Northern Heart

Boris Shergin (1893–1973) — an outstanding Russian storyteller, folklorist, and artist, the "Archangel Bazhov," an amazing master of language, flesh of the flesh of the folk creativity of the Russian North. Considering himself primarily a "storyteller," Shergin became famous for... his adaptations of ancient fairy tales and bylina, uniquely poetic stories about Pomors and northern sailors, about "marine service" and harsh northern beauty. With unmatched precision and love, Shergin recreates the atmosphere, everyday life, and dialectical features of his native land.
The creative range of the master is astonishing, reflected in "Northern Heart" in its entirety: from the solemnly mournful "antiquities" to the juicy language of grotesque adventure and subtle psychological insight of "old merchant" romance. Even those who haven't read these bylina and tales, stories about elegant masters, state feeders, brigand sons, and the confessor fox, surely know since childhood the animated films "Golden Foreheads" and "The Magic Ring," "Vanya of Denmark," "About Ersha Ershovich," and many others, based on Shergin's fairy tales, voiced by such actors as Oleg Tabakov and Evgeny Leonov, Leonid Kuravlev and Lev Durov, set to music by such composers as Eduard Artemyev, Vladimir Martynov, Vladimir Dashkevich…
As masterfully as with words, Shergin also wielded a brush, virtuously combining techniques of northern modernism and folk motifs of Pomorye. "Northern Heart" includes a representative selection of his illustrations, graphics, and sketches.