About Anna Akhmatova

The world-renowned Russian poet, translator and critic, Anna Akhmatova, whose brilliant visionary works are among the most important contributions to the 20th century literature, lived under extreme duress during the years of Stalin Terror in Russia. Surrounded by a small circle of dedicated friends, Akhmatova managed to create a body of work of great power and beauty.

We have compiled a collection of online resources about Akhmatova and her work. If you have a few minutes, we encourage you to read the biographical note and listen to Akhmatova's voice reading her lyric poems. Or, if you have an hour, you may appreciate this rare recording of Akhmatova reading her epic, Poem Without A Hero. You may also like to browse through the collection of her images, visit her museum in St. Petersburg, or view numerous monuments erected around the world. If you speak other languages, you may also appreciate this collection in Italian, or web-archive of her work in Russian.

You may also enjoy hearing the voices of Akhmatova’s friends: Osip Mandelshtam, Boris Pasternak and Joseph Brodsky.

Our Mission

Anna Akhmatova Foundation is an organization dedicated to furthering the vision of poet Anna Akhmatova by supporting and nurturing the literary arts in the community at large. The foundation was formed in 2004 to provide patronage to authors and to connect literary communities around the world. Through our annual Akhmatova Award For Excellence in Writing and our unique Online Mentoring for Writers program as well as our New Literature in Translation project, Anna Akhmatova Foundation hopes to support the work of established and aspiring authors around the world.

Because poet Anna Akhmatova was also a literary critic and translator and because many of her life-long friends -- Boris Pasternak, Osip and Nadezhda Mandelshtam, Michael Bulgakov -- also authored brilliant works of prose, Anna Akhmatova Foundation’s unique approach honors and supports diverse expressions in the field of literary arts – poetry, fiction, translation, criticism, non-fiction and memoir.

Through our various programs, Anna Akhmatova Foundation strives to provide very practical help, both materially and in professional guidance and moral support, to authors.

Director
Ilana Gorodinskaya

Board Members
Jane Hirshfield
Molly Peacock
Anna Beth Young
Eleanor Wilner
Franz Wright

Contact
Anna Akhmatova Foundation
11030 Hartsook Street, Ste 213
North Hollywood, CA 91601