Samuil Marshak - Young Poet, Philosopher and Translator

Young Poet, Philosopher and Translator

In 1904 he published his first works in the magazine Jewish Life and in mid- to late 1900s, Marshak created a body of Zionist verse, some of which appeared in such periodicals as Young Judea. In 1907 he returned to Saint Petersburg and subsequently published numerous works in the popular magazine Satyricon.

Marshak failed to gain admission at a university due to 'political insecurity' and earned his living giving lessons and writing for magazines. He brought many impressions, poems and a beautiful wife from his first trip to the Middle East.

In 1912 he moved to England and studied philosophy at the University of London. He fell in love with English culture and with English poetry. In his senior year at the University he published his translations of the poems written by William Blake, Robert Burns and William Wordsworth, published in Russia. His 1913 visit to an experimental "free" school in Wales (led by the Tolstoyan Philip Oyler" is noted as the event that sparked his professional interest in children. Shortly before World War I, in 1914, he returned to Russia and devoted himself to translation.