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• www.lyrikline.org: Poetry from all over the world
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One of the greatest short-story writers and dramatist in world literature, Anton Chekhov practised as a doctor throughout his working life.

Born to a physically abusive father who ran a grocery store and was a pillar of the local Orthodox Christian community in Taganrog in southern Russia, Chekhov always remembered his childhood with fear and sadness. Fleeing to Moscow after bankruptcy threatened to send Pavel Chekhov to debtor's prison, the family left Anton behind to sell their possessions and finish his education.

Having done this, supporting himself with a series of part-time jobs, Chekhov went to Moscow University. There he supported himself and his family by writing humorous sketches and vignettes.

Qualifying as a physician in 1884, Chekhov quickly contracted tuberculosis, although he kept his suffering secret from his family. Continuing to write, Chekhov began to draw attention from established writers and in 1887 he won the Pushkin Prize for his story At Dusk. Thereafter, his career went from strength to strength, although the poor reception of The Seagull on its opening night in 1896 caused Chekhov to renounce the theatre.

In 1901, Chekhov married actress Olga Knipper. Relations between the two are thought to have been rather open with long periods apart affording ample opportunity for both parties to pursue private affairs. However, by 1904 Chekhov was very seriously ill. He died finally in a health spa in the Black Forest.