GRANDFATHER VITALY


Became a pensioner
Grandfather Vitaly,
Receives a pension
Right at home.


He will wake up in the morning:
- Why did you get up so early?
You don't have a job! -
They tell him.


Grandfather Vitaly
Was a cashier in a trust,
Gave out wages
I was in a hurry to the bank in the morning,


And now he will wake up -
And sits still
And he grumbles angrily:
- It's time to die!


- You should take a walk! -
The daughters-in-law say
Hinting to grandfather:
He's in the way here!


In the mailbox
Not a single agenda -
More at the meeting
Grandfather's name is not called.


He's coming from a walk
Dissatisfied, lethargic.
I would like to take a walk with my grandson -
Grandfather loves his grandson!


But Andryushka grew up,
The little one is in fifth grade!
He has it for his grandfather
Not a minute!


Then he will rush off to school!
He's at the poultry market!
(The squad needs a dove
And two guinea pigs!..)


Somewhere he's at a gathering,
Then he's in the gym,
Then he sings in the choir
At the school festival!


And it's early this morning
The grandson tells his grandfather:
- We are looking for a veteran,
So that he can have a conversation.


Grandfather Vitaly sighs,
It's a shame for the old man:
- We fought a lot
We are in our time.


Are you looking for a veteran?
Look at me!
Strangely enough, he fought
And me in the old days!


In Moscow, on the barricade,
In the seventeenth year...
I'm in your squad
I'll have a conversation!


-What happened to grandfather?-
The neighbors are surprised.
Grandfather Vitaly
Getting ready for a conversation.


Grandfather Vitaly
Got my medals out
He put them on his chest.
We didn’t recognize grandfather -
So he looked younger!

1957


Our Natasha is a fashionista,
It's not easy for her!
Natasha has heels
Like adults, tall,
Such a height
These are the dinners!


Poor thing! Here is the sufferer -
He walks and almost falls over.


Baby with open mouth
Can't figure it out:
- Are you a clown or an auntie?
There's a cap on your head!


It seems to her that passers-by
They can't take their eyes off her,
And they sigh: - My God.
Where did you come from?


Cap, short jacket
And mom's coat
Not a girl, not an auntie,
It’s unclear who!


No, in my younger years
Keep up with fashion
But following fashion,
Don't mutilate yourself!

1961

WHERE WILL I GO?


There are exemplary children
And I'm not exemplary:
Then I sang at the wrong time,
Then I danced in the dining room.


There are exemplary children
For them, ice ballet
And new stadiums...
Where will I go?


They gave their report card
(There is no end to the fives!)
And they circle under the arches
District Palace.


And I went to such a circle,
There are certificates required
That you didn't set anything on fire
And he didn't walk on the grass.


About planting seedlings
And I saw off all the old ladies...
There's a ride down the hill -
And then you need A's!


There are exemplary children
For them, ice ballet
And new stadiums...
Where will I go?

1962

IT HAPPENS…


Tanya was spinning on her toes,
Tanya was a butterfly
And they circled and took off
Two nylon wings.


Klava screamed the loudest,
So she praised Tanya,
She admired: - Wonderful dance!
You are light like a butterfly!
You are slimmer than a moth!


It was heard: “Bravo! Bravo!"
And Klava whispers to her neighbor:
- Tanya is not slim at all,
And she looks like an elephant.


It happens, they say to your face:
- You are a moth! You are a dragonfly! -
And behind my back they laugh quietly -
Look, here comes the elephant.

1961

WHERE ARE YOU, PAVEL?


Once upon a time there lived a boy, Pavel,
Merry fellow! Good guy!


If there is a holiday in your home,
He shouts: - Let's dance! -
He congratulated you before everyone else.
Well done! Good guy!


On Aunt Katya's birthday
He woke up at six in the morning
He jumped out of bed before anyone else,
He says: “It’s time to dance!”


But, alas, it’s completely inappropriate
Aunt Katya fell ill.


You won't have to have fun -
Birthday canceled
Need to run for medicine
Bring the pyramidon.


But where did Paul go?
Wonderful guy, nice guy?


He disappeared!
Jumped out of his chair
And it was blown away like the wind!

