Don't part with your loved ones! Alexander Kochetkov. The birth of the future poet: childhood, family, dreams. Recognition, but with a long delay

He is best known to readers (and moviegoers) for his poem "Do not part with your loved ones." From this article you can find out the biography of the poet. What other works are remarkable in his work and how did the personal life of Alexander Kochetkov develop?

Biography

Alexander Sergeevich Kochetkov was born on May 12, 1900 in the Moscow region. The literal birthplace of the future poet is nodal, since his father was a railway worker and the family's home was located right behind the station. You can often see the erroneous mention of the poet's patronymic - Stepanovich. However, the incomplete namesake of the poet - Alexander Stepanovich Kochetkov - is a cameraman and a completely different person.

In 1917, Alexander graduated from the gymnasium in Losinoostrovsk. Even then, the young man was fond of poetry, and therefore entered the Faculty of Philology at Moscow State University. During his studies, he met the then-famous poets Vera Merkurieva, who became his poetic mentors and teachers.

Creation

After graduating from the university, Alexander Kochetkov began working as a translator. The works that he translated from Western and Eastern languages were widely published in the twenties. In his translation, poems by Schiller, Beranger, Gidash, Corneille, Racine, as well as Eastern epics and German novels are known. Kochetkov's own lyrics, which included many works, were published only once during the poet's lifetime, in the amount of three poems included in the almanac "Golden Zurna". This collection was printed in Vladikavkaz in 1926. Alexander Kochetkov was the author of adult and children's poetry, as well as several plays in verse, such as Free Flemings, Copernicus,

Personal life

In 1925, Alexander Sergeevich married a native of Stavropol, Inna Grigoryevna Prozriteleva. The couple had no children. Since Alexander's parents died early, his father-in-law and mother-in-law replaced his father and mother. The Kochetkovs often came to visit Stavropol. Inna's father was a scientist, he founded the main local history museum of the Stavropol Territory, which exists to this day. Alexander sincerely loved Grigory Nikolaevich, Inna wrote in her notes that they could talk all night long, since they had a lot of common interests.

Friendship with Tsvetaeva

Kochetkov was a great friend of the poetess Marina Tsvetaeva and her son Georgy, affectionately nicknamed Moore, whom Vera Merkuryeva introduced in 1940. In 1941, Tsvetaeva and Moore stayed at the dacha of the Kochetkovs. Georgy went to swim in the Moscow River and almost drowned, he was saved by Alexander who arrived in time. This strengthened the friendship of the poets. During the evacuation, Marina Tsvetaeva could not decide for a long time whether to go with her son to Turkmenistan with the Kochetkovs or to stay and wait for the evacuation from the Literary Fund. After the death of the poetess, the Kochetkovs moved Moore with them to Tashkent.

Death

Alexander Kochetkov died on May 1, 1953, at the age of 52. There is no information about the cause of his death and future fate his family. Until 2013, the place of his burial remained unknown, however, a group of enthusiasts calling themselves the "Necropolis Society" found an urn with the ashes of the poet in one of the cells of the columbarium at the Donskoy cemetery.

"Don't part with your loved ones..."

Alexander Kochetkov's poem "The Ballad of a Smoky Carriage", better known as "Do not part with your loved ones", was written in 1932. The inspiration was a tragic incident in the poet's life. This year, Alexander and Inna visited her parents in the city of Stavropol. Alexander Sergeevich had to leave, but Inna, who did not want to part with her husband and parents, persuaded him to return the ticket and stay at least a few more days. Yielding to the persuasion of his wife, on the same day the poet was horrified to learn that the train on which he had changed his mind about riding had derailed and crashed. His friends died, and those who were waiting for Alexander in Moscow were sure that he had died. Having safely reached Moscow three days later, Kochetkov sent Inna his "Ballad of a Smoky Carriage" by the very first letter:

