Shraer-Petrov, David Petrovich

Born in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) on ​​January 28, 1936. The origin is from a dynasty of Lithuanian rabbis and Podolsk millers ^[1] From the side of his father, Peysakh (Peter) Schraer, he is a second cousin to the literary critic Omri Ronen and surgeon Theodor Schraer . ^[2]

He entered the medical institute in 1953, after graduation he served as an army doctor in Belarus.

He graduated from the graduate school in microbiology of the Leningrad Institute of Tuberculosis; Doctor of Medical Sciences. In the fall of 1970, he worked for the cholera epidemic in Yalta. In 1978, he was dismissed from the Institute of Microbiology. Gamaleya, for submitting documents for departure and “in denial”, worked as a doctor in a district clinic. As a medical scientist, DP Shrayer (DP Shrayer) has published nearly a hundred articles on microbiology, bacteriophages and oncological immunology, as well as the monograph "Staphylococcal infections in the USSR" (in English).

With the onset of the Khrushchev thaw, the name of David Shraer-Petrov appears in the literature. At the end of the 50s, Schraer-Petrov was one of the leaders of the literary association (litos) at the Palace of Culture of Promotional Cooperation (later the Lensoviet), which included young Ilya Averbakh , Dmitry Bobyshev , Sergey Volf , Anatoly Naiman , Evgeny Rein and other writers. In Leningrad, the late 50s and early 60s, Schraer-Petrov was known as one of the most gifted poets of his generation. Poems and translations were first published in the late 50s. He took the literary pseudonym "David Petrov" - from the Russification of the name of his father (Peysakh-Peter). The first poetry collection was scattered after the trial of Joseph Brodsky , with whom Shraer-Petrov was friends in Leningrad. However, in literature 60-70-x he was best known as a translator of poetry, his own poems for a long time went only in samizdat and printed a little. In 1962 he married the philologist and translator Emilia Polyak (Schraer). In 1964 he moved from Leningrad to Moscow, where in 1967 he published his first book of poems “Canvases” with a foreword by Lev Ozerov . In addition, in the 70s, Shraer-Petrov published two books of essays in the USSR. Only in 1976, Shraer-Petrov was admitted to the Writers' Union on the recommendations of Viktor Shklovsky , Lev Ozerov and Andrei Voznesensky .

Heinrich Sapgir about David Shraer-Petrov:

A mature poet who managed to visit Soviet poets and translators and found the strength to get out of this swamp. Well, of course, and fate has developed that way. David decided to emigrate, became a refuser. But these, as I understand it, are external events. He had long thought and wrote differently than all this Caudla (“The people are the winner! The people are the builder! Bam! Bam! BAM!”) ... ^[3] .

In January 1978, Shraer-Petrov, together with his family, applied for departure from the USSR. However, the authorities initially refused an exit visa. But they are deprived of membership in the Writers' Union and the opportunity to work in their specialty, he becomes a “refuser”. He completely surrenders to literature, the writer sits down at a desk and writes the first two parts of the future trilogy about refuseniks. The first two parts of the trilogy novel, “Doctor Levitin” and “Damn you, don't die”, published entirely in 1992 in Moscow under the title “Herbert and Nelly”, analyze with revealing authenticity the life of an ordinary Soviet family - a family, as very often meets, bi-national, Jewish-Russian. The author gives her only possible way - death. Or - the outcome. Herbert and Nelly is a significant work of art about the mass exodus of Jews from Russia and about refuseniks . The novel "Herbert and Nelly" was first published in Israel, and then in Moscow a few years later - in 1992 (before that he went to Moscow in self-publishing) and was nominated in 1993 for the Russian Booker (2nd ed. St. Petersburg, 2006; 3rd ed. M, 2014). Already in the United States, the third part of the trilogy on the refuseniks is written - “Third Life”. ^[4] In 2018, the first part, “Doctor Levitin,” was published in an English translation. During the years of “refusal”, despite persecution by the KGB, despite organized persecution in the Soviet media, Shraer-Petrov continues to write, writes poetry, prose, literary essays, and dramaturgy. Remaining a supporter of formal search, he introduced the fantasy genre into prose. His essay “Art as a Break” develops the paradox of Viktor Shklovsky 's work “Art as a Reception” ^[5] .

