The origins of genius, or the story of a large family

ST. PETERSBURG. Joseph Brodsky’s nephew presented an enlarged edition of his book about the poet’s family.

It all starts from childhood. From loved ones, their words and deeds that form the character, life principles, abilities. The origins of genius are often from the same source. The author of the book Joseph Brodsky and his family, Mikhail Kelmovich, the poet’s nephew, calls the warm and quivering atmosphere prevailing in the relations of the members of the great Volpert clan (Maria Moiseevna, mother of Joseph Alexandrovich, her brother Boris, sisters Roza, Raisa, Dora, their family), the absolute reference point and the internal homeland of the children born in it.

The desire to support each other in any situation, true, unreasonable intelligence, education and knowledge of languages that had to be carefully concealed in order to avoid repression and accusations of “wrong” origin, were the norm for this friendly family. Fertile ground for the "growth" of talent. From here - internal freedom, lack of slavish psychology, the strength to survive in a harsh year. Such as the expulsion of the poet from the country and the impossibility of reuniting parents with his son. The dreams of Maria Moiseevna and Alexander Ivanovich about meeting him, even if brief, were not destined to come true. The elderly, hoping for a miracle until the last hour, were held hostage by a ruthless system.

The book of the writer, psychologist, designer Mikhail Kelmovich, published by Abris Publishing House, is a bizarre mosaic of memories of the poet, representatives of different generations of a large family, rare photographs and documents. It was first published in 2015. Two years later, the author introduced the second, expanded edition to readers.

The choice of place for the presentation of the book is not accidental. The museum of Anna Akhmatova stores the archive of the poet’s family, his mother’s papers, photographs, and notebooks. In the American office of Joseph Brodsky - personal items transferred by his widow Maria Sozzani.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru