lgbt-ee:Sophia Parnok (1885-1933), often dubbed as “the Russian Sappho”, wasRussia&rsq
lgbt-ee:Sophia Parnok (1885-1933), often dubbed as “the Russian Sappho”, was Russia’s first openly-lesbian poet. Parnok was born in the city of Taganrog to a Jewish pharmacist’s family. She studied at the Mariinskaya Gymnasium in 1894–1903, traveled through Europe, then studied at the Geneva Conservatory, although a lack of financial means made her return to Taganrog in 1904.At the beginning of World War I, she met the young poet Marina Tsvetaeva, with whom she became involved in a love affair that left important imprints on the poetry of both women. The lyrics in Parnok’s Poems presented the first, non-decadent, lesbian-desiring subject ever to be heard in a book of Russian poetry.Sophia chose to live openly and write about her relationships with eight women – to each of whom she dedicated several poems, the one pictured in this post being a poem to Nina Vedeneyeva, Parnok’s last love -- source link
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