1961

THREE POINTS FOR AN OLD GUY


Larisa is standing at the board,
A girl in a fluffy skirt
And translates into glasses
Good deeds.


The chalkboard is all in numbers.
- For helping mom - two points,
For helping my baby brother
I'm writing a point to Nikitin,
And Gorchakov has three points -
He took the old man to visit.


- Three points are not enough for this! -
Andryusha Gorchakov screams
And jumps up from the bench.-


Three points for the old man?!
I demand a raise!
I spent almost half a day with him,
He managed to love me.


Larisa is standing at the board,
Love counts
And translates into glasses
Attention and care.


And two girlfriends aside
They grumble with pouting lips:
- And they didn’t give me three points
For good deeds!


- And I didn’t expect this,
When I bathed my brother.
Then here's to good deeds
Not worth it at all!


Larisa is standing at the board,
A girl in a fluffy skirt
And translates into glasses
Good deeds.


Oh, it's hard to even listen,
I can't believe it guys
What kind of warmth
Someone needs payment.


And if you need a fee,
Then the action is worthless!

1959

BURN, BURN CLEARLY!


Lyuba writes in the protocol:
“Well, the children in our school!
A speaker came to us,
And the guys are hiding.


Horror, what fidgets!
Every day there are conversations for them,
Every day reports
But they are not happy!


We listened on air
The most interesting “Bonfire”:
The song “Twice two is four”
The honored actor sang.


I read the article to them -
They spin around in their chair;
I ask them a question -
And they fell asleep!..”


Lyuba looked out the window,
And in the garden the link sings:


- Burn, burn clearly,
So that it doesn't go out!
...Birds are flying,
The bells are ringing.


The whole unit sings:
- Burn, burn clearly! -
Lyuba looked out the window,
And everything became clear to her.

1954

SECRET OF SUCCESS


Yura walks around dissatisfied
In apartments, in houses,
Yura asks gloomily
At the neighbor's dads and moms,
Yura asks gloomily:
- Do you have any waste paper?


He is not in good spirits: he took it foolishly
Collect waste paper!


Someone looked at Yura:
“There’s enough to do without you.”


The old man slammed the door
In front of Yura's nose
And mutters: - Believe it or not,
No waste paper.


An aunt came out in a black shawl,
Her lunch was interrupted.
He says: “Who are you?”
Don't bother me!


Who goes to Park of Culture,
Who goes to the doctor for procedures,
And it rings in Yura’s ears:
“We don’t have any waste paper.”


Suddenly some guy is tall
Yura says after him:
- You shouldn’t be walking around with a sour face,
That’s why there’s no point!


Yura instantly straightened his eyebrows,
There's a knock on the door full of energy,
The hostess “how is your health?”
Yura asked cheerfully.


Yura cheerfully asks:
- Do you have any waste paper?


The hostess says: - There is...
Would you like to sit down?

1964

ON THE ROAD, ON THE BOULEVARD

ON THE ROAD, ON THE BOULEVARD


The snowy mountains are shining
Whiteness,
And below, in the gardens of Sofia,
Summer heat.


Lilyana and Tsvetana,
Two little Bulgarians,
Early in the morning in Sofia
We rolled a hoop in the park.


- Roll, my hoop is yellow, -
Tsvetana sang after.-
I want you to go around
All countries, the whole world.


Along the path
Along the boulevard
All over the globe.


And, helping my friend,
Another girl sang:


- Spin, my hoop is yellow,
Shine like the sun!
Wherever you go
Don't go astray!


Along the path
Along the boulevard
All over the globe.


Cheerful children's hoop,
Travel across the planet!
Good regards to you
It was not for nothing that the children were sent.


Along the path
Along the boulevard
All over the globe.

1955

To Spanish children - sons and daughters of republican fighters who fought the fascists in Spain.


Lolita, ten how old are you,
But you're used to everything:
To the night alarm and to the shooting,
To your empty house.


And early in the morning at the gate
You stand alone for a long time.
Are you waiting for:
What if father comes?
But what if
Is the war over?


No, there's a fire again!
Houses are burning.
A shell roars overhead,
And you call the guys again
Look at the craters in the pavement.


A column is passing by you,
And you are a familiar fighter
You shout: “Manolo, good morning!”
Tell your father that I’m alive.”