How painful, dear, how strange
Akin to the earth, intertwined with branches, -
How painful, dear, how strange
Split in two under the saw.
The wound on the heart will not grow,
Shed clean tears
The wound on the heart will not grow -
Spilled with fiery resin.
As long as I'm alive, I'll be with you
Soul and blood are inseparable,
As long as I'm alive, I'll be with you
Love and death are always together.
You will carry with you everywhere
You will carry with you, my love,
You will carry with you everywhere
Homeland, sweet home.
But if I have nothing to hide
From pity incurable,
But if I have nothing to hide
From cold and darkness?
After parting there will be a meeting,
Don't forget me darling
After parting there will be a meeting,
We'll both be back - me and you.
But if I vanish without a trace
Short beam of daylight
But if I vanish without a trace
Beyond the star belt, into the milky smoke?
I will pray for you
So as not to forget the path of the earth,
I will pray for you
May you return unharmed.
Shaking in a smoky carriage
He became homeless and humble,
Shaking in a smoky carriage
He half cried, half slept,
Suddenly bent in a terrible roll,
When the train is on a slippery slope
Tore the wheels off the rails.
inhuman strength,
In one winepress, crippling everyone,
superhuman strength
She threw earthly things off the ground.
And didn't protect anyone.
The promised meeting is far away
And didn't protect anyone.
A hand that calls from afar.
Don't part with your loved ones!
Don't part with your loved ones!
Don't part with your loved ones!
Grow in them with all your blood,
And every time forever say goodbye!
And every time forever say goodbye!
When you leave for a moment!

Despite the fact that the first publication of the poem took place only in 1966, the ballad was known, having spread through acquaintances. During the war years, this poem became an unspoken folk anthem during evacuations, the poems were retold and rewritten by heart. The literary critic Ilya Kukulin even expressed the opinion that the poet Konstantin Simonov could have written the popular military poem "Wait for me" under the influence of the "Ballad". Above is a photo of Alexander with his wife and her parents, taken in Stavropol on the fateful day of the train crash.

The poem gained particular popularity ten years after its publication, when Eldar Ryazanov included its performance by Andrey Myagkov and Valentina Talyzina in his film The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!

Also, a line from the "Ballad" was named playwright Alexander Volodin's play "Do not part with your loved ones", as well as the film of the same name, based on the play in 1979.

Now about the author, about Alexander Sergeevich Kochetkov. In 1974, the publishing house "Soviet Writer" published his largest work - a drama in verse "Nicholas Copernicus" as a separate book. Two of his one-act poetic plays were published: "Homer's Head" - about Rembrandt (in "Change") and "Adelaide Grabbe" - about Beethoven (in "Pamir"). Cycles of lyrical poems were published in the "Day of Poetry", "Pamir", "Literary Georgia". That's all for now. The rest (very valuable) part of the heritage (lyrics, poems, dramas in verse, translations) is still the property of the archive...

Alexander Sergeevich Kochetkov is the same age as the 20th century.

After graduating from the Losinoostrovskaya gymnasium in 1917, he entered the philological faculty of Moscow State University. Soon he was mobilized into the Red Army. Years 1918 -1919 - the army years of the poet. Then in different time he worked as a librarian in the North Caucasus, then in the MOPR ( international organization assistance to the fighters of the revolution), then as a literary consultant. And always, under all - the most difficult - circumstances of life, work on the verse continued. Kochetkov began to write early - from the age of fourteen.

Lived a shame a little. Wrote, translated, composed a lot. He loved and was loved by the most beautiful of women. He was married to her. She, his charming muse, is Inna Grigorievna Prozriteleva, the daughter of a local historian and founder of the Stavropol Museum of Local Lore - Grigory Nikolaevich Prozritelev. His name is immortalized on the memorial plaque of the museum: “named after G.N. Prozritelev and G.K. Prave”.

In Stavropol, sometimes "young" also lived in Prozritelev's house. But both Alexander Sergeevich and Inusya were always attracted by Kislovodsk, which they loved, loved their famous house, to the light of which, like butterflies to the light, people of a sensitive soul and ardent imagination flocked.

Representing: Kislovodsk. The wide canvas of Shirokaya Street. An imposing, large one approaches the gate of a beautiful mansion, beautiful person, fashionably dressed, wearing a hat and with a cane. He knocks on the gate leading to a two-story mansion owned by Inna Grigoryevna Prozriteleva. This address is well known both to the residents of Kislovodsk and to the visiting celebrities of the reading room located here with magazines, books, newspapers. Poems are read here, music is played ...

