Bunin, Ivan (Alekseyevich)

(born Oct. 10, 1870, Voronezh, Russia—died Nov.

8, 1953, Paris, France) Russian poet and novelist. He worked as a journalist and clerk while writing and translating poetry, but he made his name as a short-story writer, with such masterpieces as the title story of The Gentleman from San Francisco (1916). His other works include the novella Mitya's Love (1925), the collection Dark Avenues, and Other Stories (1943), fictional autobiography, memoirs, and books on Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov. He was the first Russian awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature (1933) and is among the best stylists in the language.