SIX-YEAR-OLD RESPONSER
Mm. years! Let a happy and proud parent turn to you, gentlemen, publishers of the esteemed Iskra magazine!
In our time, when the most incredible miracles of civilization are happening with such speed, so to speak, with our own eyes, when progress is developing so rapidly, these miracles, this development should have reflected on all modern personalities and especially on the impressionable personalities of children! All children, I am sure, are imbued with progress, but not everyone is given the opportunity to realize their feelings! With involuntary pride, although with humility, I declare publicly: I have a son who has been given this high ability; he is a poet... but as a true child of modernity, he is not a lyric poet, a satirist poet, an accusatory poet.
He is just over six years old. He was born on November 27, 1853. He grew up in a remarkably strange way. Until he was two years old, he was breastfed and seemed weak and even an ordinary child; he suffered greatly from scrofula; but from the age of three a change took place in him: he began to think and sigh; a bitter smile appeared on his lips and never left them; he stopped crying - but irony snakes across his features, even when he sleeps. In his fourth year he was disappointed; but he soon realized the backwardness of this moment of self-awareness and rose above it: cold, bilious calm, occasionally interrupted by outbreaks of energetic sarcasm, was the usual state of his spirit. I have to agree that it’s hard to live with him... But life isn’t any easier for him either. He learned to read - and greedily rushed to books; not many of our domestic authors have earned his approval. According to his concepts, Shchedrin is one-sided and weak in satire; Nekrasov is too soft, Mr. Elagin is not quite frank and has not mastered the secret of, as he put it, “icy-burning mockery”; he is quite pleased with Mr. Bov’s articles alone in Sovremennik; they constitute, together with Mr. Rosenheim's praises, the subject of his constant study. “-Bov and Rosenheim,” he exclaimed one day at the table, after first throwing a spoon of porridge at my forehead (I am telling you these details because I think that over time they will have great value in the eyes of literary historians), “-Bov and Rosenheim are at enmity with each other, and yet they are flowers growing on the same branch!
I frankly admit that I do not always understand him, and my wife, his mother, simply trembles before him; but, gentlemen, the feeling of reverent admiration for one’s own product is a high feeling!
I am telling you, for testing purposes, a few of my son’s poems: I ask you to notice in them the gradual maturation of thought and talent. The 1st and 2nd Nos. were written by him two years ago; they also echo the naivety of first childhood impressions, especially No. 1, in which the method of immediately explaining an accusatory thought through commentary is reminiscent of the manner of thirteenth-century painters; The 3rd No. was produced in the era of melancholy disappointment, which I have already mentioned in my letter; The 4th and final No came out of my son's chest recently. Read and judge! I remain with complete respect and the same devotion, mm. gg.,
Your most humble servant,
Platon Nedobobov, retired teacher of Russian literature.
My son's name is Jeremiah... a significant fact! An amazing, although, of course, unconscious foreknowledge of his future calling!
Cat and mouse
A mouse sits on the floor
Cat on the window...
Comment:
(I brought out the people in a mouse,
Stanovoi in a cat.)
Cat - jump! The mouse is in the hole,
But he lost his tail...
Comment:
(This means that the official
Profit from a bribe.)
Daddy took the cane and the cat
Flogged without mercy...
Comment:
(Give praise to superiors
We are always happy!)
Angry cat bit
Daddy near the thigh...
Comment:
(Predatory Stanovoy recently
Earned the buckle...)
But the poet castigates him
In a word of rejection...
Nanny! put it down for this
Jam in my mouth!
Absolute irony
Filled with strict pride,
I look sternly at Rus'...
The barman brings two melons -
Good, I mutter, you goose!
The liquor darkens in the bottle...
I think: oh, a sign of stupidity!
The man itched the back of his head -
What a fool you are, I whisper!
The priest strokes the filly's belly -
And he, I sighed, is a man!
The teacher gave me a slap -
I didn't say anything here.
Sigh
(Elegy)
Oh, why from baby's diapers
The sorrow of bribes has crept into my soul!
The sad fact of bribes and bribes
Sensitive child poisoned
Like a sheepfold with the smell of a goat!
Talk
You are boring today, my son.
Isn't the nurse's milk tasty?
2 year old son
Give me a dime.
Here's a snout.
Not anymore.
Let's; stingy is disgusting.
Copper?!?
No, you know, silver.
But why do you need?..
Not for good.
I want to bribe the footman,
So that he can papa without being timid...
Understand; give me a penny;
I will do everything exactly, my friend.
(Leaves)
Son (one)
Bribe! Mother!! Father!!! Oh century! Oh morals!!!
Robespierre and you, Marat, you are right!
Jeremiah Nedobobov
Notes
Published according to the text of the first publication: "Iskra", 1859, No. 50, pp. 513-515 (censorship permission December 21, 1859).
It is included in the collected works for the first time.
Autograph unknown.
The fact that the feuilleton-parody directed against N.A. Dobrolyubov was written by Turgenev is proven in a detailed article by G.F. Perminov “Turgenev about N.A. Dobrolyubov. The unknown feuilleton-parody of Turgenev in Iskra” (T Sat., vol. III , pp. 106-118). The basis for such an attribution is, first of all, the memoirs of P. I. Pashino, published during Turgenev’s lifetime: “Messrs. Turgenev and Saltykov also tried their pen in Iskra” (St. Petersburg, Ved, 1881, No. 319, December 20/ January 1, 1882); in another place: “There are also poems by Jeremiah Nedobobov, belonging to<...>I. S. Turgenev" - and further: "hiding under the pseudonym of Nedobobov", Turgenev wanted to "hurt Dobrolyubov" ("Minute", 1882, No. 121, May 13). None of these instructions caused any objections from Turgenev or his friends. In the book “Satirical Journalism of the 1860s” (M., 1964, pp. 113-114), I. G. Yampolsky considers the feuilleton “The Six-Year-Old Accuser” as written by Turgenev.
The feuilleton could have been written by Turgenev in St. Petersburg between November 27 (the date of the “birth” of Jeremiah Nedobobov indicated in the feuilleton) and December 21, 1859 (the date of censorship permission from Iskra). A few months earlier, Herzen’s article “Very dangerous!!!” was published in Kolokol (1859, sheet 44, June 1, pp. 363-364), directed against the discrediting of accusatory literature in Sovremennik and in "Whistle" - mainly in the speeches of N. A. Dobrolyubov. This article became known to Turgenev at the very moment of its appearance (he was in London and communicated with Herzen from June 1 to June 8, 1859); its direction is the same as that of Turgenev’s feuilleton. It is also possible to outline points of contact between the parodic image of the “six-year-old accuser” and the interpretation of Hamlet in Turgenev’s speech.
The entire argument of Perminov in the above-mentioned article, presented here briefly, in its most significant moments, allows us to consider Turgenev’s authorship of the feuilleton parody in Iskra as proven.
We know some writers and poets under a fictitious name and surname. Many of them take pseudonyms so as not to be compared with namesakes or famous relatives, to simplify their complex name or to make it more euphonious and effective.
10. Anna Akhmatova (Anna Andreevna Gorenko)
Anna Gorenko's father was a hereditary nobleman Andrei Gorenko, who once worked as a naval mechanical engineer.
She wrote her first poems after a serious illness, she was then only 11 years old. The girl was delirious for several days, and her family no longer hoped for her recovery. But when she woke up and regained her strength, she was able to find her first rhymes.
She read the poems of French poets and tried to compose poems herself. But the father did not really like his daughter’s hobby. Not only was he not interested in her poems, but he also spoke disparagingly about them.
Realizing that Anna had decided to become a poetess, he forbade her to sign her real name, because... was sure that she would disgrace his name. Anna did not argue with him. She decided to choose a pseudonym for herself. Having learned that my maternal grandmother had sonorous surname“Akhmatova,” she took it.
So the famous Russian poetess chose for herself Tatar surname, which supposedly went to her ancestors, because they were from the family of the Tatar Khan Akhmat.
9. Ilya Ilf (Ilya Arnoldovich Fainzilberg)
The famous author of “12 Chairs” took his pseudonym to make it easier to sign his works.
His daughter said that his real last name, Fainsilberg, was too long for a newspaper article. And to shorten it, he often signed himself “Ilya F” or “IF”, and gradually his pseudonym “Ilf” came into being.
But there is another version. At birth he was Yehiel-Leib Arievich Fainzilberg, and was born into a Jewish family. And his pseudonym is an abbreviation in accordance with the tradition of Jewish nominal abbreviations.
He sometimes signed other names. So, acting as literary critic, Ilya called himself Anton Krainy.
8. Evgeny Petrov (Evgeny Petrovich Kataev)
Evgeny Kataev's older brother was Valentin Kataev. He was a famous writer, founder and editor of the magazine "Youth".