He spent almost 9 years in denial. During the years of refusal, the writer and his wife, philologist and translator Emilia Schraer (nee Poliak) led the refusenik seminar-salon, which included writers, musicians and other artists. Shraer-Petrov, together with his wife and son, literary critic and writer Maxim D. Shraer , left Russia only with the beginning of perestroika - June 7, 1987. Over the years of emigration, more than twenty books of Shraer-Petrov, including four prose books, have been published on both sides of the Atlantic. in English (see list below). The writer's works were translated into Polish, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, English, French, Croatian, Japanese, Hebrew and other languages.

The collection of love lyrics by David Shraer-Petrov “Song of the Blue Elephant” was named by Encyclopedia Britannica among the best poetry collections of the Russian foreign countries in 1990 ^[3] .

Another novel “Savely Ronkin” (2004) (Read the novel “Savely Ronkin” ) is among the contenders for the Russian Booker in 2004 ^[5] . A number of books of the writer were nominated for literary prizes and included in the lists of applicants.

In 2003, the United States published a book of short stories “Jonah and Sarah: Jewish Stories of Russia and America” (“Jonah and Sarah: Jewish Stories of Russia and America”) translated into English, and in 2006 the book “Autumn in Yalta: a novel and three stories ”(“ Autumn in Yalta: A Novel and Three Stories ”), and in 2013 - the book“ Dinner with Stalin and Other Stories ”. In 2018, the United States published a translation of the first volume of the refusenik trilogy - Doctor Levitin. Translations of Shraer-Petrov’s novels and short stories into English were published under the editorship and with commentary of his son Maxim D. Shraer.

In 1987-2007 he lived in Providence, Rhode Island, worked as a researcher in the Department of Surgery at Brown University (the main works in the field of experimental oncology). Since 2007, lives in Boston and completely devotes himself to literary work.

In May 2017, David Shraer-Petrov took part in the New York program “ Russian Seasons in the Museum of Nicholas Roerich ”.

Poems

• Village Orchestra. Six poems. St. Petersburg, 2016.
• Neva verses. Poems. St. Petersburg, 2011.
• Body Shape Lines. Poems. St. Petersburg, 2010.
• Two books. Poems. Philadelphia, 2009.
• A form of love. Poems. Moscow, 2003.
• The drums of fate. Poems. Moscow, 2002.
• St. Petersburg Doge. Poems. St. Petersburg, 1999.
• The lost soul. Poems. Providence, RI, 1997.
• Villa Borghese. Poems. Holyoke, MA, 1992.
• Song about the blue elephant. Poems. Holyoke, MA 1990.
• Canvases Poems. || On Sat Roll call. Foreword by Leo Ozerov. Moscow, 1967.

Novels and Stories

• Doctor Levitin: A Novel. Detroit, 2018.
• Around the world happiness. Stories. Moscow, 2017.
• Dinner with Stalin and Other Stories. Syracuse, NY, 2014. Finalist of the Edward Lewis Wallant Award, 2014.
• The story of my sweetheart, or the spiral staircase. Novel. Moscow 2013.
• Third life. Novel. Lugansk, 2010.
• Autumn in Yalta: A Novel and Three Stories. Syracuse, NY, 2006.
• Carp for stuffed fish. Stories. Moscow, 2005.
• These are strange Russian Jews. Novels <Savely Ronkin. Strange Danya Raev>. Moscow, 2004.
• Jonah and Sarah: Jewish Stories of Russia and America. Syracuse, NY, 2003.
• Castle in Tystemaa. Novel. Tallinn, 2001.
• French cottage. Novel. Providence, RI, 1999.
• Herbert and Nelly. Novel. 1 ed. Moscow, 1992; 2nd ed. St. Petersburg, 2006; 3rd ed. Moscow, 2014 (abbr. Version in the collection "In denial ." Jerusalem, 1986).

Memoirs

• Red Devil Hunt: A novel with microbiologists. Moscow, 2010.
• Vodka with cakes: a novel with writers. St. Petersburg, 2007.
• Moscow is golden-headed. Literary memories. Baltimore, MD 1994.
• Friends and Shadows: A novel featuring the author. New York, NY 1989.

Essays and Literature

• Heinrich Sapgier: Avant-garde classic. (Co-authored with M.D. Schraer). St. Petersburg, 2004. 2nd ed., Rev. St. Petersburg. 2016. 3rd ed., Rev., Yekaterinburg, 2017.
• Poetry of labor heroism. Moscow, 1977.
• Poetry and science. Moscow, 1974.

