The writer

Anton Chekhov

The writer ( Russian Писатель , Pissatel ) is a short story by the Russian writer Anton Chekhov , which appeared on November 11, 1885 in the Peterburgskaja Gazeta . During the author's lifetime, this parody of penetrating advertising texts was translated into Polish and Slovak.

content

The merchant Sakhar Semyonych Yerschakow, a wealthy tea merchant, does not even turn around when he replies to the greeting of the aged writer who enters his shop with "What's nice, Mr. Heinius?" Jerschakow invented the name pejoratively from Heine and Genius .

The gray-haired writer keeps his head above water with advertising copy for merchants. Yershakov praises Heinius' new commissioned work. Almost everything desired is contained in the little work - a reference to the long history of the Yershakov family and also to the diverse business connections in the Chinese tea-growing regions . But the businessman would like to include a little hint: The tea that has just arrived - at the beginning of the spring season in 1885 - has already been stored in the house for three years.

The skilful scribe Heinius works in the antinomy in such a way that some casual reading tea buyers will probably skip it and rather look forward to the promised giveaways. The writer wants to be paid on the spot when the work is done. Yershakov only gives in kind. Heinius is allowed to choose goods worth five rubles fifty in the store. The writer takes powdered sugar , sells it at a loss and complains: “I am betraying Russia ! ... I betray the fatherland for a piece of bread! "

filming

• 1998, Russia , VID-TV and Chekhov Art Theater Moscow : Chekhov and Company , Season 2 (Russian) by Sinowi Roisman, Dmitri Brusnikin and Alexander Feklistow with Sergei Jurski as writer "Heinius".

Used edition

• Gerhard Dick (Hrsg.), Wolf Düwel (Hrsg.): Anton Chekhov: Collected works in individual volumes : The writer . P. 416–420 in: Gerhard Dick (Ed.): Anton Chekhov: From the rain to the eaves. Short stories. Translated from Russian by Ada Knipper and Gerhard Dick. With a foreword by Wolf Düwel. 630 pages. Rütten & Loening, Berlin 1964 (1st edition)

Web links

• The text
  • Wikisource: Писатель (Чехов) (Russian)
  • online in Lib.ru (Russian)
  • online in FEB (Russian)
• Chekhov Bibliography, Entry Stories No. 329 (Russian)
• Reference to first appearance in the Laboratory of Fantastics (Russian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Note under The Writer (Russian) in FEB on pp. 497–498
2. ↑ Edition used, p. 416, 5th Zvu
3. ↑ Edition used, p. 420, 10th Zvu
4. ↑ Russian ВИD
5. ↑ Russian Чехов и Ко
6. ↑ Russian Ройзман, Зиновий Александрович
7. ↑ Russian Брусникин, Дмитрий Владимирович
8. ↑ Entry in WorldCat