Not wanting to take advantage of his brother’s fame and popularity, Evgeniy took a pseudonym. He became Petrov, slightly changing the name of his father, Pyotr Vasilyevich Kataev.
7. Arkady Gaidar (Golikov Arkady Petrovich)
The writer himself never told why he decided to become Gaidar. When asked about it, he usually joked, never explaining anything.
There were several versions of the origin of his name. The most popular version was the version of the writer B. Emelyanov. He was sure that the pseudonym came from the Mongolian word "gaidar", which meant a horseman galloping in front.
There is another version. School friend of the writer A.M. Goldin is sure that the pseudonym is an encrypted message. Since childhood, he was a great inventor; he loved to come up with his own codes. “Gaidar” stands for this: “G” is the first letter of his surname Golikov, “ai” is the first and last letter name Arkady, “d” from the French “de”, which means “from”, and “ar” are the first letters of it hometown. It turns out “Golikov Arkady from Arzamas.”
6. Boris Akunin (Grigory Chkhartishvili)
The writer publishes critical and documentary works under his own name. He became Boris Akunin in 1998, after he began writing fiction.
At first, no one knew what the letter "B" in front of it meant. new name. A little later, in an interview, he said that this is the first letter of his name - Boris.
There are several speculations as to why he took this pseudonym. "Akunin" can be translated from Japanese as "supporter of evil or villain." Some believe that this pseudonym is associated with the name of the famous anarchist Mikhail Bakunin.
The writer himself explains that his novels are not like his other activities. Akunin’s thought works differently from Chkhartishvili’s, who deals with articles. They are absolutely two different people, Akunin is an idealist, kind, and believes in God. Besides, you shouldn’t write detective stories with such an unpronounceable surname.
5. O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)
He was once accused of embezzlement and was imprisoned. He was trained as a pharmacist, so William was allowed to work in the infirmary as a night pharmacist.
At night, while on duty, he composed his stories. Some of them were released. But the writer did not want readers to know about his convict past. He was always ashamed of him and afraid of exposure. Therefore, he published only under a pseudonym.
It is believed that he became O. Henry by changing the surname of the pharmacist Etienne Océan Henri. He was the author of a reference book that was also used in the prison pharmacy.
William himself insisted that he chose the initial “O” only because it is the simplest letter and it stands for Oliver. And he took the last name “Henry” from a newspaper.
4. Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson)
The writer was a famous English mathematician and graduated from Oxford with honors. In order to become a professor and give lectures, according to the charter, he had to take holy orders, which he did, becoming a deacon.
After that it was dangerous for him to sign humorous stories in your own name, because both the church and his colleagues could react painfully to his work. Besides, he didn't like it given name, it seemed boring and discordant to him.
Dodgson had a double name, in honor of his father and mother. He translated both parts into Latin, it turned out "Carolus Ludovicus". After that, I swapped them and again transferred them to English language. This is how his pseudonym Lewis Carroll came about. But he always signed his mathematical works with his real name.
3. Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
Once upon a time, an aspiring writer worked as a sailor on the Mississippi River. The safe depth at which a steamer could pass was considered to be 2 phantoms or 3.6 m. In sailor slang, this depth was called “twins”. The boatmen measured it with a special stick, and if everything was in order, they shouted “by mark twain.” The writer liked this combination of words.
2. Daniil Kharms (Daniil Ivanovich Yuvachev)
The writer came up with this pseudonym while still a schoolboy, signing his notebooks with this name. He later made it his official name.
It is still unknown why he chose this surname; there are many versions of its origin. But the most common one is that Kharms sounds almost like Holmes, and this was Kharms’ favorite character. He adopted his style of dressing from him and often posed with a pipe in photographs.
1. Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky (Nikolai Vasilievich Korneychukov)
The writer was illegitimate. His father was Emmanuel Levenson, and his mother was the peasant woman Ekaterina Korneychuk, who was his servant. Therefore, the boy did not have a middle name.
After he became a writer, he used the pseudonym Korney Chukovsky, adding a fictitious patronymic to it. And after the revolution, the pseudonym became his name.
Representatives creative professions They often use pseudonyms, the reasons for this can be very different, I have always wondered why people take a different name for themselves, and in general it can be surprising to find out that the name of the writer you are used to is not real. I decided to compile a selection of famous writers who used a pseudonym.