MAMITA MIA


Black-eyed Maria
Crying outside the carriage window
And he repeats: “Mamita mia!”
And “mamita” means mother.


- Wait! Do not Cry! No need!-
The boy from Malaga whispers.-
We are going to the children of Leningrad.
There are banners, songs, flags!


We will live there with friends.
You will write a letter to your mother.
Celebrate victory together
I'll go to Madrid with you.


But curly Maria
Crying outside the carriage window
And he repeats: “Mamita mia!”
And “mamita” means mother.

I'M WITH YOU


You can sleep. The window is closed
The door is bolted shut.
Eight year old Anita
The eldest is in the house now.


Anita says to her brother:
- The moon in the sky has gone out,
From fascist planes
The darkness will cover us.


Don't be afraid of the dark:
You are not visible in the dark.
And when the battle starts,
Don't be afraid - I'm with you...

OVER THE SEA OF STARS


Stars above the sea,
It's dark in the mountains.
To the gathering of Fernando
Leads the link.
Why appointed
Is it gathering today?
Fascists city
Storming from the mountains.
He let out a dull gasp
There is a shell in the mountains.
Why Fernando
Have you called the guys?
He whispers: - Listen,
The bridge is destroyed
In a village nearby
Fascist post.
Until it dawns
Dawn in the mountains
Let's take rifles
There are no panties here! -
He hooted somewhere again
There's a shell in the distance,
The boys are coming
Chain in a row.
Last one for collection
A link is coming.
Stars above the sea,
It's dark in the mountains.


Roberto... We are sitting together,
And you tell me
About hard days, about war,
About your wounded brother.


About how a shell falls,
Throwing up a column of earth,
And how are your friends, guys,
They were carried to a nearby hospital...


About the fact that the mother often cries,
And there is no news from my father,
And what can you shoot?
No worse than an adult fighter.


You ask me to take you with me,
When the detachment goes to the front.
Roberto, your childish voice
Has become severe this year.


There is a custom in Spain:
What is the name of the palm tree in the grove?
Glorious named after the hero,
Victorious in battle.


You've never been in battle,
Didn't hold a rifle in his hands,
But they named the palm tree in the grove
In your bright memory.


You've never been in battle,
But there was a roar of a shell, -
You were wounded in a peaceful home
On the night when the enemies came.

December 8, 2014, 1:57 pm

♦ Barto Agnia Lvovna (1906-1981) was born on February 17 in Moscow in the family of a veterinarian. She received a good home education, led by her father. She studied at the gymnasium, where she began writing poetry. At the same time she studied at a choreographic school.

♦ Agnia got married early for the first time: at 18 years old. Young handsome poet Pavel Barto, who had English and German ancestors, immediately fell in love with the talented girl Agnia Volova. They both idolized poetry and wrote poetry. That's why mutual language the young people found it right away, but... Nothing but poetic research connected their souls. Yes, they had a common son, Igor, whom everyone at home called Garik. But it was with each other that the young parents suddenly felt incredibly sad.
And they separated. Agnia herself grew up in a strong, friendly family, so divorce was not easy for her. She was worried, but soon she devoted herself entirely to creativity, deciding that she must be true to her calling.

♦ Agnia’s father, Moscow veterinarian Lev Volov, wanted his daughter to become a famous ballerina. In their house, canaries sang and Krylov’s fables were read aloud. He was known as a keen connoisseur of art, loved going to the theater, and especially loved ballet. That’s why young Agnia went to study at a ballet school, not daring to resist her father’s will. However, in between classes, she enthusiastically read poems by Vladimir Mayakovsky and Anna Akhmatova, and then wrote down her creations and thoughts in a notebook. Agnia, according to her friends, at that time looked similar to Akhmatova: tall, with a bob haircut... Under the influence of the creativity of her idols, she began to compose more and more often.

♦ At first these were poetic epigrams and sketches. Then poems appeared. Once, at a dance performance, Agnia read her first poem “Funeral March” from the stage to the music of Chopin. At that moment, Alexander Lunacharsky entered the hall. He immediately recognized Agnia Volova’s talent and suggested that she take up literary work professionally. He later recalled that, despite the serious meaning of the poem that he heard performed by Agnia, he immediately felt that she would write funny poems in the future.