Who's there?

This is not a mistake or an exaggeration. In the 30s and 40s, Maximilian Voloshin, Vyacheslav Ivanov, and representatives of the local poetic "beau monde" - Mikhail Dolinsky, Tatyana Chugay, Alexei Slavyansky, as well as guests from Vladikavkaz - Vera Merkurieva, Evgeny Arkhipov, were welcome guests in this mansion. Sergey Argashev, Mikhail Slobodskoy.

The hospitality of the hosts knew no bounds. The charming Inna Grigorievna, who was not called otherwise, like Inusya, and her husband Alexander Sergeevich Kochetkov constituted that amazing center of attraction for the artistic intelligentsia, whose address was also known in metropolitan circles. Friends called Alexander Sergeevich "our Pushkin." The companies were cheerful, noisy, with tea parties and pies, with the enduring benevolence and hospitality of Inushi ... And, of course, with poems born "on the occasion" or simply at the behest of the soul. Count A.N. Tolstoy did not know that there was no need to knock on the gate on Shirokaya Street in Kislovodsk. She has always been open.

Favorite holidays here were birthdays, which were celebrated by everyone and always: friends were invited, the “birthday cake” was obligatory. Alexander Sergeevich did not like to celebrate his dates, but he willingly dedicated poems to his friends. This was the main gift for the hero of the occasion. And especially if the birthday girl was his wife:

Oh, what for in those days

In those nights

I didn't come to your

Call?..

Of executions - no execution

crueler,

How to die without loving!..

His masterful translations are well known.And this is very difficult work. No wonder A. S. Pushkin argued that "translators are the postal horses of enlightenment."As the author of original works, Alexander Kochetkov is little known to our readers. Meanwhile, his play in verse about Copernicus was shown at the Moscow Planetarium Theater (there was such a very popular theater). In collaboration with Konstantin Lipskerov and Sergei Shervinsky, he wrote two plays in verse, which were staged and enjoyed success. The first - "Nadezhda Durova", staged by Y. Zavadsky long before A. Gladkov's play "A long time ago" - on the same topic. The second - "Free Flemings". Both plays enrich our understanding of the poetic dramaturgy of the pre-war years. At the mention of the name of Alexander Kochetkov, even among ardent lovers of poetry, one will say:

Oh, he translated The Magic Horn by Arnimo and Brentano?!

Allow me, it was he who gave the classic translation of Bruno Frank's story about Cervantes! - adds another.

Oh, he translated Hafiz, Anvari, Farrukhi, Unsari and other creators of the poetic East! - the third will exclaim.

And the translations of the works of Schiller, Corneille, Racine, Beranger, Georgian, Lithuanian, Estonian poets! - A fourth will notice.

Do not forget Antal Gidash and Es-habib Vaf, a whole book of his poems, and participation in the translations of large epic paintings - "David of Sasun", "Alpamysh", "Kalevipoeg"! - will not fail to mention the fifth.

So, interrupting and supplementing each other, connoisseurs of poetry will remember Kochetkov the translator, who gave so much strength and talent to the high the art of poetic translation.

Alexander Kochetkov until his death (1953) enthusiastically worked on poetry. He seemed to me one of the last students of some old school of painting, the keeper of its secrets, ready to pass these secrets on to others. But few people were interested in these secrets, as in the art of inlay, making lionfish, cylinders and phaetons. Stargazer, he adored Copernicus. A music lover, he recreated the image of a deafened Beethoven. A painter in a word, he turned to the experience of the great beggar Rembrandt.

... Throughout the war, Kochetkov lived in Tashkent, where he barely made ends meet with literary translations, but he found great joy in communicating with Maria Petrova and Anna Akhmatova, other writers, whom the war brought to this "city of bread" during the evacuation.

Poetry warmed the souls of people in the fierce years of general misfortune ...

