Ukrainian poet has the largest circulation abroad. Men in Ukrainian literature
© tochka.netBeing a writer is a special and important job. It is very important to correctly convey your thoughts to readers. It is especially difficult to be a writer, since there is a stereotype that a writer must be a man. Women, in turn, express thoughts more vividly and expressively.
Ukrainian writers are a special flavor of Ukrainian literature. They write as they feel, while popularizing Ukrainian language, making a huge contribution to its development.
We have selected for you 11 of the most popular modern Ukrainian writers who have brought a lot of high-quality works to Ukrainian literature.
1. Irena Karpa
Experimenter, journalist and just bright personality. She's not afraid to write explicit works, because in them she shows her real self.
Irena Karpa © facebook.com/i.karpa
The most popular works: “50 pieces of grass”, “Froid bi weeping”, “Good and evil”.
2. Lada Luzina
Although Lada Luzina Ukrainian writer, she still remains Russian-speaking. Lada Luzina also combines theater criticism and journalism with her writing activities.
Lada Luzina © facebook.com/lada.luzina
The most popular works: “Collection of stories and novellas: I am a witch!”
3. Lina Kostenko
This outstanding Ukrainian writer is very for a long time was banned - her texts were not published. But her willpower was always higher, so she was able to achieve recognition and convey her thoughts to people.
Lina Kostenko © facebook.com/pages/Lina-Kostenko
The most popular works: “Marusya Churay”, “Notes of a Ukrainian Madman”.
4. Katerina Babkina
A poet who is not afraid to write about taboo topics. In parallel, it also leads journalistic activity and writes scripts.
Katerina Babkina © facebook.com/pages/Kateryna-Babkina
The most popular works: “The Fires of St. Elmo”, “Girchitsya”, “Sonya”
5. Larisa Denisenko
A writer who can combine incompatible things. She is an outstanding lawyer, TV presenter and one of the best writers in Ukraine.
Larisa Denisenko © pravobukvarik.pravoua.computers.net.ua
The most popular works: “Corporation of Idiots”, “Pomilkov’s Interception or Life Behind the Layout Killed”, “Cavous Smack of Cinnamon”
6. Svetlana Povalyaeva
A journalist who can very accurately convey the mood of society with her works.
Svetlana Povalyaeva © Tatyana Davydenko,
Modern Ukrainian literature is created by writers of a new generation, such as: Yuri Andrukhovich, Alexander Irvanets, Yuri Izdrik, Oksana Zabuzhko, Nikolai Ryabchuk, Yuri Pokalchuk, Konstantin Moskalets, Natalka Belotserkovets, Vasily Shklyar, Evgenia Kononenko, Andrey Kurkov, Ivan Malkovich, Bohdan Zholdak, Sergey Zhadan, Pavel Ivanov-Ostoslavsky, Alexandra Barbolina and others.
Yuri Andrukhovich – one of the most famous Ukrainian cultural figures. His works are very popular not only in Ukraine, but also abroad. Andrukhovych’s books and journalistic works are translated and published in many European countries.
1993: Laureate literary prize Blagovist
1996: Ray Lapika Award
2001: Herder Prize
2005: Received a special prize as part of the Peace Prize. Erich Maria Remarque
2006: Prize for European Understanding (Leipzig, Germany)
Western criticism identifies Andrukhovych as one of the most prominent representatives of postmodernism, comparing him in importance in the world literary hierarchy with Umberto Eco. His works have been translated into 8 European languages, including the novel “Perversion” published in Germany, Italy, and Poland. The book of essays was published in Austria.
Alexander Irvanets - poet, prose writer, translator. Born on January 24, 1961 in Lvov. Lived in Rivne. In 1988 he graduated from the Moscow Literary Institute. Author of 12 books, 5 of which are poetry collections. Collaborated with many periodicals. Now he has an author’s column in the magazine “Ukraine”. One of the founders of the popular Bu-Ba-Boo society, which also included Yuri Andrukhovich and Victor Neborak. A. Irvanets teaches at the Ostroh Academy. Lives in Irpen.
Yuri Izdryk
In 1989 he founded the magazine “Chetver”, which he has edited since 1992 together with Yuri Andrukhovich.
Actively involved in artistic life in the late 1980s. He took part in many exhibitions and events, worked on the design of books and magazines, and recorded music. At the same time, the first publications appeared - a series of stories “ The Last War"and the poetic cycle "Ten Poems about the Motherland." Some of it was later published in the Warsaw magazine Belching. Acquaintance with the writer Yuri Andrukhovich, as well as the unification of young Ivano-Frankivsk authors around the magazine “Chetver” turned out to be an important factor in the formation of Izdryk as a writer. The result was the emergence from the “countercultural underground” and the first “legitimate” publication of the story “The Island of Krk” in the magazine “Suchasnist”. The story was positively assessed by critics and eventually appeared in a Polish translation in Literatura na Swiecie.
Also acts as an artist (a number of collective and personal exhibitions) and composer (two piano concertos, musical composition“Medieval Menagerie” based on poems by Yuri Andrukhovich)
Prose: Krk Island, Wozzeck, Double Leon, AMTM, Flash.
Translations: Czeslaw Miłosz “Kindred Europe”, together with Lydia Stefanowska.
Oksana Zabuzhko – one of the few Ukrainian writers who live on royalties from the books they write. Although, a significant share of income still comes from books published abroad. Zabuzhko’s works were able to conquer European countries, and also found their adherents in the USA, and moreover, in a number of exotic countries.
In 1985, Zabuzhko’s first collection of poems, “Travneviy іnіy,” was published.
Oksana Zabuzhko is a member of the Association of Ukrainian Writers.
In August 2006, the Korrespondent magazine included Zabuzhko among the participants in the TOP-100 “Most Influential People in Ukraine” rating; before that, in June, the writer’s book “Let my people go” topped the “Best Ukrainian Book” list, becoming the choice of the readers of Korrespondent no. 1.
Yuri Pokalchuk - writer, translator, candidate of philological sciences, member of the National Union of Writers since 1976. From 1994 to 1998 - Chairman of the foreign branch of the NSPU. In 1997-2000 - President of the Association of Ukrainian Writers.
In the USSR he was the first translator of the Argentine cultural writer Jorge Luis Borges. In addition to him, he translated Hemingway, Selinger, Borges, Cortazar, Amada, Mario Vargas Llosa, Kipling, Rimbaud and many others, and wrote more than 15 fiction books.
Author of the books “Who are you?”, “First and foremost”, “Colorful melodies”, “Cava from Matagalpi”, “The Great and the Small”, “The Pattern and the Arrow”, “Chimera”, “Those on the Underside” , “Doors to...”, “Lake Wind”, “Another Week of the Month”, “Another Sky”, “Odysseus, Father Icarus”, “It Seems to Stink”, “Beautiful Hour”.
Among Pokalchuk’s most famous books are “Taxi Blues”, “The Ring Road”, “Forbidden Games”, “The Intoxicating Smell of the Jungle”, “The Kama Sutra”.
Konstantin Moskalets - poet, prose writer, literary critic, musician.
One of the founders of the Bakhmach literary group DAK. He served in the army, worked at a radio factory in Chernigov, and was a member of the Lviv theater-studio “Don’t Jury!”, performing as an author-performer of his own songs. Laureate of the first all-Ukrainian festival “Chervona Ruta” (1989) in the “author’s song” category. Author of the words and music of the famous song “She” in Ukraine (“Tomorrow I’ll come to your room...”). Member of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine (1992) and the Association of Ukrainian Writers (1997). Since 1991, he has lived in the village of Mateevka in the Tea Rose Cell, which he built with his own hands, doing exclusively literary work.
Konstantin Moskalets - author poetry books"Thoughts" and "Songe du vieil pelerin" ("Song of the Old Pilgrim"), "Night Shepherds of Being" and "The Symbol of the Rose", books of prose " Early autumn", philosophical and literary essays "Man on an Ice Floe" and "The Game Lasts", as well as books diary entries“The Cell of the Tea Rose.”
The prose of Konstantin Moskalets has been translated into English, German and Japanese; Numerous poems and essays have been translated into Serbian and Polish.
Prize winner named after. A. Beletsky (2000), named after. V. Stus (2004), named after. V. Svidzinsky (2004), named after. M. Kotsyubinsky (2005), named after. G. Skovoroda (2006).
Natalka Belotserkovets – her first book of poetry "Ballad of the Undefeated" was published in 1976 while she was still a student. Poetry collections underground fire(1984) and November(1989) became real signs of Ukrainian poetic life of the 1980s. Her careful, refined lyrics became a serious competitor to the powerful male verses of the 1980s generation. For everything younger generation In post-Chernobyl Ukraine, her poem “We Will Not Die in Paris” was a kind of prayer. Her name is often associated with this poem, although she wrote many other wonderful poems. The last book Belotserkovets Allergy(1999) is considered the peak of her poetry.
Vasily Shklyar
One of the most famous, widely read and “mystical” modern writers, “the father of the Ukrainian bestseller.” Graduated from the philological faculties of Kyiv and Yerevan universities. While still a student, he wrote his first story “Snow” in Armenia, and in 1976 the book was already published, and he was accepted into the Writers’ Union. Armenia, of course, remained forever in his soul, it left a mark on his worldview, consciousness, feelings, because he lived in this country in his youth, at the time of his formation as a person. All his books, stories, and novels contain Armenian motifs. After graduating from university, he returned to Kyiv, worked in the press, was engaged in journalism, wrote prose and translated from Armenian language. The first translations are the stories of the classic Axel Bakunts, poems by Amo Saghyan, Vahan Davtyan, and “Hunting Stories” by Vakhtang Ananyan. From 1988 to 1998, he was engaged in political journalism and visited “hot spots.” This experience (in particular, the details of the rescue of General Dudayev’s family after his death) was then reflected by him in the novel “Elemental”. As a result of a fishing accident, he ended up in intensive care, and after “returning from the other world,” within a month he wrote his most famous novel"Key". For it, Vasily Shklyar received several literary awards (Grand Prix of the action-packed novel competition “Golden Babai”, prizes from the capital’s magazines “Modernity” and “Oligarch”, prize from the international science fiction convention “Spiral of Centuries”, etc.). Of these, his favorite is “the author whose books were most stolen from stores.” “The Key” has already gone through eight reprints, translated into several languages, published twice in Armenian, and it also contains Armenian realities. Shklyar headed the Dnepr publishing house, within which he publishes his translations and adaptations of foreign and Russian classics(“Decameron” by Boccaccio, “Taras Bulba” by M. Gogol, “Poviya” by P. Mirny) - in an abbreviated form and modern language, without archaisms, dialectisms, etc.
About two dozen of his prose books were published, which were translated into Russian, Armenian, Bulgarian, Polish, Swedish and other languages.
Evgenia Kononenko
Writer, translator, author of more than 10 published books. Works as a researcher at the Ukrainian Center for Cultural Research. Winner of the award named after. N. Zerova for translating an anthology of French sonnets (1993). Winner of the Granoslov literary prize for a collection of poetry. Author of short stories, children's books, stories, novels and many translations. Some of Kononenko's short stories have been translated into English, German, French, Finnish, Croatian, Belarusian and Russian.
A book edition of Kononenko’s collection of short stories is being prepared in Russia.