♦ When Agnia was 15 years old, she got a job at the Clothing store - she was too hungry. My father's salary was not enough to feed the whole family. Since she was hired only at the age of 16, she had to lie that she was already 16. Therefore, Barto’s anniversaries (in 2007 was the 100th anniversary of his birth) are still celebrated for two years in a row. ♦ She was always determined: she saw the goal - and forward, without swaying or retreating. This trait of hers appeared everywhere, in every little detail. Once in Spain, torn by the Civil War, where Barto went in 1937 to the International Congress for the Defense of Culture, where she saw firsthand what fascism was (congress meetings were held in the besieged, burning Madrid), and just before the bombing she went to buy castanets. The sky howls, the walls of the store bounce, and the writer makes a purchase! But the castanets are real, Spanish - for Agnia, who danced beautifully, this was an important souvenir. Alexey Tolstoy then he asked Barto sarcastically: had she bought a fan in that store to fan herself during the next raids?..

♦ In 1925, Agnia Barto’s first poems, “The Little Chinese Wang Li” and “The Thief Bear,” were published. They were followed by “The First of May”, “Brothers”, after the publication of which the famous children's writer Korney Chukovsky said that Agnia Barto is a great talent. Some poems were written together with her husband. By the way, despite his reluctance, she kept his last name, with which she lived until the end of her days. And it was with her that she became famous throughout the world.

♦ Barto’s first huge popularity came after the release of the cycle of poetic miniatures for the little ones “Toys” (about a bull, a horse, etc.) - in 1936. Agnia’s books began to be published in gigantic editions...

♦ Fate did not want to leave Agnia alone and one fine day brought her together with Andrey Shcheglyaev. This talented young scientist purposefully and patiently courted the pretty poetess. At first glance these were two completely different people: “lyricist” and “physicist”. Creative, sublime Agnia and heat energy Andrey. But in reality, an extremely harmonious union of two loving hearts was created. According to family members and close friends of Barto, in the almost 50 years that Agnia and Andrei lived together, they never quarreled. Both worked actively, Barto often went on business trips. They supported each other in everything. And both became famous, each in their own field. Agnia’s husband became famous in the field of thermal power engineering, becoming a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences.

♦ Barto and Shcheglyaev had a daughter, Tanya, about whom there was a legend that she was the prototype of the famous poem: “Our Tanya is crying loudly.” But this is not so: poetry appeared earlier. Even when the children grew up, it was decided to always live as a large family under one roof together with the children’s wives and husbands and grandchildren - that’s what Agnia wanted.

♦ At the end of the thirties, she traveled to this “neat, clean, almost toy-like country,” heard Nazi slogans, saw pretty blond girls in dresses “decorated” with swastikas. She realized that war with Germany was inevitable. To her, who sincerely believed in the universal brotherhood of, if not adults, then at least children, all this was wild and scary. But the war itself was not too harsh on her. She did not separate from her husband even during the evacuation: Shcheglyaev, who by that time had become a prominent energy worker, was sent to the Urals. Agnia Lvovna had friends living in those parts who invited her to stay with them. So the family settled in Sverdlovsk. The Urals seemed to be distrustful, closed and stern people. Barto had a chance to meet Pavel Bazhov, who completely confirmed her first impression of local residents. During the war, Sverdlovsk teenagers worked at defense factories instead of adults who went to the front. They were wary of the evacuees. But Agnia Barto needed to communicate with children - she drew inspiration and stories from them. In order to be able to communicate more with them, Barto, on the advice of Bazhov, received the profession of a second-class turner. Standing at the lathe, she proved that she was “also a person.” In 1942, Barto made last try to become an “adult writer.” Or rather, a front-line correspondent. Nothing came of this attempt, and Barto returned to Sverdlovsk. She understood that the whole country lived according to the laws of war, but still she was very homesick for Moscow.