1. Boris Akunin, aka Anatoly Brusnikin and Anna Borisova - pseudonyms of Grigory Chkhartishvili
Initially he published his works as B. Akunin. The Japanese word “akunin” (Japanese 悪人), according to one of the heroes of the novel “The Diamond Chariot,” is translated as “scoundrel, villain,” but of gigantic proportions, in other words, outstanding personality, standing on the side of evil. And it was precisely these villains that Erast Fandorin encountered throughout his career. The decoding of “B” as “Boris” appeared a few years later, when the writer began to be frequently interviewed.
He publishes critical and documentary works under his real name.
2. Georges Sand - real name Amandine Aurora Lucille Dupin, married to Baroness Dudevant.
At the beginning of its writing career Aurora wrote together with Jules Sandot (French fiction writer): the novels “The Commissioner” (1830), “Rose and Blanche” (1831), which had great success among readers, were published under his signature, since the stepmother of Casimir Dudevant (Aurora’s husband) did not want see your name on the covers of books. Aurora has already started on her own new job over the novel "Indiana", the theme of which was the opposition of a woman seeking perfect love, a sensual and vain man. Sando approved the novel, but refused to sign someone else's text. Aurora chose a male pseudonym: it became for her a symbol of liberation from the slavish position to which a woman was doomed modern society. Keeping the surname Sand, she added the name Georges.
3. Richard Bachman - the pseudonym under which Stephen King published the books “Rage”, “The Long Walk”, “Road Work”, “The Running Man”, and “Thinner”
There are two versions about the reasons that prompted King to take a pseudonym. The first is to see if his alter ego can achieve the same success as himself. The second explanation is that the publishing standards of the time allowed only one book per year. The surname Bachman was not taken by chance; he is a fan music group"Bachman-Turner Overdrive".
4. Joe Hill Real name: Joseph Hillstrom King, son of Stephen King.
Wanting to achieve literary success on his own, without using the fame of his father's name, he took the pseudonym "Joe Hill". It was both an abbreviation of his real name Joseph and his middle name Hillstrom, and alluded to the person in whose honor Joseph Hillstrom was named - the famous American labor activist of the early 20th century and songwriter Joe Hill, who was unfairly accused of murder and executed in an American prison in 1915.
5. Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym of JK Rowling, used for the detective series about Cormoran Strike.
According to Rowling herself, publishing a book under a pseudonym relieved her of the pressure to meet readers' expectations and meet a fixed level of quality, and, conversely, gave her the opportunity to hear criticism of work that does not bear her name. She told the Sunday Times magazine that she hoped that her involvement in writing the novel would not be revealed soon.
The publisher's website claimed that Robert Galbraith was the pseudonym of a former member of the Royal Military Police Special Investigations Unit who left in 2003 and went into private security business.
6. George Elliott's real name is Mary Ann Evans.
Like many other writers of the 19th century (George Sand, Marco Vovchok, the Brontë sisters - “Carrer, Ellis and Acton Bell”, Krestovsky-Khvoshchinskaya) - Mary Evans used a male pseudonym in order to arouse in the public a serious attitude towards her writings and caring for the integrity of your personal life. (In the 19th century, her works were translated into Russian without disclosing her pseudonym, which was inflected like a man’s first and last name: “a novel by George Eliot”).
7. Kir Bulychev real name Igor Vsevolodovich Mozheiko
He published science fiction works exclusively under a pseudonym. The first work of fiction, the story “The Debt of Hospitality,” was published as “a translation of a story by the Burmese writer Maung Sein Ji.” Bulychev subsequently used this name several more times, but most of his science fiction works were published under the pseudonym “Kirill Bulychev” - the pseudonym was combined from the name of his wife - Kira and maiden name the writer's mother. Subsequently, the name “Kirill” on the covers of books began to be written in abbreviation - “Kir.”, and then the “abbreviated” period was changed, and this is how the now famous “Kir Bulychev” turned out. The combination Kirill Vsevolodovich Bulychev also occurred. The writer kept his real name a secret until 1982, because he believed that the leadership of the Institute of Oriental Studies would not consider science fiction a serious activity, and was afraid that after revealing his pseudonym he would be fired.