By analogy with Balzac, who wrote all his life “ The human comedy", Evgenia Kononenko can be called the demiurge of the "Kyiv comedy". But unlike the French classic, genre forms there is much less, and the means are more compact.
Andrey Kurkov (23 April 1961, Leningrad region) - Ukrainian writer, teacher, filmmaker. I started writing in high school. Graduated from the school of Japanese translators. Worked as an editor at the Dnepr publishing house. Since 1988 member of the English Pen Club. Now he is the author of 13 novels and 5 books for children. Since the 1990s, all of Kurkov’s works in Russian in Ukraine have been published by the Folio publishing house (Kharkov). Since 2005, Kurkov’s works in Russia have been published by the Amphora publishing house (St. Petersburg). His novel “Picnic on Ice” sold 150 thousand copies in Ukraine - more than the book of any other contemporary writer in Ukraine. Kurkov's books have been translated into 21 languages.
Kurkov is the only writer in the post-Soviet space whose books are in the top ten European bestsellers. In March 2008, Andrei Kurkov’s novel “The Night Milkman” was included in the “long list” of the Russian literary award “National Bestseller”. He worked as a screenwriter at the A. Dovzhenko film studio. Member of the Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine (since 1993) and the National Union of Writers (since 1994). Since 1998 - member of the European Film Academy and permanent member of the jury of the European Film Academy "Felix" award.
More than 20 feature films and documentaries have been produced based on his scripts.
Books: Don't bring me to Kengaraks, 11 extraordinary things, Bickford's world, Death of a Stranger, Picnic on Ice, Good Angel of Death, Dear Friend, Comrade of the Dead, Geography of a Single Shot, last love president, Favorite song of a cosmopolitan, The Adventures of the Nonsense Boars (children's book), School of Cat Aeronautics (children's book), The Night Milkman.
Scenarios: Exit, The Pit, Sunday Escape, A Night of Love, Champs Elysees, The Blob, Death of a Stranger, Dead Man's Buddy.
Ivan Malkovich - poet and book publisher, - author of the collections White Stone, Key, Virshi, Iz yangol on the shoulder. His poems became a symbol of the generation of the 80s (a review of the first collection of poems was written by Lina Kostenko). Malkovich is the director of the children's publishing house A-BA-BA-GA-LA-MA-GA. Publishes children's books. Known for his unshakable convictions not only regarding the quality of the book, but also the language - all books are published exclusively in Ukrainian.
One of the first in Ukraine to begin to conquer the foreign market - the rights to the books A-BA-BA were sold to leading publishing houses in ten countries, including such a giant of the book market as Alfred A. Knopf (New York, USA). And Russian translations Snow Queen and Tales of Foggy Albion, the rights to which were bought by the publishing house Azbuka (St. Petersburg), entered the top ten best-selling books in Russia.
A-BA-BA, one of the most nominated publishing houses in Ukraine. His books won the Grand Prix 22 times and took first place at the All-Ukrainian Publishers Forum in Lviv and in the Book of Fate ranking. In addition, they consistently lead in sales rankings in Ukraine.
Zholda ́ to Bogda ́ n Alekseevich (1948) - Ukrainian writer, screenwriter, playwright.
Graduated from the Faculty of Philology of Kyiv state university them. T. G. Shevchenko (1972). Was the presenter of several television programs on UT-1 and channel “1 + 1” and a weekly radio broadcast on the first channel of the National Radio “Brekhi - literary meetings with Bogdan Zholdak." Works at the Ros film studio at the Ros Company JSC, teaches screenwriting skills at the Kyiv Film Faculty state institute theatrical art named after. I. Karpenko-Kary. Member of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine and the National Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine and the Kinopis association.
Books: “Spokusi”, “Yalovichina”, “Like a Dog Under a Tank”, “God Blows”, “Anticlimax”.
Sergey Zhadan - poet, prose writer, essayist, translator. Vice-President of the Association of Ukrainian Writers (since 2000). Translates poetry from German (including Paul Celan), English (including Charles Bukowski), Belarusian (including Andrei Khadanovich), Russian (including Kirill Medvedev, Danilo Davydov) languages. Own texts were translated into German, English, Polish, Serbian, Croatian, Lithuanian, Belarusian, Russian and Armenian.
In March 2008, Zhadan’s novel “Anarchy in the UKR” in Russian translation was included in the “long list” of the Russian literary award “National Bestseller”. The nominee was a writer from St. Petersburg, Dmitry Gorchev. Also, this book was included in the short list in 2008 and received a certificate of honor in the “Book of the Year” competition at the Moscow International Book Fair.
Poetry collections: Quotation Book, General Yuda, Pepsi, Vibrations of poetry, Baladi about the war and the Great Patriotic War, History of culture from the beginning of the century, Quote Book, Maradona, Ethiopia.
Prose: Big Mak (collection of stories), Depeche Mode, Anarchy in the UKR, Anthem of Democratic Youth.
Pavel Ivanov-Ostoslavsky - poet, publicist, local historian, public giver. In 2003, Pavel Igorevich published his first poetry collection, “Sanctuary of Fire.” This book was later reprinted several times. In 2004, Pavel Ivanov-Ostoslavsky organized and headed the Regional Branch in Kherson International Association Russian-speaking writers, as well as the regional branch of the Union of Writers of the South and East of Ukraine; became the editor of the poetic almanac "Milky Way". In the same year, the poet published a collection of poems, “You and Me.”
2005 - laureate of the First All-Ukrainian Literary Festival "Pushkin Ring" in the nomination "For the aristocracy of creativity."
2006 - laureate of the Nikolai Gumilyov International Literary Prize (awarded by the central organization of the International Association of Russian-Speaking Writers). This award was awarded to the poet for his debut collection “Sanctuary of Fire”.