Now, in the 21st century, there is a clear decline in "poetic love" ... And yet! I think, "inspecting" the 20th century, we should not forget a single name of the "poetic century". Loud and famous names- always on hearing, but it happens that they do not stand the test of time. After all, it is no secret that the poets who were "at the helm" first of all published themselves, and for decency - a few others. And they “flicked through” the name of Alexander Kochetkov! .. Only in 1966 did his most common poem appear in the almanac “Day of Poetry” "The Ballad of the Smoky Carriage"

Behind the works of Kochetkov their creator appears - a man of great kindness and honesty. He had the gift of compassion for the misfortune of others. Constantly took care of old women and cats. "Such an eccentric!" others will say. But he was an artist in everything. He did not have any money, and if it did appear, it immediately migrated under the pillows of the sick, into the empty wallets of the needy.

He was helpless in regard to the arrangement of the fate of his writings. I was embarrassed to take them to the editor. And if he did, he was embarrassed to come for an answer. He was afraid of rudeness and tactlessness.

Until now, we are indebted to the memory of Alexander Kochetkov. It has not yet been fully shown to the reading public. It is to be hoped that this will be done in the coming years.

I want to sketch his appearance in the most cursory way. He had long, combed back hair. He was light in his movements, these movements themselves betrayed the character of a person whose actions were guided by internal plasticity. He had a gait that you rarely see now: melodious, helpful, something very ancient was felt in it. He had a cane, and he carried it gallantly, in a secular way, one felt last century, and the cane itself, it seemed, was old, from the time of Griboyedov.

A successor to the classical traditions of Russian verse, Alexander Kochetkov seemed to some poets and critics of the thirties and forties a sort of archaist. What was solid and solid was mistaken for backward and hardened. But he was neither a copyist nor a restorer. He worked in the shadows and at depth. Congenial people appreciated him. This applies, first of all, to Sergei Shervinsky, Pavel Antokolsky, Arseny Tarkovsky, Vladimir Derzhavin, Viktor Vitkovich, Lev Gornung, Nina Zbrueva, Ksenia Nekrasova and some others. He was noticed and noted by Vyacheslav Ivanov. Moreover: it was the friendship of two Russian poets - the older generation and the younger generation. Anna Akhmatova treated Kochetkov with interest and friendly attention.

For the first time I saw and heard Alexander Sergeevich Kochetkov in the Khoromny dead end in the apartment of Vera Zvyagintseva. I remember that Klara Arseneva, Maria Petrovykh, Vladimir Lyubin were with us then. We heard verses which were read softly and sincerely by an author whom I liked very much. That evening he heard many kind words addressed to him, but he looked as if all this was being said not about him, but about some other poet who deserved praise to a greater extent than himself.

He was welcoming and friendly. No matter how sad or tired he was, his interlocutor did not feel it.

The interlocutor saw in front of him, next to him, a sweet, sincere, sensitive person.

Even in a state of illness, lack of sleep, need, even at the time of legitimate resentment at the inattention of editors and publishing houses, Alexander Sergeevich did everything to ensure that this state was not transmitted to his interlocutor or companion, so that it was easy for him. It was with such lightness coming from the soul that he once turned to me and, softly tapping his cane on the asphalt, said:

I have one composition, imagine - a drama in verse. Wouldn't it be difficult for you to get acquainted - even briefly - with this work? Don't be in a hurry when you say and if you can...

So, in 1950, I got a dramatic poem "Nicholas Copernicus".

Starting with the history of one poem ("The Ballad of the Smoky Carriage"), I turned to its author and his story.

They match, these stories. The fate of the author and the fate of his works are superimposed on each other. And from these stories, from these destinies, the attentive reader creates the image of the poet and reflects on the time in which he lived.

From one poem, a thread stretches to other works, to the personality of the poet, so he(to the reader) fell in love and became for him a close friend and interlocutor.

This book selected works the poet represents different genres of his work: lyrics, dramatic short stories (as A. S. Kochetkov himself called them), poems.

“The gray courtyard is littered with junk. A cloudy-pale bluish day, ”this is how one of the poems begins, describing a spacious and modest rural courtyard. It was written by the famous Soviet-Russian poet and translator Alexander Kochetkov. He passed away in early May 1953, when he was 52 years old. In memory of this wonderful author and simply good person let's remember the most bright facts from his biography. And also talk about his works. Well. Let's hit the road!

