Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin

Today we note the birth date of Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin (October 22, 1870 – November 8, 1953), first Russian writer awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was noted for the strict artistry with which he carried on the classical Russian traditions in the writing of prose and poetry.

The texture of his poems and stories, sometimes referred to as "Bunin brocade", is considered to be one of the richest in the language. He is best known for his short novels The Village (1910) and Dry Valley (1912), his autobiographical novel The Life of Arseniev (1933, 1939), the book of short stories Dark Avenues (1946) and his 1917–1918 diary (Cursed Days, 1926).

Here is one of his poems for your consideration:

The Pleiades

It's dark. Not caring where I go, which path I follow
Past sleepy ponds I stroll.
Of autumn freshness, leaves and fruit the fragrance mellow
Drifts over all.
The garden's almost bare, and through the branches whitely
The stars of evening show.
Dead silence reigns. Murk clothes the paths. It's nighttime.
My steps are slow.
They're slow, but wake the hush… High in the sky's cool
darkness,
A princely diadem,
The icy Pleiades blaze diamond-like and sparkle,
Each one a gem.

--Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin