Who was Maxim Gorky
Alexey Maksimovich Peshkov was born in Nizhny Novgorod in 1868. From the very beginning of his life, Gorky endured poverty and suffering. His father died when Gorky was young, after which he lived with his maternal grandparents. Gorky largely received no formal education; however, by the time he was 10 years old, he was forced to work.
In his youth, Gorky worked in various responsible jobs and spent a lot of time traveling around Russia. He was a laborer, kitchen boy, gardener and other manual jobs. All of these experiences played an important role in his work as an author and provided him with first-hand information about people on the margins of society.
Also Read: Jim Rohn’s Monday Motivation: “If there is one essential ingredient to your successful quest for wealth and happiness, it is…” – Why Small Daily Habits Can Create Lasting Success
Gorky learned from books and began publishing under the name Maxim Gorky, which translates as “Maxim Gorky.” His stories quickly established Gorky as a unique literary figure due to their emphasis on the lives of workers and wanderers.
He soon became one of the most famous writers in Russia. Among his most popular works are “At the Depths,” “Mother,” and the autobiographical trilogy including “My Childhood,” “In the World,” and “My Universities.”
The Lower Depths, which premiered in 1902, became famous for its particularly raw portrait of poor people living in a boarding house.
Gorky’s life was firmly connected with the political events that took place in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. He was an activist who took part in many revolutionary movements and had strong connections with the Bolsheviks. However, at the same time, after the Russian Revolution of 1917, Gorky defended the interests of the intelligentsia and artists.
Quote of the day by Maxim Gorky
“The good qualities in our soul are most successfully and powerfully awakened by the power of art. Just as science is the mind of the world, art is its soul.”
Quote taken from Untimely Thoughts: Essays on Revolution, Culture, and the Bolsheviks, 1917–1918.a collection of Gorky’s essays and observations from the turbulent revolutionary period.
What did Gorky mean when he said: “Art is the soul”?
Gorky makes a clear difference between cognition and understanding through emotions. According to him, science shows the world’s ability to explore, think and understand. Science can show how something works, reveal its patterns, and add to the stock of human knowledge.
Art is another matter. The author can help the reader feel the pain of another person. An artist can convey an emotion without explaining it. Music can evoke emotions and memories that cannot be expressed in words.
Read also: Quote of the day from the “father of collectivist anarchism” Mikhail Bakunin: “When people are beaten with a stick…” – a harsh lesson about power, freedom, democracy and human dignity
This is why Gorky speaks of art as “the soul of the world.” An artist can evoke qualities such as sympathy, empathy and humanity.
This approach was especially appropriate for his literary work, since he mainly concentrated on people living poor and unhappy lives, and gave his readers access to a life that was largely unknown to others.
More quotes from Maxim Gorky
“When work is pleasure, life is joy! When work is duty, life is slavery.”
“Happiness always seems small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go and you will immediately understand how big and precious it is.”
“You shouldn’t be afraid of anything in life. It’s all an experiment.”