Kaun, Alexander Samuilovich

Alexander Samuilovich Kaun ( English Alexander Kaun ; October 30 ( November 11 ) 1889 - June 22, 1944 ) - American literary critic of Russian origin.

The grandson of the director of the Vilna rabbinical school, the son of a teacher of the Hebrew language . He grew up in Russia, in 1905 - 1907 . studied in St. Petersburg . In incomplete 20 years he emigrated to the United States, in 1909 - 1916 . taught Hebrew in Chicago , while studying at the University of Chicago at the same time since 1913 . Since 1912 , he was actively published in the American press as a reviewer, essayist, author of short prose, and translated into English the two-volume course of Russian history of the 19th century by A. A. Kornilov . In 1916 , having received a bachelor's degree, he went to continue his education at the University of California at Berkeley , with which his entire subsequent career was connected. Here, Kaun defended first a master's, and then ( 1923 ) doctoral dissertation; this latter in a revised form was published as a monograph " Leonid Andreyev , a critical essay" ( eng. Leonid Andreyev, a Critical Study ; 1924 ). At the University of California, Kaun taught until the end of his life, and since 1942 he headed the Department of Slavic Studies. In addition, since 1933 , Kaun has been co-editor of the quarterly edition of Books Abroad, for which he has reviewed many Russian and Soviet publications. The second book by Kaun, “ Maxim Gorky and His Russia” ( English Maxim Gorky and His Russia ), was published in 1931 , and the third, “Soviet Poets and Poetry” ( English Soviet Poets and Poetry ), was published in 1943 , shortly until his sudden death from a heart attack . An official obituary from the University of California claimed that Kaun may have been the best expert in the United States on the latest Russian literature ^[1] . David Burliuk mentions his meeting with Kaun in 1931, noting that at this meeting he painted a portrait of Kaun ^[2] .