Arseny Tarkovsky: 20th Century Russian Poet

Some of the greatest poets of 20th century came out of what was then the Soviet Union. Names like Marina Tsvetaeva and Anna Akhmatova are highly celebrated in modern academic circles, and their words are held up as some of the most inspiring in any language. The days of communism were both a boon and a hurdle to Russian-language writers. The Soviet Union was known for its tendency to strongly censor creative individuals, but it also strongly supported a few who were in the Party's favor. The poet Arseny Tarkovsky, who studied under and among many of the greats of his time, owed much of his career as a professional writer, though he struggled as an artist in a time of oppression.

Arseny Alexandrovich Tarkovsky was born in 1907 in Elizavetgrad, a city in south-central Russia along the north border of Kazakhstan. The people of Elizavetgrad were known at the time as being Narodnik, populists who would eventually come to support the Bolshevik Revolution. His family strongly encouraged his poetic talents from a young age and when he finished his primary education he moved to Moscow to attend the Higher State Literary Courses with the All-Russian Union of Poets. One of his teachers recommended him for a job at a worker's newspaper called Gudok.

During his time at Gudok, Tarkovsky applied his skill as a poet to topical verse columns. He also worked alongside other famous scribes like Osip Mandelstam and the aforementioned Marina Tsvetaeva. The Second World War took Arseny away from Gudok and landed him a position as a war correspondent for the paper Battle Alarm. He was also a soldier during the brutal German advance on the wide Eastern Front where he eventually became seriously injured. Arseny Tarkovsky lost his leg after his last battle and was honorably discharged having attained the rank of Captain.

The post war period in the Soviet Union was not a kind one to artists. Tarkovsky, among others, found it nearly impossible to achieve publication of their personal work until the late 1950's and early 1960's. Tarkovsky didn't see his first collection, Before Snow, published until 1962.

Arseny Tarkovsky's rocky relationship with his son, the highly acclaimed filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, is obliquely documented in the latter's work, especially in the 1975 film The Mirror. Some of Arseny's poetry found its way into The Mirror, then into Andrei's next film Stalker. The following poem was featured in the latter.

Now the summer has passed.
It might never have been.
It is warm in the sun,
But it isn’t enough.

All that might’ve occurred 
Like a five-fingered leaf
Fluttered into my hands, 
But it isn’t enough.

Neither evil nor good
Has yet vanished in vain, 
It all burned and was light,
But it isn’t enough.

Life has been as a shield,
And has offered protection.
I have been most fortunate,
But it isn’t enough.

The leaves were not burned.
The boughs were not broken,
The day clear as glass, 
But it isn’t enough.

Click here to see this poem performed.

Arseny Tarkovksy died in 1989 in Moscow and is interred beside another famous poet, Boris Pasternak. In the examination of the impressive contribution of Russian writers in the 20th century, Arseny Tarkovsky is essential. His style reflects the influence of his many talented teachers and contemporaries, full of philosophical contemplation and a timeless passion for the complexities of life.