[ka:ვალერი ბრიუსოვი]]
[[nl:Valeri Jakovlevitsj Brjoesov]]
[[ja:ワレリー・ブリューソフ]]
[[pl:Walerij Briusow]]
[[ro:Valeri Briusov]]
[[ru:Брюсов, Валерий Яковлевич]]
[[vi:Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov]]
[[uk:Брюсов Валерій Якович]]