Valentin Kataev is a wonderful master of fiction. His works were very popular among Soviet youth. The author is widely known for the stories "The Lonely Sail Whitens" and "The Son of the Regiment".
short biography
Valentin Petrovich Kataev, whose father was a teacher at the diocesan school in Odessa, began as a poet, he wrote and published his poems at an early age. As Valentin Petrovich recalls, he began to write at the age of 9 and believed that he was born a writer. The first poem entitled "Autumn" was published in 1910 in the newspaper "Odessa Bulletin". And in 1912, his first small humorous stories were published in the same edition.
Kataev did not finish the gymnasium. In 1915 he decided to volunteer and went to fight. He began his service as a private and was soon promoted to ensign. He was wounded during a battle in the First World War, and in 1919-20 during the Civil War he served in the Soviet Red Army. Returning to Odessa, he worked as a journalist and wrote short stories, and in 1922 he moved to Moscow and began working in the newspaper "Gudok" and the magazine "Crocodile".
Creative career of a writer
Kataev's novella "The Spenders" (1926) brought the first significant success to the author. This is a phantasmagoric story about two adventurers, written in the Gogol tradition and dedicated to the struggle against the bourgeoisie. His comic play Squaring the Circle (1928) is an example of poignant social satire. “The Lonely Sail Gets White” (1936) is a story about two Odessa boys who find themselves in the maelstrom of the events of the 1905 revolution. "Time forward!" (1932) - The story of workers trying to build a huge steel mill in record time. Kataev's children's book "The Son of the Regiment" (1945) brought the writer immense popularity.
In the 1950s and 60s, Kataev worked as editor-in-chief of the Yunost magazine and opened the pages of the publication for the most promising and talented young writers, including Yevgeny Yevtushenko and Bella Akhmadulina. The long list of his works continued to grow, and in 1966 the literary magazine Novy Mir published the novella The Holy Well, a wonderful lyrical and philosophical history. Then came out:
- The Grass of Oblivion;
- Broken Life, or Oberon's Magic Horn;
- "My diamond crown";
- "Sukhoi Liman" and other works of the writer.
Kataev's limitless imagination, sensuality and originality have made him one of the most prominent Soviet writers, but his reputation in post-Soviet Russia remains ambiguous. He was the winner of the Stalin Prize and awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. These awards, as well as his membership in the Communist Party, linked him closely to the Soviet government. But he also showed his independence, supporting young writers and writing his own experimental prose.
Personal life
Valentin Kataev had two marriages. Nothing is known about the first wife of the writer. But the writer lived with his second wife Esther Davydovna until the end of his days. The family had a daughter, Eugene and a son, Pavel. By the way, little Zhenechka became the prototype of the main heroines of Kataev's fairy tales "The Seven-Flower Flower" and "The Pipe and the Jug."