In 2008, Pavel Ivanov-Ostoslavsky became chairman of the jury of the All-Ukrainian independent literary award "Art-Cimmerick".
The poet is a member of the Interregional Union of Writers of Ukraine, the Union of Russian Journalists and Writers of Ukraine, and the Congress of Russian-Speaking Writers of Ukraine. His poems and articles are published in newspapers and magazines: "Moscow Bulletin", "Bulava", "Reflection", "Kherson Bulletin", "Hryvnia", "Tavriysky Krai", " Russian Enlightenment" and etc.
Alexandra Barbolina
He is a member of the Interregional Union of Writers of Ukraine, the Union of Writers of the South and East of Ukraine, the Congress of Russian-Speaking Writers of Ukraine and the International Association of Russian-Speaking Writers, deputy chairman of the jury of the All-Ukrainian Independent Literary Award "Art-Cimmerick".
The poetess's work is characterized by lyricism and technicality. Her collection of poems, Love Like God's Grace, published in 2000, contains the theme of intimate relationships between a man and a woman. The author touches on the deep psychology of these relationships in his poems. Art world Alexandra Barbolina is full of nobility. The intimacy of the poetess’s poems suggests that for her lyrical heroine, love is like precious nectar enclosed in a cup. This cup must be carried carefully, without spilling a drop, otherwise there will not be enough nectar to quench the thirst for love.
Alexandra Barbolina’s later poems are a complex search for inner harmony, the author’s desire to comprehend his true purpose.
Alexandra Barbolina prefers poetic miniatures. Her creative credo is to write about complex things briefly and, if possible, simply.
Besides the fact that Tychyna was good poet, he was also an excellent musician. These two talents were closely intertwined in his work, because in his poems he tried to create music from words. He is considered to be the only true follower of the aesthetics of symbolism in Ukraine, however, literary critic Sergei Efremov noted that Tychyna does not fit into any literary direction, because he is one of those poets who create them themselves.
However, when Ukraine officially joins the USSR, Tychyna becomes a true Soviet writer, “the singer of the new day,” descends to composing praises of the new government and lines like “Tractor in the field dir-dir-dir. We are for peace. We are for peace." He left many works for the Communist Party, but for posterity - perhaps only the first three collections: “”, “”, “In the Cosmic Orchestra”. But even if after the first of them he had not written a single line, Tychina would still have been ranked among the best Ukrainian poets.
Poet, scientist, translator, leader of Ukrainian neoclassics Nikolai Zerov in his work has always been guided by the centuries-old spiritual values and traditions of world classics - from antiquity to the 19th century. However, his poems are not an inheritance of classical texts, but a modernization of the culture of the past.
Zerov sought to recreate harmony between the individual and the surrounding world, feelings and mind, man and nature. And even in sound, his poems are distinguished by an orderly, polished form, because he used only clear classic poetic meters.
Zerov was an authority not only for his fellow neoclassicalists, but also for many other writers, including prose writers. He was the first, and after him all the others, to proclaim that it was worth destroying the primitive “Liknepov” reading material for the masses, which had filled bookshelves Soviet Ukraine, and direct our literature along the European path of development.
The heir to an ancient Polish noble family, Maxim Rylsky became one of the most famous Ukrainian poets. In the fateful year 1937, he changed the apolitical course of neoclassicalism to chanting the valor of Soviet workers and peasants, thanks to which he was the only one from the “group” to survive. However, having become a propagandist, he did not stop being a poet. Unlike the same Tychyna, he continued to write subtle lyrical works dedicated to everyday life.
However, the real creative revival of the poet occurred in the 50s, when the Khrushchev Thaw began. Poetry collections of this last period the lives of the poet - “”, “”, “”, “” - adequately complete his biography. They synthesize all the best from previous books. Rylsky was remembered mainly as the poet he became in his declining days - a supporter of wise simplicity and a melancholic dreamer in love with autumn.
Folk poetic images, which in all their diversity abounded in Ukrainian poetry of the Romantic era, received a new development in the 20th century in the work of Vladimir Svidzinsky. This poet turns to pre-Christian Slavic beliefs, archaic legends and myths. In the structure of his poems one can find elements magical rituals and spells, and their vocabulary is replete with archaisms and dialectisms. In the sacred world created by Svidzinsky, a person can directly communicate with the sun, earth, flower, tree, etc. As a result, his lyrical hero completely dissolves in such a dialogue with Mother Nature.
Svidzinsky’s poems are complex and incomprehensible; they should not be recited, but analyzed, looking for ancient archetypes and hidden meanings in each line.
Antonich was born in the Lemkiv region, where the local dialect is so different from Ukrainian literary language that the latter is almost not understood there. And although the poet quickly learned the language, he still did not master all its capabilities. After unsuccessful formal experiments with rhythm and alliteration in the first collection “”, he realized that he was primarily a creator of images, and not of the melody of verse.
Antonich turns to pagan motifs, which are organically intertwined with Christian symbolism. However, the worldview of this “ a young child with sunshine at the kishen", as he called himself, is closer to the pantheism of Walt Whitman. He looks like a child who is just beginning to discover the world, so landscapes have not yet become familiar to him, and words have not lost their novelty and beauty.
Olzhych considered poetry to be his true calling, but was forced to work as an archaeologist to earn money for his family. His profession in a sense determined his work. Creating the poetic cycles “Flint”, “Stone”, “Bronze”, “Iron”, he introduces into Ukrainian poetry new images of Scythia, Sarmatia, Kievan Rus and not only. He glorifies the distant past, hidden in the wreckage of material culture - in jewelry, household utensils, weapons, rock paintings and patterns on ceramic products.