8. Arkady Gaidar, real name Golikov
Vladimir Soloukhin in the artistic and journalistic book “Salt Lake” gives a story according to which the pseudonym “Gaidar” is associated with the activities of A.P. Golikov as the head of the 2nd combat region of the ChON of the Achinsk district of the Yenisei province (now the Republic of Khakassia) in 1922-1924 years:
“Gaidar,” Misha said slowly, as usual, “the word is purely Khakassian.” Only the correct sound is not “Gaidar”, but “Haidar”; and it does not mean “going forward” and not “forward-looking”, but simply “where”. And this word stuck to him because he asked everyone: “Haidar?” That is, where to go? He didn’t know any other Khakass words.
The name "Gaidar" reminded the writer of his school years, bearing in mind that the “G” in this name meant “Golikov”, “ay” - “Arkady”, and “dar”, as if echoing the hero of Alexander Dumas D’Artagnan, “in the French manner” meant “from Arzamas " Thus, the name “Gaidar” stands for “Golikov Arkady from Arzamas.”
The third version of the origin of the pseudonym and surname: from Ukrainian “gaidar” is a sheep shepherd. Arkady Golikov’s childhood was connected with the Gaidars, as he spent several summer months with them for several years in a row. He liked these places and his childhood memories so much that he chose the pseudonym Arkady Gaidar.
9. Teffi Real name Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Lokhvitskaya
For the first time, the name Teffi (without initials) appears in the 51st issue of the Theater and Art magazine, in December 1901 (this is the second publication of the writer). Perhaps Teffi took a pseudonym because long before she started literary activity Her older sister, the poetess Mirra Lokhvitskaya, gained fame, whom critics nicknamed “Russian Sappho.” (By the beginning of her literary career, Teffi had already separated from her first husband, after whom she bore the surname Buchinskaya). According to researchers of Teffi’s creativity E.M. Trubilova and D.D. Nikolaev, the pseudonym for Nadezhda Alexandrovna, who loved hoaxes and jokes, and was also the author of literary parodies and feuilletons, became part of literary game aimed at creating an appropriate image of the author.
The version of the origin of the pseudonym is set out by the writer herself in the story “Pseudonym”. She didn't want to sign her texts male name, as contemporary writers often did: “I didn’t want to hide behind a male pseudonym. Cowardly and cowardly. It’s better to choose something incomprehensible, neither this nor that. But - what? We need a name that would bring happiness. The best name is the name of some fool - fools are always happy.” She “remembered one fool, truly excellent and, in addition, one who was lucky, which means that fate itself recognized him as an ideal fool. His name was Stepan, and his family called him Steffy. Having dropped the first letter out of delicacy (so that the fool would not become arrogant),” the writer “decided to sign her play “Taffy””. After the successful premiere of this play, in an interview with a journalist, when asked about the pseudonym, Teffi replied that “it’s... the name of one fool..., that is, such a surname.” The journalist noted that he was “told it was from Kipling.” Taffy, who remembered Kipling’s name, as well as the song “Taffy was a walesman / Taffy was a thief...” from Trilby, agreed with this version.
10. Mark Twain Real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens
Clemens claimed that the pseudonym Mark Twain was taken by him in his youth from river navigation terms. Then he was an assistant pilot on the Mississippi, and the cry of “mark twain” (literally “mark two”) meant that, according to the mark on the lotline, the minimum depth suitable for the passage of river vessels had been reached - 2 fathoms (≈ 3 .7 m).
However, there is a version about the literary origin of this pseudonym: in 1861, Vanity Fair magazine published a humorous story by Artemus Ward (real name Charles Brown) “North Star” about three sailors, one of whom was named Mark Twain. Samuel was very fond of the humorous section of this magazine and read Ward's works in his first appearances.
In addition to “Mark Twain,” Clemens once signed himself in 1896 as “Sieur Louis de Conte” (French: Sieur Louis de Conte) - under this name he published his novel “Personal Memoirs of Joan of Arc of Sir Louis de Conte, her page and secretary."
11. Max Fry is the literary pseudonym of two authors - Svetlana Martynchik and Igor Stepin
The book series was written by Svetlana Martynchik in collaboration with Igor Stepin and published under the pseudonym “Max Frei”. The authors maintained some anonymity, not disclosing their pseudonyms and not appearing in public specifically as the authors of novels (they were known as artists). On the website “Physionomy of the Russian Internet”, under the name Max Fry, there was a portrait of an unknown black man. Coupled with jokes from the Azbuka publishing house that Max Fry was a blue-eyed black man, this fueled rumors that “literary blacks” were writing under a pseudonym.
