A Letter to Mother

About the work

A poem written as a letter, in which the speaker, after a long separation, addresses his mother who lives in the village. He reassures her, remembers his childhood home and admits how tired he is of life in the city. One of Yesenin's best-known poems, with very simple language.

Contents

1. IChapter 1

How it was written

The poem was written in 1924 and published the same year in the magazine Krasnaya Nov (Red Virgin Soil).

Context

Yesenin wrote about the gap between the village he came from and the city where he lived. The poem is short, with a conversational tone, and works well for reading aloud.

Interesting facts

• A shushun (шушун) is an old-fashioned peasant garment, a short jacket or padded coat.
• The poem has been set to music and became a popular romance.