Poet Leonid Aronzon. "Paradise admitted in absentia ..."

MOSCOW. Publisher "Barberry" released a collection of poems by Leonid Aronzon.

The name of Leonid Aronzon, who for many years was in an undeserved half-oblivion, is gradually returning to the reading public. Intravital attempts to break into print media, appeals to living literary classics did not bring results. Simonov and Ehrenburg, noting the undoubted merits of his poems and the maturity of the talent of their author, regretted that they were not able to help Aronzon. Instead of full-fledged creative studies, work in geological expeditions and evening school. Loader, photographer, screenwriter at the studio of popular science films. But many considered him a poet more gifted than Brodsky, who had been friends with Aronzon for some time. Vadim Bytensky in his book “Journey from St. Petersburg” says that at the time of his passing away from life, an unrecognized poet was higher and more significant than the future Nobel laureate.

The impossibility of adequate self-realization, the stuffy atmosphere of impending timelessness, pressure from the KGB, disability, prolonged depression. A tangle of unsolved problems unraveled in October 1970, when a tragic accident (according to another version - a deliberate shot from a hunting rifle) interrupted his life at 31 years old. It was only in 1979 that his poetry began to be published gradually. The first swallow was a collection prepared by Elena Andreevna Schwartz. In 1990, “Poems” came from a friend of the poet, Vladimir Erl. The entire circulation of a two-volume edition 10 years ago by Ivan Limbach Publishing House was quickly sold.

The book "One Hundred Poems", published by the publishing house "Barberry", includes a significant part of the works of Leonid Aronzon, written in the 60s. The collection is illustrated in black and white drawings, the authorship of which also belongs to the poet.

The founder of Barberry is the artist and architect Irina Tarhanova. The publishing house, which issues books in small runs, pays much attention to the quality of printing and a careful selection of authors.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru