Pasternak, Boris (Vol. 18) - Introduction

Pasternak, Boris 1890–1960

Pasternak was a Russian poet, novelist, dramatist, essayist, translator, and autobiographer. Although Pasternak is best known in America as the author of the novel Dr. Zhivago, he is primarily recognized in Europe as a poet. There is a trace of mystical Christianity akin to that of Dostoevsky running through his work. His poetry has been praised for its dense imagery, highly personal nature, and its complex, yet close-knit, structure. Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958, which he declined under political pressure. (See also CLC, Vols. 7, 10.)