Igor Mironovich Guberman | |
|---|---|
 Guberman, July 2009 | |
| Native name | Игорь Миронович Губерман |
| Born | (1936-07-07)July 7, 1936 (age 88) Kharkiv,Ukrainian SSR |
| Occupation | Poetry, literature |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Alma mater | Moscow State University of Railway Engineering |
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Igor Mironovich Guberman (Russian:И́горь Миро́нович Губерма́н,IPA:[ˈiɡərʲmʲɪˈronəvʲɪtɕɡʊbʲɪrˈman]ⓘ, born July 7, 1936,Kharkiv) is aJewish Russian writer and poet who lives in Israel since 1988.[1] His poetry has received a great deal of acclaim primarily because of his signature aphoristic and satiric quatrains that he calledgariki in Russian (singular:garik, which is also the diminutive form of the author's first name, Igor). These short poems (originally Guberman called them "JewishDazibao") usually feature an ABABrhyme scheme, employ variouspoetic meters, and cover a wide range of subjects includingantisemitism, immigrant life, anti-religious sentiment, and the author's complicated relationship with Russia, Israel, and the respective cultures.[2][3][4]Gariki are mostly humorous and often paradoxical, verging on philosophical.
Igor Guberman was born inKharkiv on July 7, 1936. After high school, he entered theMoscow State University of Railway Engineering. In 1958, he graduated with a degree inelectrical engineering. He worked as an electrical engineer for several years and wrote on the side in his spare time. Toward the end of the 1950s, he was introduced toAlexander Ginzburg, who publishedSyntax, one of the firstsamizdat periodicals, as well as to other underground philosophers, writers, and artists. For some time he worked as a secretary to the great Russian poetDavid Samoylov, and also as aghostwriter for hire.
At first, Guberman wrote popular science books (such as "Third Triumvirate"), but he gradually became more and more active as adissident poet. Guberman published his underground work under thepseudonymsI. Mironov andAbram Khayyam, connecting the names of the famousPersian poetOmar Khayyám and the Jewish first nameAbram.[5]
In 1979, Guberman was arrested and sentenced based on fabricated charges to five years in theSoviet labor colonies.[6] He based his book,Walks Around the Barracks (written in 1980, published in 1988), on the diaries he kept during this time.[7]
In 1984, Guberman returned fromSiberia.[8] For a long time, he could get neither a job nor a residence permit (Propiska) to live in Moscow. In 1987, he emigrated from theUSSR to Israel, and since 1988 he has been living inJerusalem. He visits Russia quite frequently to attend poetry readings. Books by Guberman have sold hundreds of thousands of copies in Russia and in countries with Russian immigrant communities, with whom they are always popular.
Examples of Guberman's quatrains:
Возглавляя партии и классы, | Those fervid leaders of parties and classes |
Мне жаль небосвод этот синий, | I’m sorry for the stars above that shine, |
Не прыгай с веком наравне, | Don't race to keep up with the century, |