Olzhych was a member of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), which also determined the vector of his work. He became the author of heartfelt lines appealing to the patriotic feelings of readers and calling on them to fight for the independence of Ukraine.
Elena Teliga is a civil activist, a member of the OUN, a famous poetess, who wrote only 47 poems, but even this is small creative heritage ensured her an honorable place among our best poets. In her poems, she created the image of a Ukrainian revolutionary woman. Already in her first works, she declared:
I want a stress-free look
Look at the deep darkness -
Bliskavok's fanatical eyes,
And not a month of quiet calm
Her poems are poetry of high ideological tension, in which there is a direct or veiled call to fight for Ukraine, an invitation to plunge into the shawl of mortal risk.
She believed that poetry is not just a fiction, but a weapon of influence on the souls of people, therefore each line places a huge responsibility on the one who wrote it. “If we, poets,” said Teliga, “write about courage, firmness, nobility, and with these works we ignite and ignite the danger of others, how can we not do this ourselves?” She never wavered from the principles she proclaimed, so when the time came to risk her life, she did so without hesitation. In 1941, Teliga left Poland and came to Ukraine illegally, where a year later she was lost. In her Gestapo cell, she drew a trident and wrote: “Elena Teliga sat here and is going from here to be shot.”
Pluzhnik became the most consistent representative of existentialism in Ukrainian poetry. Discarding all the realities of the surrounding reality, he focuses on inner life, experiences and thoughts of your lyrical hero. Pluzhnik is primarily interested not in the metanarratives of his time, but in global ones philosophical questions, such as the dichotomy of good and evil, beauty and ugliness, lies and truth. He had the unique ability to express a lot in a few words: in his small, laconic poems, he reveals complex philosophical thoughts.
This poet visited almost all Ukrainian literary groups and organizations, and left them all with a scandal. He was also a member of the Communist Party, from which he was expelled several times, and once party officials even sent him to Saburov Dacha, a well-known mental hospital, for treatment. His work did not fit into any ideological parameters of Soviet Ukraine. Unlike his politicized and patriotically savvy colleagues, Sosyura always remained only the author of beautiful love lyrics. For my long creative path he published several dozen collections. If in his first books he sought to shock the reader with unusual imagist images like “ pocі grit holes like grains on the patel“, then in the latter he created simple and heartfelt poems, for example, “When you try, the daring is faster” and “Love Ukraine.”
The Futurists, these artistic revolutionaries who proclaimed the death of the old and the emergence of a completely new art, were a kind of illusionists, showmen of their time. They traveled around the cities of Eastern Europe, read their poems and found new followers. There were many Ukrainian amateur futurists, but there were only a few who wrote in Ukrainian. And the most talented poet among them was Mikhail Semenko. Despite the fact that he so vehemently denied succession aesthetic principles different eras, his service to the Ukrainian poetic tradition is undeniable: he modernized our lyrics with urban themes and bold experiments with the form of verse, and also entered the annals forever Russian literature as the creator of unusual neologisms and bright, shocking images.
Useful video
Prostobank TV talks about ways to save on mobile communications in Ukraine - calls, SMS and MMS messages, mobile Internet. Subscribe to our channel on Youtube, so as not to miss a new useful video about personal and business finances.
IN recent months The library of Ukrainian literature in Moscow does not disappear from the city news. At the end of October, its director Natalya Sharina faced a criminal case for allegedly distributing books among readers Ukrainian nationalist Dmitro Korchinsky, which are recognized as extremist in Russia. Last week the library was searched again. Official Kyiv called them a provocation.
The Village asked Kyiv literary critic Yuri Volodarsky to help understand what modern Ukrainian literature is. The editors asked him to select ten most important books, written after Ukraine gained independence, in both Ukrainian and Russian, to show the value of modern Ukrainian literature and the importance of the Library of Ukrainian Literature for Moscow.
YURIY VOLODARSKY
publicist, critic, jury member of the Ukrainian literary award “BBC Book of the Year” (Kyiv)
I considered it necessary to recommend a list of books from the period of Ukrainian independence, that is, written after 1991. These books may not be the best, but they are probably the most significant in Ukrainian literature. In addition, I tried to choose books that had already been translated into Russian. Because otherwise the Russian reader is unlikely to be able to read them: there are people who say that the Ukrainian language is some kind of non-existent language, but they themselves will not be able to understand Ukrainian either on paper or by ear.
To denote modern Ukrainian literature, local criticism uses the term “suchasna Ukrainian literature”, in abbreviation - suchakrlit. Although this term is a little ironic, it is used in the Ukrainian literary environment.
The situation with Russian-language authors is interesting, because there is debate about whether they can be considered part of modern Ukrainian literature. I am of the unequivocal opinion that it is not only possible, but absolutely necessary. The problem is that for the last 24 years, Russian-language poets and prose writers in Ukraine have been somehow pushed aside from the general literary process. The last two books on this list were written in Russian.
Yuri Andrukhovich - “Moscoviada”
"Moskoviada", 1993
Yuri Andrukhovych is one of the founding fathers of modern Ukrainian literature. You could even say that it started with him. “Moscoviada” is his second novel, dedicated to the Moscow period of the life of the author, who studied at the Gorky Literary Institute. This is a kind of programmatic book about the fact that Ukraine is not Russia and that a Ukrainian is not Russian. Main character travels around Moscow, communicates with different people, gets into everyday situations and gradually gets drunk. That is, this is such an alcohol trip, reminiscent of “Moscow - Petushki” by Venedikt Erofeev. But in Andrukhovich’s work the hero does not die, and as it develops the action becomes more and more phantasmagorical. And it is at the end that declarations are made that the Ukrainian person is not Russian. To understand the differences between Ukraine and Russia, “Moscoviada” is a must-read.
