Leonid Andreyev

Leonid Andreyev

Leonid Nikolaievich Andreev ( _ru. Леонид Николаевич Андреев, OldStyleDate|21 August|1871|9 AugustSeptember 12, 1919) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who led the Expressionist movement in the national literature. He was active between the revolution of 1905 and the Communist revolution which finally overthrew the Tsarist government.

Born in the Oryol province of Russia, Andreyev originally studied law in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, but abandoned his unremunerative law practice to pursue a literary career. He became police-court reporter for a Moscow daily, performing the routine of his humble calling without attracting any particular attention. His first story published was "About a Poor Student", a narrative based upon his own experiences. It was not, however, until Gorky discovered him by stories appearing in the "Moscow Courier" and elsewhere that Andreyev's literary career really began. From that day to his death he was one of the most prolific writers in Russia, producing short stories, sketches, dramas, etc., in frequent succession. His first collection of stories appeared in 1901, and sold a quarter-million copies in short time. He was hailed as a new star in Russia, where his name soon became a by-word. He published his short story, "In the Fog" in 1902. Although he started out in the Russian vein he soon startled his readers by his eccentricities, which grew even faster than his fame. His two best known stories may be "The Red Laugh" (1904) and "The Seven Who Were Hanged" (1908). His dramas include the Symbolist plays "The Life of Man" (1906), "Tsar Hunger" (1907), "Black Masks" (1908), "Anathema" (1909), and "He Who Gets Slapped" (1915). [Banham (1998, 24)] . "The Life of Man" was staged by both Stanislavski (with his Moscow Art Theatre) and Meyerhold (in Saint Petersburg), the two giants of Russian theatre of the twentieth century, in 1907. [Benedetti (1999, 176-177), Banham (1998, 24), and Carnicke (2000, 34).]

Idealist and rebel, Andreyev spent his last years in bitter poverty, and his premature death from heart failure may have been hastened by his anguish over the results of the Bolshevik Revolution. Unlike his friend Maxim Gorky, Andreyev could not make peace with the new order. From his house in Finland he addressed manifestos to the world at large against the excesses of the Bolsheviks.

Aside from his political writings, Andreyev published little after 1914. A play, "The Sorrows of Belgium", was written at the beginning of the War to celebrate the heroism of the Belgians against the invading German army. It was produced in the United States, as were the plays, "The Life of Man" (1917), "The Rape of the Sabine Women" (1922), "He Who Gets Slapped" (1922), and "Anathema" (1923). A popular and acclaimed film version of "He Who Gets Slapped" was produced by MGM Studios in 1924."Poor Murderer", an adaptation of his short story "Thought" made by Pavel Kohout, opened on Broadway in 1976.

He was married to Countess Wielhorska, a niece of Taras Shevchenko. Their son was Daniil Andreyev, a poet and mystic, author of "Roza Mira".

Leonid Andreyev's granddaughter, the American writer Olga Andrejew Carlisle, published a collection of his short stories, "Visions", in 1987.

Notes

ources

*
* Banham, Martin, ed. 1998. "The Cambridge Guide to Theatre." Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521434378.
* Benedetti, Jean. 1999. "Stanislavski: His Life and Art". Revised edition. Original edition published in 1988. London: Methuen. ISBN 0413525201.
* Carnicke, Sharon M. 2000. "Stanislavsky's System: Pathways for the Actor". In "Twentieth Century Actor Training". Ed. Alison Hodge. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 0415194520. p.11-36.

Trivia

* A collection of his "The Seven Who Were Hanged" and "The Red Laugh" was found in the library of horror writer H.P.Lovecraft ,as evidenced in "Lovecraft's Library¨" catalogue by S.T.Joshi .

External links

*gutenberg author|id=Leonid_Nikolayevich_Andreyev|name=Leonid Nikolayevich Andreyev
*imdb name|id=0028916|name=Leonid Andreyev
* [http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=92682 Page at The Internet Broadway Database]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Leonid Andréyev — Nombre completo Leonid Nikoláievich Andréyev Nacimiento 9 de agosto de …   Wikipedia Español

  • Leonid Andreyev (athlète) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Andreyev. Leonid Andreyev (athlète) …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Andreyev — ( ru. Андреев), also spelled as Andreev or Andrejew, in feminine form Andreyeva ( ru. Андреевa), is a common Russian last name and may refer to: *André Andrejew (1887 1967), French Russian production designer, a classic of the film decor building …   Wikipedia

  • Leonid Andreev — Leonid Andreyev (athlète) Leonid Andreyev (né le 6 octobre 1983 à Tachkent) est un athlète ouzbek, spécialiste du saut à la perche et des épreuves combinées. À Pékin, il égale sa meilleure performance de 5,65 m, réalisée en mai 2008 à Tachkent.… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Leonid — may refer to:*Leonids, a yearly prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Tempel Tuttle.People with the name Leonid: *Leonid Brezhnev (1906 1982), political leader of the USSR from 1964 to 1982. *Leonid Kravchuk, (b. 1934) a Ukrainian… …   Wikipedia

  • Andreyev, Leonid Nikolayevich — ▪ Russian author Andreyev also spelled  Andreev   born Aug. 21 [Aug. 9, Old Style], 1871, Oryol, Russia died Sept. 12, 1919, Kuokkala, Fin.       novelist whose best work has a place in Russian literature for its evocation of a mood of despair… …   Universalium

  • Andreyev — [än drā′yef] Leonid Nikolayevich [le΄ō̂ nēd′ nē΄kō̂ lä yā′vich] 1871 1919; Russ. playwright, novelist, & short story writer …   English World dictionary

  • Leonid Brézhnev — Para otros usos de este término, véase Brézhnev (desambiguación). Leonid Brézhnev Леонид Брежнев Retrato oficial de Leonid Brézhnev, ca. 1967 …   Wikipedia Español

  • Andreyev,Leonid Nikolaevich — An·dre·yev (än drāʹəf, yəf), Leonid Nikolaevich. See Andreev, Leonid Nikolaevich. * * * …   Universalium

  • Andreyev — Andrejew ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Andrei Andrejewitsch Andrejew (1895–1970), sowjetischer Politiker Boris Dmitrijewitsch Andrejew (* 1940), sowjetischer Kosmonaut Boris Fjodorowitsch Andrejew (1915–1982), sowjetischer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”