The birth of the future poet: childhood, family, dreams

Alexander Kochetkov, whose poems we so often remember, was born on May 12, 1900 in the Losinoostrovskaya junction railway station Yaroslavl direction.

His parents were ordinary hard workers who lacked the pretentious arrogance inherent in wealthy people and aristocrats. They taught their son only good things. Therefore, he grew up a worthy son of his time. As a child, he dreamed of becoming a traveler.

He liked to look at picture books, which depicted nature, the sea, ships. And when I learned to read for a long time studied the same books describing the adventures of seasoned sailors. His favorite pastime at that time was playing boats. He will make a mast from an ordinary stick or reed, fix birch or linden leaves on it and let it go along the river. They are floating. And children's eyes accompany them all ...

First thoughts on creativity

Being in a slight prostration from his dreams, Alexander Kochetkov began to compose poetry. At first, these were simple and naive lines, coming from a pure child's soul. Later, he will be carried away by them seriously and for a very long time. However, our hero did not even think about the career of a poet. Therefore, from time to time I threw my new hobby on the back burner and again returned to viewing books and magazines about entertaining travels.

Studying at school and getting higher education

Having matured a little, Alexander Kochetkov Jr. went to school. There he had to master the basics of humanitarian and exact sciences. During his studies, he leaned specifically towards literature, art, and music. He loved to listen to his first teacher reciting poetry.

Despite the fact that he did not stand out in any way, he was remembered as an intelligent, serious and extremely inquisitive boy beyond his years. This is exactly what former compatriots and close friends who have survived to this day say about him.

After school, Alexander Kochetkov (his biography is described in detail in this article) decides to enter the Losinoostrovsky gymnasium Russian Empire. There he again returned to writing poetry, which he was inspired by a blonde girl sitting next to him. This was his first love, which he wrote about in his author's diary. True, these were only sketches. At that time, the author never reached serious versification.

After graduating from his favorite gymnasium, Kochetkov Alexander Sergeevich successfully passed the exams and entered the Moscow State University. It was the cherished philological faculty, where the author learned a lot of interesting things. For example, he partially took place as a talented translator of famous literary works. And new impressions formed the basis of his first serious poems.

Acquaintance with famous authors and mentors

Yielding to a creative impulse, Alexander Kochetkov (a poet with a capital letter) regularly attended various theme evenings. Many of them were devoted to poetry, authors of the past century, artists, musicians and other creative personalities.

At one of these events, he met the poetess Vera Merkurieva. Despite the fact that his new acquaintance was much older than our hero, they immediately became friends.

And it was to her, one of the first, that Alexander first showed his timid poetic sketches. And she liked them so much that she even took them with her to read at her leisure. Having made several corrections and comments, the professional poetess was able to discern the talent of our author. She brought back all the poems of Alexander Kochetkov and took him under her personal care. So, the future famous poet became a student of the poetess, who has long been publishing her works in popular magazines and almanacs.

And since Merkuryeva was closely acquainted with the symbolist poet, philosopher, playwright and critic Vyacheslav Ivanovich Ivanov, he also became one of our hero's close friends. After a while, Ivanov will write about their acquaintance that he was lucky to meet amazing person whose talent is just beginning to emerge.

Pen trials and invaluable work

Despite the extraordinary desire of our author to become famous, the poems of Alexander Sergeevich Kochetkov were never appreciated during his lifetime. There are many reasons for this. Perhaps one of them is the lack of elementary luck. And, of course, at that time there were no modern managers and advertisers who could notice the star in time and seriously engage in its promotion.

The only lifetime publication that Alexander Kochetkov adequately withstood (his biography confirms given fact), became the printing of one of the author's poems in the "Golden Zurna" (an almanac of 1926).

Few people know that at that time the hero already had a solid collection of plays written by him in his spare time. For example, he became one of the few authors who dedicated a poetic work to Copernicus. The poet wrote a real ballad in verse about him. With the assistance of Sergei Shervinsky and Konstantin Lipskerov, the author rewrote his "Nadezhda Durov" and the play "Free Flemings". However, even these famous works were not published during the lifetime of the poet.