My pseudonym was chosen precisely because of my hero. I wanted the name of the author and the name of the character from whom the story is told to match. Svetlana Martynchik
Maria Zakharova notes that the language game characteristic of Max Frei’s texts is also manifested in the choice of pseudonym: “for example, Max Frei - max frei (German) - “maximum freely”” and “it is important to note that both Max Frei and Holm Van Zaichik - fictitious, “game”, pseudonyms of Russian-speaking authors"""
12. O. Henry real name William Sidney Porter
In prison, Porter worked in the infirmary as a pharmacist (a rare profession in prison) and wrote stories, looking for a pseudonym. In the end, he chose the version of O. Henry (often incorrectly spelled like the Irish surname O'Henry - O'Henry). Its origin is not entirely clear. The writer himself claimed in an interview that the name Henry was taken from the column secular news in the newspaper, and the initial O. was chosen as the simplest letter. He told one of the newspapers that O. stands for Olivier ( French name Olivier), and indeed, he published several stories there under the name Olivier Henry.
According to other sources, this is the name of the famous French pharmacist Etienne Ocean Henry, whose medical reference book was popular at that time.
Another hypothesis was put forward by writer and scientist Guy Davenport: “Oh. Henry" is nothing more than an abbreviation of the name of the prison where the author was imprisoned - Ohio Penitentiary (Ohio State Penitentiary). Also known as the Arena District, which burned to the ground on April 21, 1930.
Al Jennings, who was in prison with Porter and became famous as the author of the book "Through the Dark with O. Henry" (there is an option to translate the title "With O. Henry at the Bottom"), in his book says that the pseudonym was taken from a famous cowboy song , where there are the following lines: “My beloved returned at 12 o’clock. Tell me, O Henry, what is the sentence?” .
There is an opinion that "Famous American writer W. Porter took the pseudonym O. Henry in honor of the physicist J. Henry, whose name he constantly pronounced with admiration school teacher: "ABOUT! Henry! It was he who discovered that the discharge of a capacitor through a coil is oscillatory in nature!’” He wrote his first story under this pseudonym, “Dick the Whistler’s Christmas Gift,” published in 1899 in McClure’s Magazine, in prison.
13. George Orwell. Real name Eric Arthur Blair
Starting with the story “Pounds of Dashing in Paris and London” (1933), based on autobiographical material, he was published under the pseudonym “George Orwell”.
14. Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov
Ilya Ilf - Ilya Arnoldovich Fainzilberg The pseudonym is formed from part of the first name and the first letter of the surname: ILYA Fainzilberg. Evgeny Petrov - Evgeny Petrovich Kataev The younger brother of the writer Valentin Kataev did not want to take advantage of his literary fame, and therefore came up with a pseudonym derived from his father's name.
15. Alexander Green real name is Grinevsky
The writer's pseudonym became the childhood nickname Green - this is how the long surname Grinevsky was shortened at school.
16. Fanny Flagg Present name Patricia Neal
At the beginning of her acting career, she had to change her name, because despite the sonority, it was the same name of the Oscar winner.
17. Lazar Lagin Real name Ginsburg
The pseudonym Lagin is an abbreviation for Lazar Ginzburg, the writer’s first and last name.
18. Boris Polevoy Real name Kampov
The pseudonym Polevoy came about as a result of one of the editors’ proposal to “translate the surname Kampov from Latin” (campus - field) into Russian. One of the few pseudonyms invented not by the bearer, but by other persons.
19. Daniil Kharms Real name Yuvachev
Around 1921-1922, Daniil Yuvachev chose the pseudonym “Kharms”. Researchers have put forward several versions of its origin, finding origins in English, German, French, Hebrew, Sanskrit. It should be noted that in the writer’s manuscripts there are about forty pseudonyms (Kharms, Haarms, Dandan, Charms, Karl Ivanovich Shusterling and others). When submitting an application to join the All-Russian Union of Poets on October 9, 1925, Kharms answered the questionnaire questions as follows:
1. Last name, first name, patronymic: "Daniil Ivanovich Yuvachev-Kharms"
2. Literary pseudonym: “No, I’m writing Kharms”
20. Maxim Gorky real name - Alexey Maksimovich Peshkov
The pseudonym M. Gorky first appeared on September 12, 1892 in the Tiflis newspaper “Caucasus” in the caption to the story “Makar Chudra”. Subsequently, the author said: “I shouldn’t write in literature - Peshkov...”
