Yunna Petrovna (Pinkhusovna) Moritz was born in Kyiv on June 2, 1937. After graduating from school, she entered Kiev University, but a year later she was accepted into the full-time poetry department of the Literary Institute. Gorky. Due to a lack of funds, she worked at night in a printing house as a proofreader and, of course, wrote poetry. In 1957, her first collection of poetry, “Conversation about Happiness,” was published. And in 1961, the first book, “Cape of Desire,” was published, based on impressions from a long trip to the Arctic on board the icebreaker “Sedov” in the summer of 1956. Later, “Stories about the Miraculous” were published, which were created from travel notes that trip. The adult poetry of Yunna Moritz reflected her civic position and progressive views on what was happening in the country. Because of this, her works were not published in 1961–1970.
The poetess began writing poems for children after the birth of her son. At that time, the atmosphere in children's publishing houses was freer and made it possible to realize many of the author's fantasies. Yunna Moritz worked in the magazine “Youth”, where she ran the column “For younger brothers and sisters”.
Yunna Moritz's children's poetry is amazing and bright images, And original stories. The inquisitive gaze of the poetess reveals to readers a lot of interesting things in ordinary life. Turns out, “...there are, by the way, /CThe vines are very polite. / It’s not all about nutrition, / But about upbringing!” We agree that “hot delicious tea / Will disperse boredom and sadness”, and with the fact that everyone should smile on such an important occasion: « Spring is coming around the city!
Mischievous, sometimes absurd poems in the style of Daniil Kharms testify to the poetess’s irrepressible imagination, her belief in miracles and desire to fill her childhood with joy. In the poem “Sea of Wonders,” a horse is caught on a fishing hook: “With its tail in farewell / Waving to the fisherman, / The horned horse / Said “Ku-ku!”
And in “The Laughing Confusion” there are such funny lines:
The shaft went to the dance
In a new saucepan hat.
Her gentleman was a broom,
He ate a dumpling out of a hat!
Engaging children with poetic play, Yu.P. Moritz strives to develop children's imagination, enriching it with new images, and also encourages young readers to fantasize and dream. “I’m lying on the grass, / A hundred fantasies in my head. / Dream with me - / There will be not a hundred, but two hundred!”
It’s amazing how accurately and soulfully the poetess conveys the experiences of a child’s soul. From parents difficult relationship: either dad leaves mom, or mom leaves dad, but the child doesn’t dramatize the situation and doesn’t get discouraged. “I entertain my dad on Wednesday, / I entertain my mom on Saturday...” And he even has a fun program for grandparents.
But the hero of the poem “Ticket to the Dacha” will have to leave home for the whole summer. But the boy is sure that his favorite toys “They will sigh pitifully, / They will cry quietly, / If I throw them on the shelf / And go away to rest.” Therefore, he decides to take them with him to the dacha. But will the aunt at the ticket office allow you to do this? It’s so good that my aunt turned out to be so kind. She immediately understood how "It's sad to live in empty apartment/ Even a small animal, / From which shavings are climbing.” And she allowed the boy to take all his friends to the dacha: “Two camels with a baby camel, / Two bears with a baby bear, / And a baby elephant about five years old.”
This is how, without teachings and edifications, it is possible and necessary to cultivate kindness and responsiveness in children. The absence of strict intonations and cliches in Y. Moritz’s poems, a joyful perception of life, as well as interesting plots and understandable language make her children’s poetry so beloved and popular among readers over five years of age. It is gratifying that books with these poems are not difficult to purchase. They continue to be published by various publishing houses: “Vremya”, “ROSMEN”, “Oniks”, “Rech” and others.
Yunna Moritz wrote several books for children “from 5 to 500 years old”: “The Happy Bug”, “Bouquet of Cats”, “House with a Chimney”, “ Big secret for a small company”, “Vanechka”, “Jump and play!”, “Tumber-Bumber”, “Move your ears”, “Limon Malinovich Compress”. Yunna Moritz's poems have been translated into all European languages, as well as Turkish, Chinese and Japanese.
Since childhood, the poetess loved to draw. Her books for adults feature many graphic works author. Very interesting and high-quality graphics.
For her work, Yunna Moritz received many awards: “Triumph” (2000), the Prize named after. HELL. Sakharov (2004) for the civil courage of the writer; " golden rose"(Italy); national award“Book of the Year” in the nomination “Poetry – 2005”; Prize named after A. Delviga (2006); “Book of the Year” in the category “Together with the book we grow – 2008”; Russian Government Prize for the book “The Roof Was Driving Home” (2011).
We hope that there will be new poems and new awards ahead, because Yu. Moritz continues to compose. We congratulate Yunna Petrovna on her wonderful anniversary, we wish her health and creative success!
DEEPLY ADORED READERS!
I received three carriages of letters from you, written in multi-colored block letters. Those who have seen the cartoon “A Big Secret for a Small Company” ask: “Do you have any other secrets? How many? And what?" I answer: “Yes! All sorts of things! There are many of them! Which ones do you want?” For example, you ask: “Tell me a secret - what to do if a Lonely Scarecrow lives in a dark room?” Please! I’m revealing a secret: we urgently need to hug and pet the Scarecrow so that it stops being so lonely. And then - to make it laugh, so that it ceases to be a Scarecrow, and becomes a Laughter!
