Умная маша

by Д.Б. Колпакова (Editor), Нина Гернет, Даниил Хармс

Умная Маша. Состав, подготовка текста, сопроводительные статьи Д. Б. Колпаковой. СПб., Детгиз, 2009.

87 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Stephen Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comics were not widespread in the Soviet Union, but one of the earliest and most famous examples was the series about Умная Маша (Clever Masha) in the children's magazine Chizh, with illustrations by Bronislav Malakhovsky and text by Nina Gernet, Daniil Kharms, and others. Masha uses her cleverness to solve various everyday problems, such as how not to get tired while sledding (devise a contraption to send the sled back up the hill) or how to rake leaves (attach a rake to your brother Vitya's bicycle). Masha became so popular that children would write letters to her and call the editorial office to speak to her (someone on the staff with a childish voice would respond).

This attractive edition gives a lot of interesting biographical background. There seems to have been a constant flow of talented writers and artists in the office on Nevsky Prospect who got into various escapades and literary challenges, which were sometimes reflected in what they published. This merry atmosphere ended tragically in 1937, when several Chizh contributors were arrested. Malakhovsky was shot, and later Kharms was arrested and died in prison. Under a new magazine staff, Clever Masha's adventures ended.