Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva  (1892 –1941) was a Russian poet, playwright, and journalist born into an artistic, affluent family.  As a child, she traveled extensively with her family, was well educated and, though her mother wanted her  to follow in her footsteps as a concert pianist, Marina declared herself a poet early on and self-published her first collection  at the age of 18. Well received, it was the beginning of a writing career which brought acclaim and respect but not much money. Marina’s entire adult life was spent in poverty and her tragic life, which included numerous affairs, losing a daughter to starvation, the imprisonment of another daughter and the execution of her  husband for espionage activity,  ended in suicide. Despite her sad life, her poetry is often beautiful and  uplifting and has frequently been set to music.