Or, for example: “Tell me a secret - who do you love most in the world?” Please! The one who is always growing. The one to whom something happens all the time. The one who flies in a dream. Someone who is able to ask three carloads of questions and rush off into a world of exciting adventures, dangers and great discoveries... Absolutely right! You guessed it! More than anything in the world I love... you! And that’s why for 30 years now I’ve been whistling my poems for you, like a hedgehog with a hole in its right side. And I’ll also say (in secret!) that everything in this book is the pure truth and happened to me personally. After all, for the sake of such a serious matter as poetry for you, I can turn into a Pony, into a Cheerful Frog, into a Sailor Cat, into a Laughing Confusion, into a Flying Horse, so that you, my dears, can swim in the Sea of Miracles.
Your poet Yunna Moritz
Fun breakfast
HEDGEHOG RUBBER
Through the viburnum grove,
Through the aspen grove
For the puppy's name day
In a crimson hat
A rubber hedgehog was walking
With a hole in the right side.
Visited the hedgehog
Rain umbrella
A hat and a pair of galoshes.
ladybug,
flower head
The hedgehog bowed affectionately.
Hello, Christmas trees!
What do you need needles for?
Are we the wolves around?
Shame on you!
It's a shame
When a friend bristled.
Dear bird,
Please come down -
You have lost your pen.
On the red alley
Where the maples turn red,
A find awaits you in the bureau.
The sky is radiant
The cloud is clear.
For the puppy's name day
Rubber hedgehog
He walked and whistled
A hole in the right side.
Many tracks
This hedgehog passed by.
What did he give to his friend?
He talks about this to Van
Whistling in the bath
A hole in the right side!
A TALE ABOUT A SONG
All the kids
They love to sing
All calves
They love to sing
All the curls
On the lamb
They love to whistle songs!
And who sings the song
Sometimes,
He won't die of fear
never!
And who always sings a song,
Tom's paw
even a wolf
serves!
Because -
ay-ay-ay! -
no way
Eat a song
can't
nobody!
Here's a song
in one
sit down
Oh-oh-oh!-
even a wolf
eat it!
For the reason
such a good guy
All the frogs are singing
across the river,
All the grasshoppers are singing
in the meadow!
And can I not sing?
I can't!
All the kids
They love to sing
All calves
They love to sing
All the curls
On the lamb
They love to whistle songs!
JUMP-PLAY!
There is a hut in the forest,
And Parsley lives in it,
An animal is coming towards him
Jump and play!
Deer,
Rhinoceroses,
Bears from the den
They come after each other
Jump and play!
Roe deer and raccoons,
Jerzy
And hippos
Running after the hunt
Jump and play!
Robin,
Oatmeal,
Live monkey
Everyone has the same thing -
Jump and play!
I want to be! Not after, not in centuries,
Not by heart, not twice and not again,
Not in jokes or in diaries -
But only in the fullest sense of the word!
Y. Moritz
When someone hears the name of the poetess Yunna Moritz, then, of course, the first thing they remember is a melody from childhood: “To the sad moo, to the cheerful growl...” These famous poems of hers, “A Big Secret for a Small Company,” heard in distant childhood, we We will definitely repeat it not only to our children, but also to our grandchildren.
Amazing, fairy world Yunna Moritz, somewhere even difficult for a child to understand - with bouquets of cats, a pie composer, a carriage of hairstyles, fog in sour cream - will not leave either children or adults indifferent.
The animal world is widely represented in the poetry of Yunna Moritz. Goats, cows, goats, dolphins and, of course, the poetess’s adored cats: a fat cat, a crimson cat and even a croaking cat. They are all kind, affectionate and sweet. Moritz could not do without adorable dogs and puppies, in whom “forget-me-nots bloom in their souls, a clarinet plays in their stomachs,” and they themselves “sniff flowers and sing serenades” and work as postmen.
Illustration for the poem by Yunna Moritz “Crimson Cat”
It is interesting that all the heroes of Yunna Petrovna Moritz’s poems, animate and inanimate, behave like children. The characters exactly copy their behavior: they tumble, throw their socks under the closet, feel sad, fantasize, fool around, and act up. In every poem we feel the poetess’s boundless love for her characters and for children in general. That is why the heroes are sweet and good-natured, mischievous and cheerful, unusual and even fantastic. Her poetry is governed by the laws of play, funny dreams, cheerful confusion, when you can invent anything you want, fantasize, compose unprecedented words, and go on merry journeys with the characters. The tireless thirst to make every day, every second a holiday, to extract all the colors, voices, smells, forces Yunna Moritz to create more and more new heroes.
