Marfa Kryukova
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Marfa Semyonovna Kryukova (Russian: Марфа Семёновна Крюкова, born 1876, Verkhnyaya Zolotitsa, Arkhangelsky Uyezd, Arkhangelsk Governorate (currently Primorsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast), Russia — 7 January 1954, Verkhnyaya Zolotitsa) was a Russian folklore performer and a storyteller.
Marfa Kryukova was born in the Pomor village of Verkhnyaya Zolotitsa on the White Sea north-east of Arkhangelsk. Her mother, Agrafena Kryukova, was known as a storyteller and a folklore performer. Kryukova never married; her lifelong interest in literature was apparently an obstacle to potential suitors.[1] She lived most of her life in poverty.
In 1899, as Russian interest in northern folklore was at its peak, Alexey Markov, then a student, visited Verkhnyaya Zolotitsa and recorded a number of tales and byliny from Agrafena and Marfa Kryukova, which he subsequently published. After the initial publication of her work by Markov, interest in her stories declined.
