Anna Akhmatova

This striking biography, the first ever written about the great Russian poet, Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966), illuminates Akhmatova's dramatic personal and professional struggles. From the isolation of the twenty-five years she was banned from publishing her work, and the sorrow of her tragic losses--her first husband executed by Stalin, her second dead in the work camps, and her son imprisoned for fourteen years--to her final years of triumph receiving public acclaim as the country's foremost woman poet, this compelling, authoritative account traces the relationship between her writings and her life. Haight provides elegant translations and detailed analyses of Akhmatova's finest works, including "Requiem" and "Poem without a Hero," revealing the brilliance of this now highly praised poet.