Alexander Bisk was a poet, translator, and literary figure, best known as the first translator of Rainer Maria Rilke's poetry into Russian.

Early Life and Education

Alexander Bisk was born on 29 January 1883 in Kyiv, into the family of a jeweller, Akim Solomonovich Bisk. The family later moved to Odessa, a city that would become his true spiritual homeland and remain central to his literary identity.

He studied at the Emperor Nicholas I Commercial School in Odessa, graduating with honours.
Beginnings of His Literary Career

Bisk made his literary debut on 4 May 1903 in the Kyiv publication Yugo-Zapadnaya Nedelya (Southwestern Week). 
In Odessa, he quickly became part of the local intellectual community and an active member of the Literary and Artistic Society. Among his acquaintances were Korney Chukovsky, Vladimir Jabotinsky, Leonid Grossman, Isa Kremer, Dmitry Tsenzor, and other prominent cultural figures.

Odessa at the time was a city alive with literature, debates about art, and new European artistic movements. Bisk became an integral part of this vibrant intellectual atmosphere.
Europe and the Discovery of Rilke

In late 1904, Alexander Bisk travelled to Germany to continue his education. In 1905, he enrolled at Leipzig University. It was there that he made the literary discovery that would define his place in literary history: the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke. Deeply impressed by the emotional depth and musical quality of Rilke's verse, Bisk became the first translator to introduce his poetry into Russian.

In December 1906, the newspaper Odesskiye Novosti (Odessa News) published Bisk's first translations of Rilke, years before the Austrian poet gained widespread recognition in the Russian Empire.

Interestingly, Bisk's first published literary translation was not from Rilke but a prose work by Knut Hamsun, which he translated following a journey to Norway.

Paris

Between 1906 and 1911, Bisk lived in Paris. There, he became involved in the Russian émigré community and met leading poets and intellectuals associated with the Silver Age of Russian literature.

His publication of revolutionary poetry in the magazine Krasnoye Znamya (Red Banner) complicated and delayed his return to Russia.

In 1912, his first poetry collection, The Scattered Necklace (Rassypannoye Ozherelye), was published in St. Petersburg.

Odessa During the Revolutionary Years

Upon returning to Odessa, Bisk once again became deeply involved in the city's literary life. He contributed to several local publications, including the magazine Krokodil, where he used the pseudonym Alibi, the almanac Sunny Path (1914), and, after 1917, the magazine Figaro. He supported young writers and organised literary gatherings and poetry evenings.

In 1914, together with Pyotr Pilsky, Alexander Bisk organised a celebrated poetry evening at which three future literary figures made their first public appearances: Eduard Bagritsky, Valentin Kataev, and Anatoly Fioletov.

Through his work as an organiser and mentor, Bisk helped introduce a new generation of Odessa writers to the literary world.

Emigration

Alexander Bisk married the violinist Berta Turyanskaya. In 1919, their son Anatoly was born. He would later become internationally known as the French poet Alain Bosquet.

That same year, the Odessa publishing house Omphalos released an important volume, Rainer Maria Rilke: Collected Poems, translated by Bisk.

In January 1920, the family emigrated. They initially settled in Varna, Bulgaria, before moving to Belgium. During these years, Bisk worked in a bank and developed an interest in stamp collecting. Following the German invasion of Belgium in 1940, Bisk and his wife were forced to flee to southern France.

America

In 1942, the family moved to the United States. Bisk settled in New York, where he would spend almost thirty years.

He became a member of the Odessa expatriate community in New York and served as chairman of the Circle of Russian Poets in America. After a long interruption, Bisk returned to translating Rilke.

In 1957, a substantial volume entitled Selected Works of Rainer Maria Rilke was published in Paris, containing approximately 150 of his translations. The book was dedicated to his son, Alain Bosquet. Boris Pasternak highly praised Bisk's achievement as a translator.

In 1962, Bisk's final book, The Foreign and the Familiar: Selected Poems, 1903–1961, was published in Paris.

Tragic Death

In 1973, Alexander Bisk celebrated his ninetieth birthday. Despite his advanced age, he retained a remarkably clear memory and could still recite lengthy literary works from memory. Soon afterwards, tragedy struck. On the night of 30 April to 1 May 1973, a fire broke out at the Manhattan Hotel in New York, where Bisk was living. Because of his hearing difficulties, the poet did not hear the fire alarm and died from smoke inhalation.

Alexander Akimovich Bisk was buried in the Odessa section of Beth-El Jewish Cemetery in New York, far from the city that had remained at the heart of his memories and poetry.

Bibliography
● The Scattered Necklace (Rassypannoye Ozherelye). St. Petersburg, 1912.● Rainer Maria Rilke: Collected Poems. Odessa, 1919.● Selected Works of Rainer Maria Rilke. Paris, 1957.● The Foreign and the Familiar: Selected Poems, 1903–1961. Paris, 1962.