BUNIN, IVAN ALEXEYEVICH ), Russian poet and novelist, was born Oct. io, 187o, of noble family in Voronesh. His first poems were published in 1889. His poems were awarded the Pushkin prize, the highest academic distinc tion in Russia, and the same distinction was awarded to his translation of Longfellow's "Hiawatha." His other masterly translations from English poets include those of Byron's "Man fred" and "Cain," and of Tennyson's "Lady Godiva." In 1909 he was elected a member of the Russian Academy.
Bunin's poetry is mainly descriptive—not lyric—impassive, of classic simplicity and harmony, of jewelled perfection, mi nute observation and vivid perception of colour. He ranks high est, however, as a prose writer. The best known among his novels, tales and short stories are The Village, A Gentleman from San Francisco, Suchodol, An Evening in the Spring. The first two have been translated into English, as also Dreams of Chang and other Stories. There is much affinity in his novels with Turgeniev and Chekhov—but he might be best described as the Russian Flaubert. He is a great master of classic prose.
See Prince D. Svyatopolk-Mirsky, Modern Russian Literature, p. 96. (1925).