• Model of life. The Bridges 23-25 ​​(2009—2010).
• The Atonement of Yudin. "Bridges" 6-7 (2005-2006).

• Stefan OP Hofer; David Shrayer ; Jonathan S. Reichner; Harald J. Hoekstra; Harold J. Wanebo. Wound-Induced Tumor Progression: A Probable Role in Recurrence After Tumor Resection. Archives of Surgery, 133: 383-389, 1998.
• David P. Shrayer , Bernard Cole, Vincent J. Hearing, Stanley F. Wolf, Harold J. Wanebo. Immunotherapy of mice with an irradiated melanoma vaccine coupled with interleukin-12. Clinical and Experimental Metastasis, 17: 73-80, 1999.
• David P. Shrayer , Hendrik Bogaars, Bernard Cole, Stanley F. Wolf, Harold J. Wanebo. Capacity of murine IL-12 to inhibit the development of primary melanoma tumors and to prevent lung metastases in the melanoma-challenged mice. Journal of Experimental and Therapeutic Oncology, 2: 93–99, 2002.
• Cheryl Lee D. Eberting, David P. Shrayer , Janet Butmarc, Vincent Falang. Histologic Progression of B16 F10 Metastatic Melanoma in C57BL / 6 Mice Over a Six Week Time Period: Distant Metastases before Local Growth. The Journal of Dermatology, 31: 299-304, 2004.
• David Shrayer , Douglas M. Gersten, James Koness, Abby Maizel, Harold Wanebo, Vincent J. Hearing. B700 Antigen as a Component of an Antimelanoma Vaccine: Formalinized Extracellular Antigens. Pigment Cell Research, 5: 107-112, 2006.
• David Shrayer. Staphylococcal Disease in the Soviet Union. Epidemiology and Response to a National Epidemic . Bethesda, MD 1989.

Dmitry Bobyshev. Schraer-Petrov, David. In the book. Dictionary of poets of the Russian abroad . Ed. Vadim Kreida et al. St. Petersburg, 1999.432-34.

Vladimir Gandelsman. A novel involving time. Herald 12 (1992): 32-33.

Eugene Ermolin. Bonfire in the ravine . New World 5 (2005).

Leo Katsin. When is Zuckerman's beard annoying and why? Jewish World January 31, 1997.

Roman Katzman. Parallel universes of David Shraer-Petrov. Wiener Slawistischer Almanach 79 (2015): 255-279.

Natalia Lichtenfeld. David Shraer-Petrov, "The Story of My Beloved, or the Spiral Staircase . " Children of Ra 12 (2013).

Eduard Mikhailov. The fate of the synecdoch. To the 75th anniversary of David Shraer-Petrov . Lechaim February 2011

Andrey Miroshkin. Soldered by one hope . Lechaim January 2016.

Claudia Smola / Klavdia Smola. About the prose of the Russian-Jewish writer David Shraer-Petrov. In: Russian Jews in America / Russian Jews in America . Book 15 / Book 15. Compiled and edited by Ernst Zaltsberg. Toronto-st. Petersburg, 2017.135-50.

Heinrich Sapgir. Foreword In the book: David Schraer-Petrov. Herbert and Nelly . M .: GMP Polyform, 1992. 3-4.

Vyacheslav Spodik. To the 75th anniversary of the writer David Shraer-Petrov. Coast 20 (2013).

Victor Terras. A novel about refuseniks. New Russian word December 28, 1992.

Victor Terras. Villa Borghese. New Russian word July 3, 1992.

Boris Tukh. Is it easy to be a Russian poet in America? Vesti <Tallinn> January 22, 1999.

Irina Tchaikovsky. Toward a woman. About the verses of David Shraer-Petrov . Vision February 2010.

• David Shraer-Petrov on the site “ A New Map of Russian Literature ”
• Shraer-Petrov, David Petrovich on the site "Unofficial Poetry"
• David Shraer-Petrov in the " Journal Hall "
• David Shraer-Petrov: “I think we all taught each other something”
• David Shraer-Petrov reads verses from the book "Neva verses"
• David Schraer-Petrov reads the poem Villa Borghese
• David Shraer-Petrov reads verses from the book “Lines-body-figures”
• David Shraer-Petrov in the Encyclopedia of Russian America
• Continuity of literary generations to the sounds of the piano in the Roerich Museum: David Shraer-Petrov, Maxim D. Shraer and Elena Kushnerova in the program "Russian Seasons"