Working as a translator: the most famous sketches of the author

Kochetkov Alexander Sergeevich easily combined writing poems of his own composition and translations of famous foreign authors. So, our author began to publish in various magazines, newspapers and collections, but only as a translator. He worked on prose and poetry written by Eastern and Western authors. For example, Alexander translated famous work Bruno Franck, who wrote about Cervantes. He worked on poems by the following authors: Hafiz, Schiller, Anvari, Farrukhi. He took part in the translation of "David of Sasun" and described the features of poems by Estonian, Georgian and Lithuanian authors.

The most famous poem by Alexander Kochetkov

As you can see, Kochetkov was a very talented and inquisitive person. He read a lot, studied and loved to learn something new. However, he did not manage to bathe in the rays of glory during his lifetime. But his gift was still appreciated, however, a lot of time has passed since that moment.

The reason for popular recognition was the work of Kochetkov, which was called "The Ballad of a Smoky Carriage". Poems from this work first appeared in the comedy The Irony of Fate or Enjoy Your Bath. So, the song “Do not part with your loved ones!” absolutely everyone who managed to watch this film began to sing. And then our author woke up famous for the first time. However, few people know that the creation of this poem, which was included in the popular film, has its own interesting story...

A short and interesting tale about the real adventures of the poet

This amazing story the wife of the author Prozriteleva Nina Grigorievna told. It was her that she described in detail and colors in one of her diaries, dedicated to the poet. So, the story began back in 1932, when the couple were resting in the house of their relatives.

For certain reasons, Alexander had to leave, and Nina planned to stay a little longer. Our author purchased a ticket, according to which he had to go to the Kavkazskaya station. And from there he needed to jump onto an express train that followed the route Sochi - Moscow. The day of departure has come. Kochetkov's wife, of course, went to see him off. However, she did not want to part with him so much that she literally removed her beloved from the train and persuaded him to return the ticket.

As a result, Alexander Kochetkov (his poems describe this case a little veiled) decided to stay with his wife for another three days and again try his luck at railway station. After this time, he boarded a train and left for Moscow. But what was his surprise when he was told about own death. As it turned out, the train on which the author was supposed to travel fell into terrible accident that claimed the lives of many people. As a result, the poet's friends have long mourned Kochetkov, thinking that it was he who died in this crash. So it turns out that the love of his wife saved the life of the poet.

After this incident, our author thought about how fleeting and unpredictable life is. He poured out his feelings and thoughts on paper. And so the famous poem "The Ballad of a Smoky Carriage" appeared. The first person who was honored to see her was the wife of the author. He sent it in a letter to Nina after his arrival in the capital.

Recognition, but with a long delay

As we have already said, the signature poem of the author about the incredible will of chance was written in 1932. However, it didn't hit the press right away. As it turned out, it was put aside on a dusty shelf and pulled out after 34 years. At that moment, it was first published in a well-known Russian collection called Poetry Day. But the very next day after the publication of "The Ballad of a Smoky Carriage" became a real domestic hit.

Sometimes the reader and the listener learn about the poet by one poem, which he accidentally or not accidentally learned. For the poet Alexander Kochetkov, the author of "The Ballad of a Smoky Carriage", this is exactly the case. Although it is not the only wonderful creation. And this poem, you see, is a really beautiful poem, a rare stroke of luck.

The poet's wife, Nina Grigorievna Prozriteleva, tells about the history of the appearance of the Ballad in the notes left after her death and still not published: “We spent the summer of 1932 in Stavropol with my father. In the autumn, Alexander Sergeevich left earlier, I had to come to Moscow later. The ticket was already bought - the Stavropol branch to the Kavkazskaya station, there on the direct train Sochi - Moscow. It was difficult to part, and we delayed as best we could. On the eve of departure, we decided to sell the ticket and postpone the departure for at least three days. These days are a gift of fate - experience it like a holiday.

The delay was over, it was necessary to go. A ticket was bought again, and Alexander Sergeevich left. A letter from him from the Kavkazskaya station illustrates the mood in which he was traveling. (In this letter there is an expression "half sad, half asleep." In the poem - "half crying, half asleep".)

