Maria Moravskaya

Maria Magdalina Francheska Ludvigovna Moravskaya (or Moravsky; ; Maria Coughlan in the marriage; 12 January 1890 Warsaw, Russian Empire – 26 June 1947 Miami, US or after 1958 Chile) was a Russian and American poet, writer, translator and literary critic. She wrote several poetical collections and prose works, include works on children literature.

She was ethnic Polish and an active participant in the liberal-democratic movement in Russian Empire in the early 20th century. In 1917 she emigrated from Russia to the US, living and writing in Florida. Information about her last years and death is contradictory: according to some sources, she died in 1947 in Miami, but other sources tell that she died in Chile not earlier than 1958.

Life

Early life Maria Moravskaya was born on 12 January 1890 (or 31 December 1889 by the Julian calendar) in Warsaw to a Catholic non-rich Polish family. When she was two years old her mother died. After that Ludvig Moravskiy, her father, married the sister of his deceased spouse. Then the Moravskaya family moved to Odessa. and later several times gifts her own books to her. Gippius in her letter to Chukovsky described Moravskaya as "extremely talented person". I feel myself cold and dead from this. But I feel great joy from Moravskaya!

In early 1914, the first almanac of poems by Moravskaya named "На пристани" (On the Pier) had been issued. Expert in literature Razumnik Ivanov-Razumnik, several months before the publication of this almanac, had sent a draft of it to his authoritative colleagues including Andrei Bely and Valery Bryusov.