Daniil Kharms is often called the genius of the absurd. The capacious pseudonym "Kharms" (according to the passport the surname is Yuvachev) was invented by the future writer back in his school years. And he eventually entered world literature under this pseudonym.
Early years and care for literature
Daniil Yuvachev was born on December 30, 1905 in Petrograd (the then capital), in the family of a sailor and People's Will, who, after certain events and upheavals, became a very religious person. It is known that Kharms studied at a school with in-depth study of German, and then entered the Leningrad Electrotechnical School. However, he almost immediately dropped out and decided to seriously study literature. In 1925 he joined the Chinari literary and philosophical community. In general, Kharms quickly and easily gained fame in the bohemian environment. At the same time, he managed to become a member of the All-Russian Union of Poets - he was admitted there in 1926.
In 1927, Samuil Marshak, who was then running a whole publishing house, gave Kharms the opportunity to find himself in literature for children. So Kharms got the first official publications and the first fees. And this was actually the only source of his income. Kharms did not build a career, he did not have any other job, he often borrowed and did not always return the money.
In February 1928, a magazine for children "The Hedgehog" was published with the first works of Kharms in this genre. Soon Kharms begins to write for the magazine "Chizh" (also for children). Kharms did not create too many children's books and poems, but in all of them one can recognize the bright style of this author, a very special poetics.
Further literary experiments and the first criminal case
Kharms is considered one of the co-founders of the OBERIU avant-garde creative group. The first shocking performance of this group happened in 1928. And a few years later, the activities of OBERIU were harshly defeated by the Soviet press.
In December 1931, Kharms was arrested (along with several other Oberiuts), accused of anti-Sovietism and sentenced to three years in a camp. At the last moment, the real sentence was changed to expulsion from the capital, and the poet had to go to the provincial Kursk.
Kharms stayed in Kursk until November 1932, and then returned to Leningrad. Here he continued to periodically meet with like-minded people and created several books for children. The last lifetime publication (children's poem) of Kharms dates back to 1937. After that, they stopped publishing it altogether in the Union. As a result, Daniel and his wife Marina Malich were on the brink of survival. It is worth noting that Marina's love for the poet was really very strong - she supported her husband even in poverty and on hunger days.
Death and rehabilitation
In August 1941, Kharms was again arrested for spreading defeatist sentiments. To avoid being shot, Kharms pretended to be insane, and by the decision of the tribunal, he was sent to a mental hospital. The following year, at the height of the war, Daniil Kharms died of physical exhaustion.
In 1960, Kharms's own sister decided to turn to the Prosecutor General of the Soviet Union with a request to review her brother's criminal case. This request was granted: Kharms was acquitted and rehabilitated. However, his main works were not officially published in the Soviet Union until perestroika - they were distributed only clandestinely.