In Moscow, among friends whom he informed about the first day of his arrival, his appearance was accepted as a miracle of resurrection, since he was considered dead in a terrible crash that happened to the Sochi train at the Moscow-tovarnaya station. Friends who were returning from the Sochi sanatorium died. Alexander Sergeevich escaped death because he sold a ticket for this train and stayed in Stavropol.

In the very first letter that I received from Alexander Sergeevich from Moscow, there was a poem "Vagon" ("Ballad of a smoky carriage")..."

Saved by fate from the train wreck that happened the day before, the poet could not help but think about the nature of chance in human life, about the meaning of meeting and parting, about the fate of two creatures that love each other.

So we learn the date of writing - 1932 - and the dramatic history of the poem, which was published thirty-four years later. But unpublished, it in the oral version, passed from one person to another, received a huge publicity. They knew his poems in the days of the war, it seemed to many that it was written at the front. It has become one of the favorites.

For the first time, "The Ballad of a Smoky Carriage" was published (with an introductory note about the poet) in the collection "Day of Poetry" (1966). Then "Ballad" was included in the anthology "Song of Love" (1967), published in "Moskovsky Komsomolets" and since then more and more willingly included in various collections and anthologies. The stanzas of the "Ballad" are taken by the authors as epigraphs: a line from the "Ballad" became the title of A. Volodin's play "Do not part with your loved ones", the readers include the "Ballad" in their repertoire. She also entered the film by Eldar Ryazanov "The Irony of Fate ..." We can say with confidence: it has become a textbook.

It's about the poem. Now a few words about the author, Alexander Sergeevich Kochetkov.

In 1974, the publishing house "Soviet Writer" published his largest work - a drama in verse "Nicholas Copernicus" as a separate book. Two of his one-act poetic plays were published: "Homer's Head" - about Rembrandt (in "Change") and "Adelaide Grabbe" - about Beethoven (in "Pamir"). Cycles of lyrical poems were published in the "Day of Poetry", "Pamir", "Literary Georgia". That's all for now.

The rest (very valuable) part of the heritage (lyrics, poems, dramas in verse, translations) is still the property of the archive...

Alexander Sergeevich Kochetkov is the same age as our century. After graduating from the Losinoostrovskaya gymnasium in 1917, he entered the philological faculty of Moscow State University. Soon he was mobilized into the Red Army. The years 1918-1919 are the army years of the poet. Then, at various times, he worked as a librarian in the North Caucasus, then in the MOPR (International Organization for Assistance to the Fighters of the Revolution), then as a literary consultant. And always, under all - the most difficult - circumstances of life, work on the verse continued. Kochetkov began to write early - from the age of fourteen.

His masterful translations are well known. As the author of original works, Alexander Kochetkov is little known to our readers.

Meanwhile, his play in verse about Copernicus was shown at the Moscow Planetarium Theater (there was such a very popular theater). Meanwhile, in collaboration with Konstantin Lipskerov and Sergei Shervinsky, he wrote two plays in verse, which were staged and enjoyed success. The first - "Nadezhda Durova", staged by Yu. Zavadsky long before A. Gladkov's play "A long time ago (Ryazanov's film "Hussar Ballad")" - on the same topic. The second - "Free Flemings". Both plays enrich our understanding of the poetic dramaturgy of the pre-war years.

I read in the memoirs of his publisher that "When the name of Alexander Kochetkov is mentioned, even among ardent lovers of poetry, one will say:

Oh, he translated The Magic Horn by Arnimo and Brentano?!

Allow me, it was he who gave the classic translation of Bruno Frank's story about Cervantes! - adds another.

Oh, he translated Hafiz, Anvari, Farrukhi, Unsari and other creators of the poetic East! - the third will exclaim.

And the translations of the works of Schiller, Corneille, Racine, Beranger, Georgian, Lithuanian, Estonian poets! - A fourth will notice. "

Thus, interrupting and supplementing each other, connoisseurs of poetry will remember Kochetkov the translator, who gave so much strength and talent to the high art of poetic translation.

Alexander Kochetkov until his death (1953) enthusiastically worked on poetry.

I think this poet deserves to be read and remembered, although the full fruits of his titanic labor have not yet been shown to the reading public. It is hoped that this will be done by Russian publishers (and maybe foreign ones, those who care) in the coming years.