21. Lewis Carroll real name Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
This pseudonym was invented on the advice of publisher and writer Yates. It is formed from the author's real names "Charles Lutwidge", which are equivalents of the names "Charles" (Latin: Carolus) and "Louis" (Latin: Ludovicus). Dodgson chose other English equivalents of the same names and swapped them around.
22. Veniamin Kaverin real name is Zilber
The pseudonym “Kaverin” was taken by him in honor of the hussar P. P. Kaverin, a friend of the young Pushkin, whom he introduced under his own name in the first chapter of “Eugene Onegin”
23. Voltaire's real name is Francois-Marie Arouet
Voltaire - anagram of "Arouet le j(eune)" - "Arouet the younger" (Latin spelling - AROVETLI
24. Kozma Prutkov
The literary mask under which the poets Aleksey Tolstoy (the largest contribution in quantitative terms), the brothers Aleksey, Vladimir and Alexander Zhemchuzhnikov (in fact, the collective pseudonym of all four)
25. Stendhal's real name is Marie-Henri Beyle
As a pseudonym he took the name of Winckelmann’s hometown, whose laurels he claimed. Why Frederick is often added to the pseudonym Stendhal is a mystery.
26. Alberto Moravia
His real surname was Pinkerle, and the pseudonym Moravia, taken later, was the surname of his Jewish paternal grandmother.
27. Alexandra Marinina real name - Marina Anatolyevna Alekseeva
In 1991, Marina Alekseeva, together with her colleague Alexander Gorkin, wrote the detective story “The Six-Winged Seraphim,” which was published in the magazine “Police” in the fall of 1992. The story was signed with the pseudonym “Alexandra Marinina,” made up of the authors’ names.
28. Andrey Platonov - real name Andrey Platonovich Klimentov
In the 1920s, he changed his last name from Klimentov to Platonov (the pseudonym was formed on behalf of the writer’s father).
29. Eduard Limonov real name is Savenko
The pseudonym “Limonov” was invented by cartoonist Vagrich Bakhchanyan
30. Joseph Kell - the novel “Inside Mr. Enderby” by Anthony Burgess was published under this pseudonym
Fun fact - the editor of the newspaper where Burgess worked did not know that he was the author of the novel “Inside Mr. Enderby,” so he assigned Burgess to write a review - thus, the author wrote a review of his own book.
31. Toni Morrison Real name: Chloe Ardelia Wofford
While studying at Harvard, she acquired the pseudonym “Tony” - a derivative of her middle name Anthony, which, according to her, was given to her when converting to Catholicism at the age of 12
32. Vernon Sullivan
Alias Boris Vian, who has used 24 aliases, Vernon Sullivan is the most famous of them.
33. Andre Maurois Real name - Emil Erzog
Subsequently, the pseudonym became his official name.
34. Mary Westmacott (Westmacott)- the pseudonym of the English writer, master of detective stories, Agatha Christie, under which she published 6 psychological novels: “The Bread of Giants”, “An Unfinished Portrait”, “Separated in the Spring” (“Lost in the Spring”), “The Rose and the Yew”, “A Daughter is a Daughter” ", "Nosha" ("Burden of Love").
35. Moliere's real name is Jean-Baptiste Poquelin
36. Yuz Aleshkovsky real name Iosif Efimovich Aleshkovsky
37. Sirin V. - pseudonym of Vladimir Nabokov
38. Pamela Travers real name Helen Lyndon Goff
39. Daria Dontsova - real name - Agrippina
40. Knut Hamsun real name Knud Pedersen
41. Anatole France real name - Francois Anatole Thibault
42. Daniel Defoe - real name Foe
43. Ayn Rand née Alisa Zinovievna Rosenbaum
44. Irving Stone's real name is Tennenbaum
Writers, especially beginners, often take pseudonyms for themselves; their reasons for this can be very different. And it often happens that these pseudonyms “grow together” with the authors so much that for many they replace real names and last names.
A.P. Chekhov and his pseudonyms
The greatest master of inventing pseudonyms was Chekhov. He had more than forty of them.
And the most famous, which everyone knows about from school, of course, was “Antosha Chekhonte”. It was under this pseudonym, while still a medical student, that Chekhov sent his first humorous stories to magazines. Chekhonte was jokingly called Antoshey young student Chekhov is one of the teachers at the gymnasium.
And it’s all the more surprising that out of so many pseudonyms, not one “caught on.” For everyone, Chekhov was and remains Chekhov.
