A. Volkov is an excellent scientist, teacher and translator, who during his creative career has written several popular science works, historical novels and science fiction novels, as well as translated into Russian many works of popular foreign authors. He became known to a wide circle of readers thanks to a series of children's books written based on the tales of the American writer Baum, who tells the story of a wizard from the country of Oz.
Short biography: Volkov A.M. (childhood)
The writer was born on June 14, 1891 in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk in a family of a simple estate. His father was a retired sergeant major, and his mother worked as a dressmaker, both knew letters, so at the age of three, little Sasha already knew how to read. The love of fairy tales was instilled in him by his mother, who, according to the writer’s recollections, knew many of them and in her spare time she always told her son interestingly and in a new way.
The family lived very modestly and there were few such luxuries as books in the house. In order to be able to read as much as possible and earn a little money, a guy at the age of eight learned to famously bind the books of his father's neighbors and colleagues. A. Volkov from childhood read the works of such pen masters as Pushkin, Lermontov, Nekrasov, Nikitin, Jules Verne, Dickens, Mine Reed. The work of these writers significantly influenced his fate in the future.
Youth
At the age of twelve, a talented boy graduated with honors from the city school, where at the end of the Tomsk Teachers Institute he entered the service as a teacher of mathematics. Starting from 1910, Alexander worked as a teacher first in Kolyvan, and then returned to his native Ust-Kamenogorsk, where in 1915 he met his future wife - dance teacher Kaleria Gubina. Having the ability not only to exact sciences, A. Volkov independently studied German and French and began to try his hand as a translator.
Soviet period
Volkov published his first poems in 1917 in the city newspaper Siberian Light, and in 1918 he took an active part in the creation of the newspaper Friend of the People. Imbued with revolutionary ideas about universal education, Volkov teaches at teacher training courses in Ust-Kamenogorsk and, at the same time, writes comedy plays that are staged in theaters for children. Having moved to Yaroslavl in the twenties, he holds the position of director of the school and graduates in absentia from the mathematical faculty of the city pedagogical institute. In the thirties A. Volkov with his wife and two sons moved to Moscow to head the educational part of the Faculty of Labor.
At the same time, for half a year, having completed a training course, externally passes exams at the University of Moscow at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. In 1931, the Moscow Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals and Gold was created, in which Volkov worked for many years. First, as a teacher, and later assistant professor of higher mathematics. In addition to scientific and teaching activities, Volkov throughout his life was actively engaged in literary work.
Volkov Alexander Melentievich: books, biography of the writer
The first samples of Volkov’s pen were as early as twelve years old, inspired by Defoe’s novel “Robinson Crusoe”, he is trying to write his own adventure novel. Then he is fond of poetry, the poetic fruits of which in 1916-1917 are published under the general title "Dreams" in the newspaper "Siberian Light".
During his life in Ust-Kamenogorsk and Yaroslavl, Volkov also writes a number of plays for a children's audience: “Village School”, “Eagle's Beak”, “Fern Flower”, “Home Teacher”, “In a Dead Corner”. These and other plays in the twenties were staged in city theaters and were very popular among young spectators.
In 1937, A. Volkov completed work on the historical story “The Wonderful Ball”, which was published in 1940. The work tells about the political prisoner of the times of the Russian Empress Elizabeth, who managed to leave the dungeon with the help of a balloon (the original name is “The First Ballooner”).
Emerald city and its heroes
In the same year, wanting to practice his English, Alexander Melentievich took up the translation of the tale "An Amazing Wizard from the Country of Oz." Fascinated by the translation process and the plot of the tale, Volkov decides to make it more colorful, he gives the characters new qualities and adds adventure. Volkov sent the manuscript to the book for approval to the children's writer Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak, who not only approved it, but strongly recommended the author to engage in literary activities on a professional basis. In 1939, a book entitled “The Wizard of the Emerald City” with illustrations by the artist Nikolai Radlov was published, it won the hearts of many readers and became the beginning of the famous cycle of the same name. In 1941, Volkov Alexander Melentievich became a member of the organization of professional writers of the Soviet Union.
War period
The theme of adventure and science fiction stories during the war goes to another plane, all the works of the author of this period have a military and patriotic orientation. So, in the works “Invisible Fighters” of 1942 and “Airplanes in War” of 1946, the importance of mathematics in modern types of weapons is discussed. Volkov also writes many patriotic plays and poems for the media. His historical works “Glorious Pages on the History of Russian Artillery” and “Mathematics in Military Affairs” also emphasize the strength and invincibility of the Soviet army.
In the post-war period, historical novels came out of the author’s pen: “Two Brothers”, “Architects”, “Wanderings”, as well as science fiction works “Earth and Sky: Entertaining Stories on Geography and Astronomy”, “Travelers in the Third Millennium ".
Return to the magical land
In 1963, the author, inspired by the success of the first book about adventures in the fairy land of the girl Ellie, the doggie Totoszka and their fairy friends, publishes books that continue the fairy-tale cycle: “Oorfene Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers”, “Seven Underground Kings” (1967), “The fiery god of the Marrans” (1968), “The Yellow Fog” (1970), “The Mystery of the Abandoned Castle”. Alexander Volkov writes all the books as completely independent, the works are united by only the main characters of a fairy-tale country. Even the girl Ellie, having matured, could no longer return to the magical world and the new heroine Annie with the doggie Artoshka comes to the aid of fabulous friends.
Alexander Melentievich died in 1977 on July 3, leaving behind a rich legacy in the form of translations of the works of famous foreign authors, popular science works, historical novels and, of course, the adventures of the heroes of the Emerald City.