To unprepared readers, the poems of the Russian poetess, essayist and prose writer Maria Stepanova seem unusual. All works are distinguished by a special style. However, this is what helps the author to stand out from the general background. The collection of the laureate of the Pasternak and Andrei Bely prizes, the National Literary Prize "Big Book" in 2013 is included in the short-list of the Poetry Prize "Difference".
Often, they talk about the work of Maria Mikhailovna as about the works of an author with a European scale of talent. She wrote her first poems at the age of three.
The path to the dream
The biography of the future author began in 1972. The girl was born on June 9 in Moscow in the family of a photographer. Father specialized in restoration work, mother worked as an engineer and wrote poetry
Maria wanted to become a poet since she was 7 years old. The parents saw the works of the young author by the famous metropolitan philologist Tymenchik. He recommended that parents completely protect their daughter from the literary society and not make a little genius out of the child. Only in this way, in his opinion, the future author could be formed without outside influence. Masha studied at school, reading books of interest to her under her desk during lessons.
If in childhood everything that was happening did not interest Mary, then in her youth there was a desire to stand out from the crowd. Carried away by the hippie movement, Stepanova tried with all her might to understand its essence. At the same time, the girl tried to communicate in an informal setting with talented extraordinary personalities who gathered in the famous metropolitan cafe "Pentagon" on Petrovka.
The graduate who graduated from school decided to continue her education at the Gorky Literary Institute. In 1995, the student successfully completed her studies. Stepanova was not going to confine herself exclusively to the creation of poetic works. Therefore, the novice writer did not feel comfortable in the role of the hut of a genius poet for the elite. She was frightened by the very prospect of communicating exclusively with the circle of "understanding".
A serious debut was the publication in the almanac "Babylon" in 1996. The works of Stepanova appeared in many well-known magazines in the country. Her first poetry books "There is Light", "About the Twins", "Songs of the Northern Southerners" were released in 2001.
Realization of purpose
In an interview, Stepanova admitted that her decision was to choose a job that had nothing to do with versification. However, she did not refuse poetry either. He began his career in the Internet edition "OpenSpace.ru", which covered the main events of contemporary art and culture. The site specialized in publishing expert knowledge ideas.
As editor-in-chief, Stepanova worked for 5 years. During this period, the Internet resource received many prestigious awards. Maria herself was nominated for the Editor of the Year award. In 2010, the talented author became a fellow in memory of the Brodsky Foundation
The poetess left her activity after a radical change in the concept of the project in the first domestic media, financed by the public investment "Colta.ru". Maria and literary creativity were not left. She created quite interesting prose works.
In 2014, her essays were published in the collection "Alone, not alone, not me." The non-template edition is composed of three conventional parts. The first contains extensive and serious texts. Their creation took a lot of time and effort from the writer. In the second part, stories about human, mainly female, destinies and ways of existence are grouped. The writer provides examples of dealing with loneliness. The stories give tips on methods of working with a feeling of uselessness and examples of ways to resist it.
Maria Mikhailovna called the last part a kind of mix. It contains a variety of jokes and reviews. Also presented are the author's reflections on the topics of concern to the creator.
All facets of talent
For the popular project Matthew Passion 2000, the writer created prose. As an author, she presented the main idea of the idea to the readers and wrote texts for him.
The readers saw the first collection of essays in 2014. Stepanova appeared as the author of the philosophical and documentary prose direction in the book "In Memory of Memory" in 2017. She is also engaged in translations from English.
In the creative portfolio of Maria Mikhailovna there is also journalism. She composes articles for Russian print media. However, the author writes only on topics that really interest her. The writer is very critical of her work. Stepanova admitted that it is only a stretch to call what she creates prose.
As one of the authors of the “Dress Rehearsal” art project of the V-A-C Foundation, which has become a real event in the capital's artistic life, the poetess performed in 2018. The themes of the inseparability of the connection between social and personal memory were developed in it. Stepanova has already raised this question in her essays and prose.
Poems
Maria Mikhailovna never forgot about her talent as a poet. Fans call her visiting card the work "Shooting Gallery in Sokolniki Park". She has created many collections of poetry. Many of her works have been published in Europe, translated into many languages of the world.
Her poetics are timeless. The author is experimenting with imposing the personality traits of the creator on the hero. It is not just the figure that becomes the main thing, but the personal will. Artistic language is distinguished by the presence of deformation at all levels, revealing the potential of new meanings.
In Stepanova's homeland, a translation competition announced by the Sides of the World magazine and dedicated to the poetess is being held. Within its framework, the works of Maria Mikhailovna were translated into English. The talent of the writer was awarded the prizes of the Znamya and Moskovsky Account magazines.
As part of the guest professorship in 2018-2019, Stepanova was a professor at the Berlin Humboldt University. Maria Mikhailovna also took place in her personal life. She is married and has a son.