Green Alexander - Grinevsky Alexander Stefanovich
At school, the guys addressed Alexander briefly - “Green!”, and one of his childhood nicknames was “Green-damn.” Therefore, he chose exactly this pseudonym for himself, without much thought. " I feel like only Green, and it seems strange to me when someone says: Grinevsky. This is someone stranger to me" Even his third wife received a passport in the name of Nina Green when she changed her last name.
Chukovsky Korney Ivanovich - Korneychukov Nikolay Vasilievich
The fact that he was illegitimate weighed heavily on Chukovsky in his youth. And having taken up literary activity, he began to use a pseudonym, which was his last name, divided into two parts: Korneychukov = Korney + Chukov + sky.
Subsequently, without further ado, he also came up with a middle name for him - “Ivanovich”. After the revolution, having changed his real name, patronymic and surname to a pseudonym, he became Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky also according to his passport.
Anna Akhmatova - according to her passport Anna Gorenko
After her divorce from Gumilyov, Anna took the surname Akhmatova as a pseudonym. Her mother's female branch descended from the Tatar Khan Akhmat. She later recalled: “ Only a seventeen-year-old crazy girl could choose a Tatar surname for a Russian poetess... That’s why it came to my mind to take a pseudonym because my dad, having learned about my poems, said: “Don’t disgrace my name.” - “And I don’t need your name!” - I said...»
Ilya Ilf - Ilya Arnoldovich Fainzilberg
There are several versions regarding the origin of this pseudonym, and one of them is:
In his youth, Ilya Fainzilberg worked as a journalist, writing articles for newspapers. But his last name was not very suitable for a signature - it was too long and difficult to pronounce. Therefore, Ilya often abbreviated it - sometimes “Ilya F”, sometimes “IF”, sometimes “Falberg”. And, in the end, it turned out - “Ilf”.
Evgeniy Petrov - Evgeniy Petrovich Kataev
Evgeny was the younger brother of the then famous writer Valentin Kataev. Not wanting to enjoy the fruits of his fame, he came up with a literary pseudonym for himself, forming it from the name of his father, that is, from his patronymic. So Evgeny Kataev became Evgeny Petrov.
Arkady Gaidar - Golikov Arkady Petrovich
Arkady Golikov, under his real name, wrote only the first book - “In the days of defeats and victories.” All the others were published under the pseudonym Gaidar, under which he became a widely known writer.
As for the origin of this pseudonym, we can only guess.
Perhaps it came from the Mongolian "gaidar" - "a horseman galloping in front."
According to another version, while on duty in Khakassia, Gaidar often had to ask local residents - “haidar”? (“where to go”?). Perhaps this is how this word stuck to him - “haidar”.
Daniil Kharms - Daniil Ivanovich Yuvachev
The writer Daniil Yuvachev also invented many pseudonyms for himself (Kharms, Haarms, Dandan, Charms, Karl Ivanovich Shusterling, etc.), signing himself first with one of them, then with another. Until I finally settled on one thing - Daniil Kharms. However, its meaning is interpreted ambiguously. "Charm" in French means "charm", while "charm" in English means "harm", "suffering". But based on what Kharms once wrote in his diary: “ Yesterday dad told me that as long as I am Harms, I will be haunted by needs", then the English version is still preferable. The writer adored this pseudonym to such an extent that he even manually added it to his last name in his passport.
There are also many examples in Western literature where pseudonyms have replaced the real names of authors:
O. Henry - William Sydney Porter
Lewis Carroll - Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
Voltaire - Francois-Marie Arouet
Stendhal - Marie-Henri Bayle
Mark Twain - Samuel Langhorne Clemens
Pseudonyms are also widely used in Eastern literature. So, everyone has heard the name of the Japanese poet who lived in the 17th century - Basho.
But this is also a pseudonym, and it means “ banana tree O". The poet planted a banana tree near his house, which he took care of. The neighbors began to call him “basyonoo” - old man living near a banana. Few people know his real name - Matsuo Munzfusa.
And in continuation literary theme.
Behind the big names of personalities known to us, there may be lesser known, not always easy to remember and beautiful names and last names. Some people have to take a pseudonym solely for security reasons, others believe that they can achieve fame only with a short or original pseudonym, and some change their last name or first name just like that, in the hope that this will change their life. Literary pseudonyms are popular with many authors - both domestic and foreign. Moreover, not only writers starting their careers hide behind fictitious names, but also recognized writers, such as JK Rowling and the “great and terrible” Stephen King himself.
