My favourite writer is Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. In my opinion, he is
the greatest Russian dramatist and short story writer. I'm never tired
of reading and rereading his plays and humorous stories. Chekhov was
born in 1860 in Taganrog. In 1879 he went to Moscow, where he studied
medicine. Though he practised little as a doctor in his lifetime, he was
prouder of his medical knowledge than of his writing talent. While in
college, Chekhov wrote humorous sketches for comic papers to support his
family. He collected the best ones into a volume Motley Stories, in
1886. The book attracted the attention of the publisher of the Novoje
Vremja, Russia's largest paper, and Chekhov was asked to contribute
stories regularly. Chekhov, as an established writer, was able to
develop a style of his own. Though he never gave up writing comic
stories, he began working in a more serious vein. In 1887 Ivanov, his
first play, established Chekhov as a dramatist. From then on, he
concentrated on writing plays, as well as short stories. Chekhov was
seriously ill. He had tuberculosis and knew what it meant. By 1892 his
health was so bad that he was afraid to spend another winter in Moscow.
He bought a small estate near the village of Melikhovo, 50 miles from
Moscow. He spent 5 years there, and those were happy years in spite of
the illness. He wrote some of his best stories there, including Ward
No.6, several well-known one-act comedies and two of his serious
dramatic masterpieces, The Seagull and Uncle Vапуа. The Seagull was
first staged in the Alexandrinsky Theatre in Petersburg. It was a
complete failure because of the dull and clumsy production. It was a
cruel blow to Chekhov. However, the play was successfully performed as
the first production of the Moscow Art Theatre in 1898. From then on,
Chekhov was closely connected with this theatre and with its founder,
K.S. Stanislavsky. In 1901 he married an Art Theatre actress, Olga
Knipper, who acted in his play The Three Sisters the same year.
Chekhov's health went from bad to worse and he had to spend the
remaining years in the Crimea and other health spas. The Cherry Orchard,
his last play, was produced in 1904. Soon after the first night Chekhov
died. He was 44. several generations of writers, both in Russia and
abroad, studied and imitated Chekhov to perfect their own literary
style. Chekhov had an immense influence on the 20th century drama.
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