Yunna Morits facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yunna Morits
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2010
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| Born | June 2, 1937 Kiev, USSR/Ukraine |
| Genres | Poetry, short prose, translations |
| Literary movement | The Sixtiers |
| Notable works | The Cape of Desire, The Vine |
| Notable awards | Andrei Sakharov Prize for Writer's Civic Courage Golden Rose (Italy) |
Yunna Petrovna Morits (born June 2, 1937) is a well-known poet from Russia. She is also a talented translator of poetry. Yunna Morits has received important awards for her brave writing. These include the Andrei Sakharov Prize For Writer's Civic Courage and the Golden Rose from Italy.
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About Yunna Morits
Yunna Morits was born in Kiev, which was then part of the USSR. Today, Kiev is the capital of Ukraine. Her family was Jewish. Her father, Pinchas Moritz, was put in prison during the time of Joseph Stalin.
As a child, Yunna suffered from tuberculosis. She also faced tough times in the Ural Mountains during World War II. In the 1950s, she moved to Moscow to study. She was briefly asked to leave college. This happened because her poems questioned the Soviet Union's system. One of her poems honored Titsian Tabidze, a Georgian poet. He was executed by Stalin in 1937.
In 1961, Yunna Morits became very famous. Her book The Cape of Desire was about the Far North. She wrote it after traveling on an Arctic icebreaker ship. She was one of the few young poets admired by the famous poet Anna Akhmatova.
Her Work and Translations
From 1961 to 1970, Yunna Morits could not publish some of her poems. This was due to their strong opinions. Since the 1960s, she also became known for her poetry translations. She translated poems into Russian from many languages. She helped bring the works of poets like Constantine Cavafy and Federico García Lorca to Russian readers.
Later in her career, she wrote many poems for children. These poems became very popular. Some of her children's poems, like her adult work, were turned into songs. Guitar singer-songwriters, especially Sergey Nikitin, made them famous. She has also published short stories and opinion pieces. More recently, she has created graphic art.
Her Activism and Awards
Yunna Morits helped start several groups for artists and thinkers. These groups support freedom of expression. She was a founding member of the Russian section of International PEN. This is a worldwide group of writers. She is also part of the Russian PEN Executive Committee. She works on its Human Rights Commission. She has won several important awards. One of them is the Andrei Sakharov Prize For Writer's Civic Courage. This award honors writers who show great bravery.
Yunna Morits and Politics
After 2014, Yunna Morits expressed strong political views. She supported certain actions by the Russian government. Some of her recent poems share her opinions about other countries. They also talk about how Russia is seen by the West. She uses her poetry to share her strong feelings on these topics.