Oksana Zabuzhko - “Field research of Ukrainian sex”
“Polish investigation into Ukrainian sex”, 1996
Oksana Zabuzhko’s story “Field Research of Ukrainian Sex” was published in the mid-1990s, and then critic Lev Danilkin called the author a national feminist. He was absolutely right in the sense that this is also a declaration, and this is inherent in the literature of the first years of Ukrainian independence. This is a book about female love and dependence on a man, which the heroine overcomes in the course of the story, but also with pronounced national overtones. Although the title of the book sounds shocking, in reality the book is quite chaste. By the way, several years ago Zabuzhko released grand romance“Museum of Abandoned Secrets,” which many called almost the main book of suchukrlit. Much of it is dedicated to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, although the author said that the book is not about the UPA, but about love. They managed to translate it into Russian. Now it is impossible to imagine the release of such a book in Russia.
Sergei Zhadan - Voroshilovgrad
Sergei Zhadan is the main character of modern Ukrainian literature. He is both a poet and a prose writer, winner of many awards, including the BBC Book of the Year, which can be considered an analogue of the Russian Big Book and Russian Booker. The title of the novel “Voroshilovgrad” is not directly related to the real Voroshilovgrad, which is now called Lugansk. The novel is about the need to take care and protect your own. His hero is a restless young man who hangs out in the city on office work, and then finds out that his brother has disappeared and what is left of him is a gas station, which must be saved from the raiders laying claim to it. The leitmotif of the novel is two words that are often mentioned there: “vdyachnіst” and “vіdpovіdalnіst”, which can be translated as “gratitude” and “responsibility.” Zhadan is characterized by the ability to work in different literary registers: he combines a strong narrative with a purely poetic approach. And in his later novels there is always a mythological component: in “Voroshilovgrad” the hero, by traveling by bus, actually crosses the River Styx and goes to the kingdom of the dead. We do not quite understand what is happening to the hero: is it reality or fiction, reality or some kind of symbolic journey.
Taras Prokhasko - “Difficult”
“Uneasy”, 2002
Taras Prokhasko is considered one of the most original Ukrainian authors, but he writes catastrophically little. He is the author of just one short novel, Uneasy. This is Ukrainian magical realism, which does not grow in accessible flat areas, but in rugged remote areas. For Pavic it was the Balkans, and for Prokhasko it was the Carpathians. The writer depicts a completely mythological Carpathian world, where its own laws apply, not only social ones, but also the laws of the world order. The main character marries one woman, and each subsequent woman is his daughter from the previous one. Naturally, incest should not be taken literally; it also has a mythological character. Prokhasko is a unique Ukrainian writer. His novel could not have been written anywhere except the Carpathians.
Yuri Izdryk - “Wozzeck”
If Prokhasko is Ukrainian mythology, and Zhadan is social literature, then Izdryk is such an introverted, essay-like, almost plotless prose with a huge amount references to other texts of suchukrlit. The text is filled with sensations from everything in the world: from what a person sees, what he reads, from what he reads about what he sees, and what he sees in what he reads. Reading Izdryk is always difficult: he doesn’t favor the plot. The hero of “Wozzeck” is Izdryk himself, who performs in different guises. It is characteristic that almost all the writers on this list are from the west of Ukraine. These are representatives of the so-called “Stanislav phenomenon”, the name of which is associated with Ivano-Frankivsk, which was called Stanislav until 1961. This phenomenon characterizes a sharp departure from socialist realism Soviet period and the rapid manifestation of postmodernism in Ukrainian literature.
Alexander Irvanets - “Rivne/Rivne”
This novel is important, but also secondary. Alexander Irvanets is a colleague of Yuri Andrukhovich in the group “BuBaBaBu” (“Burlesque, farce, buffoonery”), with which suchukrlit began in the mid-1980s. The novel “Rivne/Rivne” is about the city where Irvanets lived a significant part of his life. This is a kind of dystopia in which Moscow extends its influence to most Ukraine, and the border between Russian-controlled Ukrainian territories and those that have retained independence runs through the middle of the city of Rivne. Therefore, part of the city is called in Ukrainian, and part in Russian. And there is a great contrast between life in these parts of the city. A dull “scoop” on one side and a completely prosperous, joyful, meaningful life from the point of view of the arts in the second half. To any person who is well acquainted with Russian literature of the second half of the 20th century, this plot inevitably resembles Vasily Aksenov’s novel “The Island of Crimea”.
Maria Matios - “Sweet Darusya”
“Licorice Darusya”, 2004
Maria Matios is also a representative of Western Ukrainian literature, or rather its rural discourse. She was born in Chernivtsi region, a territory that was either under Austria-Hungary or under Russia. It passed from hand to hand and became a battlefield for different powers, which trampled it and destroyed it simply because they passed there. The main character of the novel is a girl whose family was destroyed by the NKVD, she was left alone and silent. This is probably main novel about what happened in western Ukraine after it came under Soviet control.
Sofia Andrukhovich - "Felix Austria"
"Felix Austria", 2014
Sofia Andrukhovich is the daughter of Yuri Andrukhovich. Her novel Felix Austria won the BBC Book of the Year last year. The name is a Latin fragment of a phrase that one of the Austro-Hungarian emperors once said: “Let others wage war! You, happy Austria, get married!” The action takes place in Stanislav, now Ivano-Frankivsk, in 1900. The main character is a Rusyn (that is, Ukrainian) maid in an Austrian-Polish family, whose owner is both her friend and everything else. It turns out to be an interesting symbol: the mistress symbolizes Austria-Hungary, and the maid symbolizes the Ukrainian lands within it. This is a deconstruction of the myth in Ukrainian culture about the supposedly happy and carefree days of Western Ukraine as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is not true. Even though life was better than under the Soviets, it is also clear that grace is illusory, and Andrukhovich shows this in a single family. Towards the end, the author recalls that Austria-Hungary, whose prosperity seemed unshakable, after some 18 years will cease to exist at all.