You will not find any edification or teaching in Yuna Moritz: every child has every right to be capricious and fool around. According to Yunna Petrovna, children need to be raised with love, sometimes pampered, “they need to be freed from all prohibitions that do not cause physical harm to them and those around them,” and the child should also know that sooner or later he will have to face the world of evil. With her work, the poetess may be trying to protect children from this world as much as possible in principle.
Moritz's language is always natural, devoid of any false pathos. Moritz's rhythmic and sometimes patently absurd poems have no age restrictions. The pleasure of reading them and a lot of laughter are guaranteed to everyone.
But we should not forget that, in addition to children's poems, she also wrote adult literature. Yunna Moritz published the books “The Vine”, “A Harsh Thread”, “In the Light of Life”, “The Third Eye”, “Favorites”, “Blue Fire”, “On This High Shore”, “In the Lair of a Voice”, “Face” , “Thus”, “According to the law - hello to the postman.” All of them included elements of graphics and painting, which, according to the poetess, are not illustrations: these are poems in a special language.
But, of course, in the hearts of each of us, Yunna Moritz will remain the author of wonderful poems about the “rubber hedgehog” and “a big secret for a small company.” Her poetry is special world, which cannot be expressed in words or brought to certain standards. All this would be useless and banal, just as it is banal to list the topics to which her poems are devoted: life, death, love, creativity. What poet doesn't write about this? Many people write. But each in his own way.
Text: Marina Latysheva
DEEPLY ADORED READERS!
I received three carriages of letters from you, written in multi-colored block letters. Those who have seen the cartoon “A Big Secret for a Small Company” ask: “Do you have any other secrets? How many? And what?" I answer: “Yes! All sorts of things! There are many of them! Which ones do you want?” For example, you ask: “Tell me a secret - what to do if a Lonely Scarecrow lives in a dark room?” Please! I’m revealing a secret: we urgently need to hug and pet the Scarecrow so that it stops being so lonely. And then - to make it laugh, so that it ceases to be a Scarecrow, and becomes a Laughter!
Or, for example: “Tell me a secret - who do you love most in the world?” Please! The one who is always growing. The one to whom something happens all the time. The one who flies in a dream. Someone who is able to ask three carloads of questions and rush off into a world of exciting adventures, dangers and great discoveries... Absolutely right! You guessed it! More than anything in the world I love... you! And that’s why for 30 years now I’ve been whistling my poems for you, like a hedgehog with a hole in its right side. And I’ll also say (in secret!) that everything in this book is the pure truth and happened to me personally. After all, for the sake of such a serious matter as poetry for you, I can turn into a Pony, into a Cheerful Frog, into a Sailor Cat, into a Laughing Confusion, into a Flying Horse, so that you, my dears, can swim in the Sea of Miracles.
Your poet Yunna Moritz
Fun breakfast
HEDGEHOG RUBBER
Through the viburnum grove,
Through the aspen grove
For the puppy's name day
In a crimson hat
A rubber hedgehog was walking
With a hole in the right side.
Visited the hedgehog
Rain umbrella
A hat and a pair of galoshes.
ladybug,
flower head
The hedgehog bowed affectionately.
Hello, Christmas trees!
What do you need needles for?
Are we the wolves around?
Shame on you!
It's a shame
When a friend bristled.
Dear bird,
Please come down -
You have lost your pen.
On the red alley
Where the maples turn red,
A find awaits you in the bureau.
The sky is radiant
The cloud is clear.
For the puppy's name day
Rubber hedgehog
He walked and whistled
A hole in the right side.
Many tracks
This hedgehog passed by.
What did he give to his friend?
He talks about this to Van
Whistling in the bath
A hole in the right side!
A TALE ABOUT A SONG
All the kids
They love to sing
All calves
They love to sing
All the curls
On the lamb
They love to whistle songs!
And who sings the song
Sometimes,
He won't die of fear
never!
And who always sings a song,
Tom's paw
even a wolf
serves!
Because -
ay-ay-ay! -
no way
Eat a song
can't
nobody!
Here's a song
in one
sit down
Oh-oh-oh!-
even a wolf
eat it!
For the reason
such a good guy
All the frogs are singing
across the river,
All the grasshoppers are singing
in the meadow!
And can I not sing?
I can't!
All the kids
They love to sing
All calves
They love to sing
All the curls
On the lamb
They love to whistle songs!
JUMP-PLAY!
There is a hut in the forest,
And Parsley lives in it,
An animal is coming towards him
Jump and play!
Deer,
Rhinoceroses,
Bears from the den
They come after each other
Jump and play!
Roe deer and raccoons,
Jerzy
And hippos
Running after the hunt
Jump and play!
Robin,
Oatmeal,
Live monkey
Everyone has the same thing -
Jump and play!
And I was a titmouse
A funny nosed bird,
And she flew in too
Jump and play!
I was hiding
From cats
And ate all kinds of midges,
But I still managed
Jump and play!
Now, as they say,
I'm not a tit at all
I don't run from cats
And I don’t catch midges,
But on holiday
At Parsley's
Jump at the party
Like other animals,
I still love it!
HELLO ROBOT!
Hello Robot,
Iron buddy!
Aren't you tired?
My dear friend?
