Anna Bunina
Encyclopedia
Anna Petrovna Bunina was a Russian poet. She was the first major Russian woman writer, and the first Russian woman to make a living solely from literary work. She was an ancestor of Nobel Prize winner Ivan Bunin.
She moved to St Petersburg in 1802 with the help of a small inheritance from her father, setting up her own home and employing private tutors to further her education. She devoted herself entirely to writing, supporting herself through patronage, subscriptions and sales. She was awarded pensions by the Russian Imperial Family in 1809, 1810 and 1813. From 1807 to 1810 she was a member of the literary circle of Gavrila Derzhavin and Alexander Shishkov
, to whom she had been introduced through family connections, and who acted as a mentor. In 1811 she was made an honorary member of the Colloquium of Admirers of Russian Writing, probably the only group of the time that allowed women to be members, although Bunina was only able to join under inferior conditions; she wasn't allowed to present her works in person, or to discuss them with the group. She found her relations with Shishkov and the Colloquium opressive, but indespensable to her literary career.
Her first work The Inexperienced Muse was published in 1809, followed by a second volume under the same title in 1812. She published a volume entitled Collected Works in 1819. Her works showed a greater thematic, stylistic, and metrical range than those of her female predecessors. Her verse offers original and signifigant observations on the experiences of women, especially of their conflicts with men. Her poetry was well-received; she became famous and suffered from the satirical attacks of the Colloquium's rivals, most notably the Arzamas Society
. Her works were mostly forgotten after her death, partially due to the influence of the Arzamas Society, limiting her influence on future poets.
She travelled to Britain in 1815-17 for treatment of breast cancer, which was unsuccessful. In 1820 she was made an honorary member of the Free Society of Lovers of Russian Literature. She left St Petersburg in 1824 due to illness, and lived with relatives, but continued to be financially independent. She died in Denisovka, Ryazan Province, in 1829. She was buried at Urusovo.
Biography
Anna was born in the village of Urusovo in Ryazan Province (present day Ryazan Oblast). Her mother died in childbirth. She was raised by various relatives, and received only a rudimentary education. She began writing around the age of 13. She published her first work in 1799.She moved to St Petersburg in 1802 with the help of a small inheritance from her father, setting up her own home and employing private tutors to further her education. She devoted herself entirely to writing, supporting herself through patronage, subscriptions and sales. She was awarded pensions by the Russian Imperial Family in 1809, 1810 and 1813. From 1807 to 1810 she was a member of the literary circle of Gavrila Derzhavin and Alexander Shishkov
Alexander Shishkov
Alexander Semyonovich Shishkov was a Russian statesman, writer, and admiral.Shishkov was notorious for his proto-Slavophile sentiments. His aversion to loans from other languages was much ridiculed in the liberal press. He was the President of the Russian Academy and People's Education Minister...
, to whom she had been introduced through family connections, and who acted as a mentor. In 1811 she was made an honorary member of the Colloquium of Admirers of Russian Writing, probably the only group of the time that allowed women to be members, although Bunina was only able to join under inferior conditions; she wasn't allowed to present her works in person, or to discuss them with the group. She found her relations with Shishkov and the Colloquium opressive, but indespensable to her literary career.
Her first work The Inexperienced Muse was published in 1809, followed by a second volume under the same title in 1812. She published a volume entitled Collected Works in 1819. Her works showed a greater thematic, stylistic, and metrical range than those of her female predecessors. Her verse offers original and signifigant observations on the experiences of women, especially of their conflicts with men. Her poetry was well-received; she became famous and suffered from the satirical attacks of the Colloquium's rivals, most notably the Arzamas Society
Arzamas Society
The Arzamas Society was a literary society in Saint Petersburg in 1815-1818. The society received its name after a humorous work by a Russian statesman Dmitry Bludov called A Vision at the Inn at Arzamas, Published by the Society of Scholars...
. Her works were mostly forgotten after her death, partially due to the influence of the Arzamas Society, limiting her influence on future poets.
She travelled to Britain in 1815-17 for treatment of breast cancer, which was unsuccessful. In 1820 she was made an honorary member of the Free Society of Lovers of Russian Literature. She left St Petersburg in 1824 due to illness, and lived with relatives, but continued to be financially independent. She died in Denisovka, Ryazan Province, in 1829. She was buried at Urusovo.
English translations
- Though Poverty's No Stain and Conversation Between Me and the Women, (poems), from An Anthology of Russian Women's Writing, Oxford, 1994.