Vladimir Rafeenko - “Demon of Descartes”
Vladimir Rafeenko, in my opinion, is the most significant Russian-language writer in Ukraine. Previously, he lived in Donetsk, and in July 2014, for all obvious reasons, he moved to Kyiv. Rafeenko is a continuator of Gogol's tradition. His novels are always phantasmagoria, but with a very strong social component and a very peculiar language, which combines high and low styles, switching registers from mythological to realistic. When Rafeenko lived in Donetsk, his books were practically unknown in the rest of Ukraine. They were published in marginal Donbass publications, but then he won for two years top places"Russian Prize" First it was “Moscow Divertissement”, and then “Descartes’ Demon”. The latter was published in Eksmo, and Rafeenko became famous in his homeland. This is a ridiculous way: to become famous in Kyiv, you need to be published in Moscow.
Karine Arutyunova - “Say Red”
Karine Arutyunova started writing quite late: she published her first book when she was over 40. She writes short prose, which is marked by a very special author’s style. This is such an exclusive attention to the evidence of all the senses. In her works there are many shades, colors, olfactory and tactile sensations, always very subjective evidence of the world. This prose can be called women's prose, but not in terms of plots, but in terms of temperament. If you asked me what this book was about, I wouldn't be able to answer. It's about everything. There are a million everyday situations, but it is not they themselves that are important, but their perception and the ability to present them in the author’s originality. In addition to novels, there are also short stories. Reading them is sometimes faster and more joyful - at least for those who are looking for tactile, sound, visual and other small pleasures in life.
cover image: LiveLib ; 1 – ozon.ru, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 – LiveLib, 9 – labirint.ru, 10 –
Due to the annexation of Crimea and the war in the east of the country, the world finally learned that Ukraine is not part of Russia. However, identifying our country only with war (or borscht or beautiful girls) cannot be called positive. Ukraine has rich culture and talented writers recognized abroad.
Tells about Ukrainian writers whose books are translated and published abroad.
Vasily Shklyar
The name of Vasily Shklyar is well known in Ukraine and abroad, and his works become bestsellers. He is well versed in Ukrainian history, and the heroes of his novels are often rebels who fight for the independence of Ukraine.
In 2013, the London publishing house Aventura E books, which had not previously published Slavic literature, published English translation popular novel by Vasily Shklyar "Black Raven". The Ukrainian bestseller tells the story of the struggle of Ukrainian rebels against Soviet power in Kholodny Yar in the 1920s.
The same novel by the writer has been translated into Slovak and Portuguese, and it was published in Portuguese in Brazil. Shklyar’s fans also read the equally famous novel “The Key” in Swedish and Armenian.
Maria Matios
The works of Maria Matios have repeatedly become the “Air Force Book of the Year” and brought the writer other awards. The author of many novels and collections of poetry is one of the best-selling writers in Ukraine.
Her works are widely represented in the world. For example, the popular novel "Licorice Darusya" about the fate of people mutilated by the occupation of Western Ukraine Soviet troops, published in 7 languages. It is read in Polish, Russian, Croatian, German, Lithuanian, French and Italian. And soon it will be released in English and Serbian.
The family saga “Maizhe nikoli ne navpaki” was published in English in the UK in 2012. And 2 years before English version The novel was published by another publisher in Australia. The Australian publishing house published the stories "Moskalitsa" and "Mama Maritsa", as well as the short story "Apocalypse". By the way, this novella has been translated into Hebrew, German, French, Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian.
The novel "Cherevichki of the Mother of God" was published in Russian and German languages. And the collection “Nation” can also be found in Poland.
Evgenia Kononenko
Writer and translator Evgenia Kononenko writes simply and realistically about what is familiar to everyone. Therefore, her short and large prose captivates readers around the world.
Kononenko is the author of poems, short stories and essays, novellas and novels, children's books, literary translations and the like. Evgenia Kononenko's short prose can be found in English, German, French, Croatian, Finnish, Czech, Russian, Polish, Belarusian and Japanese.
Almost all anthologies of modern Ukrainian literature, translated and published abroad, contain works by Evgenia Kononenko. Some of them even received names of the same name as the works of the writer included in them.
Andrey Kurkov
One can argue endlessly about whether a Russian-speaking person can be a Ukrainian writer. A similar discussion begins when the conversation turns to Andrei Kurkov.
He is the author of more than 20 books, including adult novels and fairy tales for children. All of them are written in Russian, except one for children, “The Little Lion Cub and the Lviv Mouse.” However, Kurkov himself considers himself a Ukrainian writer, which is confirmed by his political position, and my own creativity.
Andrei Kurkov's books have been translated into 36 languages. Most of the translations are in German. They were carried out for Austria, Germany, Switzerland. A large number of works have been translated into French, English and Ukrainian.
In 2011, his novel “Picnic on Ice” became the first Ukrainian book translated into Thai. In total, this novel has been translated into 32 languages.
And in 2015, his “Maidan Diary” was published in Japanese. The course of events of the Revolution The virtues, reflections and emotions of Andrei Kurkov during the socio-political shifts of the winter of 2013-2014 have also been translated into Estonian, German, French and English.
Oksana Zabuzhko
The popular Ukrainian writer and intellectual is one of those with whom the emergence of modern Ukrainian literature in the international arena is associated. The works of Oksana Zabuzhko are taken for their psychological nature, depth, criticality, and some fiction novels- shockingness.
Oksana Zabuzhko’s work is diverse: she is both an expert on Ukrainian history and a master of feminist prose. It is not surprising that her books are also interesting to foreign readers.
The writer's works have been translated into more than 20 languages. They were published as separate books in Austria, Bulgaria, Italy, Iran, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Russia, Romania, Serbia, USA, Hungary, France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Sweden. Theater directors in Europe and the USA stage performances based on Zabuzhko’s works.
Sergey Zhadan
The author of the popular novels “Voroshilovgrad”, “Mesopotamia”, “Depeche Mode” and many poetry collections in Ukraine is no less known abroad. His work is sincere and truthful, his speech is often not devoid of witty words and irony.
One of the most successful novels Zhadan "Voroshilovgrad" was issued, in addition to Ukraine, in Germany, Russia, Hungary, Poland, France, Belarus, Italy, Latvia and the USA. “Mesopotamia”, “Anthem of Democratic Youth”, “Suicide Percentage among Clowns” and the like were also published in Polish and German.
Read also: Sergey Zhadan: Many people forget that Donetsk and Lugansk had their own Maidans
In general, Sergei Zhadan’s texts have also been translated into English, Swedish, Italian, Hungarian, Serbian, Croatian, Czech, Lithuanian, Belarusian, Russian, and Armenian.
Irene Rozdobudko
One of the most popular modern women writers, journalist and screenwriter Irene Rozdobudko is the author of almost 30 works of art. She is among the top 10 writers who are most published in Ukraine. She won the prestigious literary competition "Coronation of the Word" three times, and her novels are often filmed.
The TV series and films "Button", "Autumn Flowers", "Mysterious Island" and "Trap" were filmed based on her scripts. Interestingly, Irene Rozdobudko also had a hand in writing the script for The Guide by Oles Sanin (who competed, albeit unsuccessfully, for an Oscar in 2015).
The Dutch-English publishing house Glagoslav, which translated the book by Maria Matios, then, in 2012, published English novel Irene Rozdobudko "Button".
Larisa Denisenko
The same Dutch-English publishing house also received the rights to Larisa Denisenko’s novel Sarabande of Sarah’s Gang. The novel is a striking example of mass literature.
The light and relaxed work tells the story of people who, at a certain stage, are forced to live together. Therefore, the book contains love, frank conversations, and everyday situations that can make you look at life differently.
Lyubko Deresh
Ukrainian literary prodigy Lyubko Deresh made his debut with the novel “Cult” when he was 17 years old. By the way, this particular novel was published, in addition to Ukraine, in Serbia, Bulgaria, Poland, Germany, Italy and France.
The writer himself defines the novel as fantasy. However, "Cult" is a more gothic city.
Yuri Andrukhovich
The name of Yuri Andrukhovych is associated with the first facts of interest in modern Ukrainian literature in the West. One of the founders of the poetry group Bu-Ba-Bu Andrukhovich is the author of novels, short stories, poetry collections and essays.
Western critics identify Andrukhovych as one of the most prominent representatives of postmodernism. His works have been translated into many European languages, in particular the somewhat crazy novel “Perversion” was published in Germany and Poland.
Andruchovic's novels, short stories and essays have been translated into Polish, English, German, French, Russian, Hungarian, Finnish, Swedish, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian and Esperanto. They are sold as separate books in Poland, Germany, Canada, Hungary, Finland and Croatia.
Yuri Vinnichuk
Yuri Vinnichuk is called the father of black humor and a hoaxer due to his penchant for fiction. mysterious stories for your novels. In his prose, the Galician writer usually mixes elements of adventure, love, historical and modern novels.
His works were published in England, Argentina, Belarus, Canada, Germany, Poland, Serbia, USA, France, Croatia, and the Czech Republic. In particular, Tango of Death, published in 2012, became one of the most popular novels.
Taras Prokhasko
Taras Prokhasko primarily writes for adults, but his children's book "Who Will Make the Snow", created in collaboration with Maryana Prokhasko, has attracted the interest of readers abroad. A few years ago it came out in Korean.
"Who will make it snow" is instructive story about babies, friendship and mutual assistance, care and home comfort, and also about who really makes the snow.
His works have been translated into Polish, German, English and Russian. One of the most popular is the novel “Difficult”. It reveals another mythology of the Carpathians in the first half of the 20th century. In Prohasko, the Carpathians are not only an authentic territory, but also an area open to other cultures.
Irena Karpa
The outrageous Irena Karpa is known to the Western world not only for her creativity. Since October 2015, he has been the first secretary for cultural affairs of the Ukrainian Embassy in France.
Readers perceive Irena Karpa's work ambiguously. This is evidenced by various ratings and awards: for example, the book “Good and Evil” received both a literary anti-award and a place in the top ten best Ukrainian books of the year.
However, Karpa’s works are published abroad. The novels “Freud Would Weep” and “50 Minutes of Grass” were translated into Polish, and “Pearl Porn” was published in Czech, Russian and Bulgarian.
Valery Shevchuk
Valery Shevchuk is a living classic of Ukrainian literature. A master of psychological prose, he is a representative of the sixties.
His creativity is historical novels, and prose about modern life, as well as literary works. Many of his works have been translated into English. One of the most famous of them is the novel "The Eye of the Abyss". This is a historical-mystical dystopia, the events of which unfold in the 16th century. But in the totalitarian regime that the author describes, it is easy to identify the USSR.
Andrey Lyubka
Lyubka is one of the most successful Ukrainian novelists and poets. The 29-year-old native of Latvia writes poetry, essays, stories and novels in Ukrainian.
Some of his poems have been translated into English, German, Serbian, Portuguese, Russian, Belarusian, Czech and Polish languages. In addition, his collection of short stories “Killer. Collection of Stories” was published in separate translations by the Polish publishing house Biuro literackie and a collection of poems by the Austrian publishing house BAES.
