In Their Own Words

Anna Akhmatova: Poet and Prophet is the first major biography of the great Russian poet Anna Akhmatova. Born in 1889, Akhmatova came of age just as the Tsarist regime was collapsing. Famous for her haunting poetry and austere beauty, she was so lionized in communist Russia that Stalin feared to kill her, but attacked her family and closest friends. A poet of prophetic power who witnessed her beloved homeland suffer under oppression, Akhmatova wrote from her intensely personal experience as a woman, mother, lover, and artist. Her poems are among the most influential works of the 20th century. This biography has recently been revised and expanded, based on new material, interviews, and archival research. It includes revelations and new interpretations of Akhmatova's relationship to Pasternak, Mandelstam, and Isaiah Berlin, as well as an updated bibliography.