In Russia there is one of the latest reprints of selected works of the poet.

Alexander Kochetkov. Don't part with your loved ones! Poems and poems. Moscow: Soviet Writer, 1985.

Lev Ozerov

BALLAD ABOUT THE SMOKE CAR

How painful, dear, how strange

Akin to the earth, intertwined with branches, -

How painful, dear, how strange

Split in two under the saw.

The wound on the heart will not grow,

Shed clean tears

The wound on the heart will not grow -

Spilled with fiery resin.

- As long as I'm alive, I'll be with you -

Soul and blood are inseparable, -

As long as I'm alive, I'll be with you -

Love and death are always together.

You will carry with you everywhere -

On September 16, 1932, a Sochi-Moscow passenger train crashed near the Lyublino station. This great tragedy took a lot human lives, and also became an important milestone in the life of the poet Alexander Kochetkov, whose ticket for the ill-fated train was handed over to him at the insistence of his wife on the eve of departure. "Do not part with your loved ones!" Kochetkov will write in his most famous poem when, 3 days after the tragedy, he arrives in Moscow and realizes that his wife's prophetic love saved his life.
Fate will give the poet another 20 years of life: Alexander Kochetkov died on May 1, 1953. And it will take another 23 years after his death before the song to the already mentioned poems by Alexander Kochetkov will sound in the most popular Soviet film "The Irony of Fate or Enjoy Your Bath!". This event will bring the poet a national vocation, which he was deprived of during his lifetime.

Early years and the beginning of the creative path.
Alexander Kochetkov was born on May 12, 1900 on Losiny Ostrov, near Moscow. We know little about the childhood years of the poet. In 1917 he graduated from the Losinoostrovskaya Gymnasium and entered the philological faculty of Moscow State University. However, he did not study for long, and already in 1918 he was drafted into the Red Army, where he served until 1919. After that, he worked as a librarian, literary consultant, began to translate, in which he succeeded significantly: many poems by Schiller, Corneille, Hafiz and many other authors sounded in Russian through the efforts of the poet.
As for his own work, Alexander Kochetkov began writing poetry at the age of 14.

Mature years of the poet. Kislovodsk. Moscow. Tashkent.
The two main cities in the life of the poet Kochetkov were Moscow and Kislovodsk. The poet was born and raised in the capital, but the Stavropol Territory became a happy haven for his adult life. The poet was in happy marriage with Inna Prozriteleva, daughter of an influential local activist. This cozy home beautiful couple was widely known in literary circles: creative evenings were held here, poems by guests and poems by Alexander Kochetkov were heard, news of culture, theater, and literature were discussed. According to the memoirs of his contemporaries, Alexander was tall, with long, combed back hair, he carried a cane, which made him look like a representative of a bygone century. "Our Pushkin" - his friends jokingly called him, meaning both the somewhat "old-fashioned" style of the poet, and the fact that Kochetkov was the namesake of the great poet by name and patronymic.
Kochetkov was happily married and tried not to be separated from his beloved wife. It was the unwillingness to part that saved the poet from the aforementioned catastrophe of 1932. Nevertheless, Alexander lived in two cities - he often visited Moscow both on business and for meetings with friends and colleagues. So, having taken a great interest in dramaturgy, Alexander Kochetkov co-wrote several plays in verse with Lipskerov and Shervinsky, the production of which enjoyed considerable success.
The years of the war, starting from 1942, Alexander Kochetkov spent in evacuation in Tashkent, where, in particular, he spent time in the company of Anna Akhmatova and Maria Petrov.

Late calling. The first author's collection of poems.
Alexander Kochetkov considered poetry to be the main business of his life, but, being a completely secular person, he did not know how to “attach” his works to print at all. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Alexander Sergeevich was a modest, kind man, sensitive to other people's problems, but the perseverance necessary for editorial offices was alien to him. Probably this explains incredible fact: the first full-fledged collection of Kochetkov's poems "Do not part with your loved ones!" saw the light only in 1985.
The poet died in Moscow on May 1, 1953, never having received a well-deserved vocation during his lifetime.