Early life and poems

1. NikolayStepanovichGumilyovVariantsofspellinginclude: Goumilev, Gumilev, Goumilov, Goemilov, Goemiljow, Goumileff, Gumileff, Gumiliovas (Russian: Никола́й Степа́нович Гумилёв, April 15 NS 1886 – August 1921) wasaninfluential Russian poet whofoundedthe acmeism movement.

2. Earlylifeandpoems • Nikolai was born in Kronstadt, into the family of StepanYakovlevichGumilev (1836–1920), a naval physician, and Anna Ivanovna L'vova (1854–1942). His childhood nickname was Montigomo the Hawk's Claw. He studied at the gymnasium of Tsarskoe Selo, where the Symbolist poet Innokenty Annensky was his teacher. Later, Gumilev admitted that it was Annensky's influence that turned his mind to writing poetry.

3. Earlylifeandpoems • His first publication were verses I ran from cities into the forest (Russian: Я в лесбежализгородов) on September 8, 1902. In 1905 he published his first book of lyrics entitled The Way of Conquistadors. It comprised poems on most exotic subjects imaginable, from Lake Chad giraffes to Caracalla's crocodiles. Although Gumilev was proud of the book, most critics found his technique sloppy; later he would refer to that collection as apprentice's work. • From 1907 and on, Nikolai Gumilyov traveled extensively in Europe, notably in Italy and France. In 1908 his new collection Romantic Flowers appeared. While in Paris, he published the literary magazine Sirius, but only three issues were produced. On returning to Russia, he edited and contributed to the artistic periodical Apollon. At that period, he fell in love with a non-existent woman Cherubina de Gabriak. It turned out that Cherubina de Gabriak was the literary pseudonym for two people, a disabled schoolteacher and Maximilian Voloshin, and on November 22, 1909 he had a duel with Voloshin over the affair. • Like Flaubert and Rimbaud before him, Gumilyov was fascinated with Africa and travelled there almost each year. He hunted lions in Ethiopia and brought to the Saint Petersburg museum of anthropology and ethnography a large collection of African artifacts. His landmark collection The Tent (1921) collected the best of his poems on African themes.

4. GuildofPoets • In 1910, Gumilyovfellunderthespellofthe Symbolist poet andphilosopher Vyacheslav IvanovandabsorbedhisviewsonpoetryattheeveningsheldbyIvanovinhiscelebrated "TurretedHouse". Hiswife Anna AkhmatovaaccompaniedhimtoIvanov'spartiesaswell. GumilyovandAkhmatovamarriedonApril 25. OnSeptember 18, 1912, theirchild Lev wasborn. Hewouldeventuallybecomeaninfluentialandcontroversialhistorian. • Dissatisfiedwiththevaguemysticismof Russian Symbolism, thenprevalentinthe Russian poetry, Gumilyovand Sergei Gorodetskyestablishedtheso-calledGuildofPoets, whichwasmodeledaftermedievalguildsofWesternEurope. Theyadvocatedaviewthatpoetryneedscraftsmanshipjustlikearchitectureneedsit. Writingagoodpoemtheycomparedtobuildingacathedral. Toillustratetheirideals, Gumilyovpublishedtwocollections, ThePearlsin 1910 andtheAlienSkyin 1912. Itwas Osip Mandelshtam, however, whoproducedthemovement'smostdistinctiveanddurablemonument, thecollectionofpoemsentitledStone (1912). • Accordingtotheprinciplesof acmeism (asthemovementcametobedubbedbyarthistorians), everyperson, irrespectiveofhistalent, maylearntoproducehigh-qualitypoemsifonlyhefollowstheguild'smasters, i.e., GumilevandGorodetsky. Theirownmodelwas Theophile Gauthier, andtheyborrowedmuchoftheirbasictenetsfromtheFrench Parnasse. Suchaprogram, combinedwithcolourfulandexoticsubjectmatterofGumilyov'spoems, attractedtotheGuildalargenumberofadolescents. Severalmajorpoets, notably Georgy Ivanovand Vladimir Nabokov, passedtheschoolofGumilyov, albeitinformally.

