Barkov Ivan: biography of the scandalous poet

Barkov Ivan Semenovich - a poet and translator of the 18th century, the author of pornographic poetry, the founder of the "illegal" literary genre - "barkovshchiny."

Barkovshchina - obscene literary style

He is considered to be one of the most outstanding Russian poets; His works - shameless verses, surprisingly combining rudeness, sarcasm and profanity, are not read in schools and institutes, but more often in secret. At all times there were people who wanted to get acquainted with the works of a scandalous author. By early 1992, works by Ivan Barkov began to be published in such famous publications as "Stars", "Literary Review", "Library" and others.

Ivan Barkov: Biography

He was born in 1732 in the family of a clergyman. Primary education was held in the seminary at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, in 1748, with the help of MV Lomonosov, became a student at the University of the Academy of Sciences. The educational institution showed a special inclination towards the humanities, did a lot of translations and studied the works of ancient writers. However, uncontrollable behavior of Barkov, constant drinking, fights, insults of the rector became the reason for his deduction in 1751. A degraded student was identified as a student in the Academic Printing Office and, given his exceptional abilities, was allowed to attend French and German lessons in the gymnasium, as well as to learn from SP Krasheninnikov "Russian style."

As copyist

Later, from the printing house Barkov, Ivan was transferred to the Academic Chancellery as a copyist. The new duties allowed the young man to closely communicate with MV Lomonosov, whom he often photographed from documents and copied his works, in particular, "Ancient Russian History" and "Russian Grammar." The monotonous, monotonous work of the scribe became for Barkov a fascinating activity, because it was accompanied by interesting consultations and explanations of Lomonosov. And this actually became a continuation of university studies for the failed student.

The first literary works of Barkov

The first independent work of Ivan Barkov was "Brief Russian History", published in 1762. According to GF Miller, in historical research from the time of Rurik to Peter the Great, information is reported more accurately and completely than, for example, Voltaire's work on the history of Russia under Peter the Great. For the ode compiled in honor of the birthday of Peter III in 1762, Ivan Barkov was assigned to the Academy as an interpreter, which led to the appearance of high-quality and full artistic merit translations. With ease mastering the nuances of odic poetry, the writer did not improve himself in this genre, which in the future could bring the poet official fame and guaranteed promotion. Further, Barkov Ivan prepared for printing (corrected incomprehensible places, filled in the blanks with text, changed the old spelling, adapted it for a more understandable reading) Radziwill's chronicle, which he fully acquainted when rewriting it for Lomonosov. This work, which provided the general public with an opportunity to get acquainted with reliable historical facts, was published in 1767.

A poet who is inconvenient to quote

Most of all, the poet Ivan Barkov became famous for his obscene poems of pornographic content, which led to the emergence of a new genre of "barkism". Evidently, Russian folklore and frivolous French poetry became an example for the emergence of such free lines, the first partial publication of which in Russia took place in 1991. Opinions about Barkov are different and diametrically opposed. So, Chekhov believed that this is a poet, who is inconvenient to quote. Leo Tolstoy called Ivan a fool, and Pushkin believed that all the salt is precisely that all things are called by their proper names. Barkov's poems were present at the merry feasts of students, while Denis Davydov, Griboedov, Pushkin, Delvig filled in with his quotations in the drinking conversations. Barkovsky's poetry was quoted by Nikolai Nekrasov.

Unlike the works of the Marquis de Sade, delighted by various unnatural sensations and ambiguous situations, Barkov Ivan expresses himself in a normal way viciously, without crossing a certain forbidden boundary. It's just a tavern judge, who is endowed with his poetic talent and intelligence. The pornography described by him is a reflection of Russian life and illiteracy, which today remains one of the most striking features of public life. There are no foul language in any literature that could so delicately "Russian" foul in poetry, as did Ivan Barkov.

And he died funny ...

Contemporaries considered Ivan Barkov an extremely lewd person. There was a legend in the people that Barkov, although he drank too much, was an excellent lover, and often brought lazy girlfriends and drinking companions on his estate.

Barkov Ivan Semenovich, whose biography is of interest to the modern generation, led a miserable life, drank until the end of his days and died at 36. The circumstances of his death and burial place remained unknown. But there are lots of versions of the end of his short life. According to one of them, the poet died in a brothel from beatings, the other claims that he drowned in a barn, being in a binge state. They say that some people found Barkov's corpse in his office with his head tucked into the furnace for carbon monoxide poisoning and the bottom half of the body without pants sticking out with a note stuck in it: "He lived - it's sinful, but died - ridiculous." Although, according to another version, the poet said these words before his death.