♦ Barto returned to the capital in 1944, and almost immediately life returned to normal. In the apartment opposite the Tretyakov Gallery, the housekeeper Domasha was again doing housework. Friends were returning from evacuation, son Garik and daughter Tatyana began studying again. Everyone was looking forward to the end of the war. On May 4, 1945, Garik returned home earlier than usual. Home was late with lunch, the day was sunny, and the boy decided to ride a bicycle. Agnia Lvovna did not object. It seemed that nothing bad could happen to a fifteen-year-old teenager in a quiet Lavrushinsky lane. But Garik’s bicycle collided with a truck coming around the corner. The boy fell onto the asphalt, hitting his temple on the sidewalk curb. Death came instantly.
With son Igor

♦ We must pay tribute to the fortitude of Agnia Lvovna - she did not break. Moreover, her salvation was the work to which she dedicated her life. After all, Barto also wrote scripts for films. For example, with her participation such famous films as “The Foundling” with Faina Ranevskaya and “Alyosha Ptitsyn Developing Character” were created. She was also active during the war: she went to the front to read her poems, spoke on the radio, and wrote for newspapers. Both after the war and after the personal drama, she did not cease to be at the center of the country's life.
Still from the film "Foundling"

" Alyosha Ptitsyn develops character" (1953)

♦ Later, she was the author of a large-scale campaign to find relatives lost during the war. Agnia Barto began hosting a radio program “Find a Person,” where she read out letters in which people shared fragmentary memories, insufficient for an official search, but viable for “word of mouth.” For example, someone wrote that when he was taken away from home as a child, he remembered the color of the gate and the first letter of the name of the street. Or one girl remembered that she lived with her parents near the forest and her dad’s name was Grisha... And there were people who restored the overall picture. Over the course of several years of work on the radio, Barto was able to unite about a thousand families. When the program was closed, Agniya Lvovna wrote the story “Find a Person,” which was published in 1968.

♦ Agnia Barto, before submitting the manuscript to print, wrote an endless number of versions. Be sure to read poems aloud to family members or over the phone to fellow friends - Kassil, Svetlov, Fadeev, Chukovsky. She listened carefully to criticism, and if she accepted it, she revised it. Although once she categorically refused: the meeting that decided the fate of her “Toys” in the early 30s decided that the rhymes in them - in particular in the famous “They dropped the bear on the floor ...” - were too difficult for children.

Tatyana Shcheglyaeva (daughter)

“She didn’t change anything, and because of this the book came out later than it could have,” remembers daughter Tatyana – Mom was generally a principled and often categorical person. But she had the right to do so: she did not write about what she did not know, and she was sure that children should be studied. All my life I did this: I read letters sent to Pionerskaya Pravda, went to nurseries and kindergartens - sometimes for this I had to introduce myself as an employee of the public education department - listened to what children were talking about, just walking down the street. In this sense, my mother always worked. Surrounded by children (still in his youth)

♦ At home, Barto was the head. The last word was always behind her. The family took care of her and did not demand that she cook cabbage soup or bake pies. Domna Ivanovna did this. After Garik’s death, Agnia Lvovna began to fear for all her relatives. She needed to know where everyone was, that everyone was okay. “Mom was the main helmsman in the house, everything was done with her knowledge,” recalls Barto’s daughter, Tatyana Andreevna. “On the other hand, they took care of her and tried to create working conditions - she didn’t bake pies, didn’t stand in lines, but, of course, she was the mistress of the house. Our nanny Domna Ivanovna lived with us all her life, and she came to the house back in 1925, when my older brother Garik was born. She was a very dear person to us - and a hostess in a different, executive sense. Mom always took her into account. For example, she could ask: “Well, how am I dressed?” And the nanny would say: “Yes, that’s possible” or: “That’s a strange thing to do.”

♦ Agnia has always been interested in raising children. She said: “Children need the whole range of feelings that give rise to humanity” . She went to orphanages and schools and talked a lot with the children. Driving around different countries, came to the conclusion that a child of any nationality has the richest inner world. For many years, Barto headed the Association of Children's Literature and Art Workers and was a member of the international Andersen jury. Barto's poems have been translated into many languages ​​of the world.

♦ She passed away on April 1, 1981. After the autopsy, the doctors were shocked: the vessels turned out to be so weak that it was not clear how the blood had been flowing into the heart for the last ten years. Agnia Barto once said: “Almost every person has moments in life when he does more than he can.” In her case, it was not a minute - she lived her whole life this way.