5. Warexperience Whenthe World War I started, GumilyovhastenedtoRussiaandenthusiasticallyjoinedacorpsofelitecavalry. Forhisbraveryhewasinvestedwithtwo St. Georgecrosses (December 24, 1914 andJanuary 5, 1915). HiswarpoemswereassembledinthecollectionTheQuiver (1916). In 1916 hewroteaverseplay, Gondla, whichwaspublishedthefollowingyear; setinninth-century Iceland, tornbetweenitsnative paganism andIrish Christianity, itisalsoclearlyautobiographical, GumilyovputtingmuchofhimselfintotheheroGondla (anIrishmanchosenaskingbutrejectedbythe jarls, hekillshimselftoensurethetriumphof Christianity) andbasingGondla'swildbrideLeraonGumilyov'swifeAkhmatova. Theplaywasperformedin Rostov naDonuin 1920 and, evenaftertheauthor'sexecutionbythe Cheka, in Petrograd inJanuary 1922: "Theplay, despiteitscrowdscenesbeingenactedonatinystage, wasamajorsuccess. Yetwhenthe Petrograd audiencecalledfortheauthor, whowasnowofficiallyanexecutedcounter-revolutionarytraitor, theplaywasremovedfromtherepertoireandthetheatredisbanded." (InFebruary 1934, astheywalkedalongaMoscowstreet, Osip MandelstamquotedGondla'swords "I amreadytodie" toAkhmatova, andsherepeatedtheminher "PoemwithoutaHero.") Duringthe Russian Revolution, Gumilyovservedinthe Russian expeditioncorpsin Paris. Despiteadvicetothecontrary, herapidlyreturnedto Petrograd. Therehepublishedseveralnewcollections, TabernacleandBonfire, andfinallydivorcedAkhmatova (August 5, 1918), whomhehadleftforotherwomanseveralyearspriortothat. Thefollowingyearhemarried Anna NikolaevnaEngelhardt, anoblewomananddaughterofawell-knownhistorian. NikolayGumilyov, Anna Akhmatovaandtheirson Lev Gumilev, 1913

6. Laterpoemsanddeath • "Despitethehardexperiencesofrealtravelsandbattles, heremained, totheendofhislife, aschoolboyentrancedbytheIliad ofchildhood - theadventuresofHuckleberryFinnandTomSawyer. Heneveroutgrewtheinfluenceof Mayne Reid, AlexandreDumas, père, JulesVerne, GustaveAimardandothers." In 1920 Gumilyovco-foundedtheAll-RussiaUnionofWriters. Gumilyovmadenosecretofhisanti-communistviews. Healsocrossedhimselfinpublicanddidn'tcaretohidehiscontemptforhalf-literate Bolsheviks. • OnAugust 3, 1921 hewasarrestedby Cheka onallegationofparticipationinmonarchistconspiracy. Mostliteraryhistoriansagreethatitwasnota Cheka fabrication, andGumilyovwasalikelyconspirator. OnAugust 24 Petrograd Cheka decreedexecutionofall 61 participantsofthe Tagantsev Conspiracy, including Nikolai Gumilev. Theexactdatesandlocationsoftheirexecutionandburialarestillunknown. • Gumilyov'sdirectinfluenceon Russian poetrywasshortlived. ThesentimentisbestexpressedbyNabokov, whoonceremarkedthatGumilyovisthe poet foradolescents, justlike Korney Chukovsky isthe poet forchildren. Hismostdurableverse, writteninmysticalstrain, appearedinthecollection "ThePillarofFire" (1921). • Although "bannedintheSoviettimes, Gumilyovwaslovedforhisadolescentlongingfortravelandgiraffesandhippos, forhisdreamsofafifteen-year-oldcaptain" andwas "afavorite poet amonggeologists, archaeologistsandpaleontologists." His "TheTramThatLostItsWay" isconsideredoneofthegreatestpoemsofthe 20th century. • When Mikhail Sinelnikovwasaskedtostudythearchivesofthelate Mikhail Zenkevich, thelastoftheAcmeists - histeacher - he "foundpilesofsecretedverse, anunpublishednovel, manuscriptswhich Pasternak broughttotheoldmastertobecritiqued, thepoemsandlettersofhisfriends. AccordingtoSinelnikov, "atthebottomofawideboxlayacopyofIzvestia Petrosovietawithalistofpeopleexecutedinconnectionwiththe Tagantsev case. Thetypewasbarelylegible, morelikewispsofoldwool. Somenames, thoseofZenkevich'sacquaintances, weretickedoff. Gumilyov'snamewasunderlinedinred."