Berberova, Nina Nikolayevna

▪ 1994

      Russian-born writer (b. Aug. 8, 1901, St. Petersburg, Russia—d. Sept. 26, 1993, Philadelphia, Pa.), was an important figure in Russian-émigré literary circles, but she did not gain wide renown for her writings until she was in her 80s. Berberova began composing poetry as a young girl and, while attending avant-garde literary meetings in St. Petersburg, she met famed poet Vladislav Khodasevich. The two left the country in 1922 and traveled in Europe—living for a time in Berlin and later on the Italian island of Capri with Maxim Gorky—before settling in Paris, then the centre of the émigré community. Berberova's short stories, which were published in Russian-language newspapers and magazines, and her novels centred on the Russian expatriate community and were largely distributed and limited to that small group. After leaving Khodasevich in 1935, Berberova worked as a journalist, translator, and typist while writing several biographies, notably one of Tchaikovsky. In 1947 she helped found the weekly Russkaya Mysl' ("Russian Thought"). Three years later, without a command of English, Berberova immigrated to the U.S. with only two suitcases and $75. She secured a teaching position at Yale University even though she had no diploma; she later taught (1963-71) at Princeton University. In 1969 her autobiography, The Italics Are Mine, was published in English, followed by the original Russian version in 1972. During the late 1980s translated collections of her extended short stories became best-sellers in France. In 1991 The Tattered Cloak and Other Novels was published in the U.S., and in 1993 a film based on her story "The Accompanist" was released.

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