♦ Barto loved to play tennis and would organize a trip to capitalist Paris to buy a pack of drawing paper she liked. But at the same time, she never had a secretary, or even a work office - only an apartment in Lavrushinsky Lane and an attic at the dacha in Novo-Daryino, where there was an old card table and books were piled in stacks.

♦ She was non-conflict, loved practical jokes and did not tolerate arrogance and snobbery. One day she arranged a dinner, set the table, and attached a sign to each dish: “Black caviar - for academicians”, “Red caviar - for corresponding members”, “Crabs and sprats - for doctors of science”, “Cheese and ham - for candidates ", "Vinaigrette - for laboratory assistants and students." They say that the laboratory assistants and students were sincerely amused by this joke, but the academicians did not have enough of a sense of humor - some of them were then seriously offended by Agnia Lvovna.

♦ Seventies. At the Writers' Union meeting with Soviet cosmonauts. On a piece of paper from a notebook, Yuri Gagarin writes: “They dropped the bear on the floor...” and hands it to the author, Agnia Barto. When Gagarin was later asked why these particular poems, he replied: “This is the first book about goodness in my life.”

Updated 08/12/14 14:07:

Oops... I forgot to insert a piece from myself at the beginning of the post)) Probably, it was Agnia Barto’s poems that influenced the fact that since childhood I have felt sorry for dogs, cats, grandparents who beg for alms (I’m not talking about those who like They stand watch every day in the same subway passages...). I remember, as a child, I watched the cartoon “Cat’s House” and literally cried - I felt so sorry for the Cat and the Cat, because their house burned down, but the kittens, who themselves had nothing, felt sorry for them))))) (I know it's Marshak). But the poor child (me) cried from his pure, naive, childish kindness! And I learned kindness not only from my mom and dad, but also from books and poems that Barto wrote. So Gagarin said very precisely...

Updated 08/12/14 15:24:

The persecution of Chukovsky in the 30s

This was a fact. Chukovsky’s children’s poems were subjected to severe persecution during the Stalinist era, although it is known that Stalin himself repeatedly quoted “The Cockroach.” The initiator of the persecution was N.K. Krupskaya, inadequate criticism came from both Agnia Barto and Sergei Mikhalkov. Among the party critics of the editors, even the term “Chukovism” arose. Chukovsky took it upon himself to write an orthodox Soviet work for children, “Merry Collective Farm,” but did not do so. Although other sources say that she did not completely poison Chukovsky, but simply did not refuse to sign some kind of collective paper. On the one hand, not in a comradely way, but on the other... Decide for yourself) In addition, in last years Barto visited Chukovsky in Peredelkino, they maintained correspondence... So either Chukovsky is so kind, or Barto asked for forgiveness, or we don’t know much.

In addition, Barto was also seen harassing Marshak. I quote: " Barto came to the editorial office and saw proofs of Marshak’s new poems on the table. And he says: “Yes, I can write such poems every day!” To which the editor replied: “I beg you, write them at least every other day...”

Updated 09/12/14 09:44:

I continue to expand on the topic of bullying)) As for Marshak and others.

At the end of 1929 - beginning of 1930. on the pages of Literaturnaya Gazeta a discussion “For a truly Soviet children's book” unfolded, which posed three tasks: 1) to expose all kinds of hackwork in the field of children's literature; 2) contribute to the establishment of principles for the creation of truly Soviet children's literature; 3) unite qualified personnel of real children's writers.

From the very first articles that opened this discussion, it became clear that it had followed dangerous path, along the way of persecuting the best children's writers. The works of Chukovsky and Marshak were summed up under the rubric of “defective literature” and simply hack work. Some participants in the discussion “discovered” the “alien direction of Marshak’s literary talent” and concluded that he was “obviously alien to us in ideology,” and his books were “harmful and meaningless.” Having started in the newspaper, the discussion soon spread to some magazines. The discussion exaggerated the mistakes of talented authors and promoted the non-fiction works of some writers.

The nature of the attacks, the tone in which these attacks were expressed were absolutely unacceptable, as a group of Leningrad writers stated in their letter: "The attacks on Marshak are in the nature of bullying."