Ukraine, represented in the best works of our writers, is gradually finding its way to the minds and hearts of readers all over the world. In our selection, we take it for granted that the works of our classics are known and loved by Ukrainian scholars and students of departments of Ukrainian language and literature in other countries. We also do not mention writers of Ukrainian origin who lived and worked abroad without positioning themselves as representatives of Ukrainian culture: the same Joseph Conrad, who was born in Berdichev, but is known throughout the world as a British writer. Writers of the Ukrainian diaspora more than deserve a separate article. Here we tried to gather representatives of modern Ukrainian literature: authors who live and work in Ukraine, whose works are translated and published in other countries of the world.
Polish investigation into Ukrainian sex
Oksana Zabuzhko, Comora
Even if you are one of those who don't like Zabuzhko, you can't help but agree that she is a master of modernism, a deep connoisseur of Ukrainian history and an attentive student of human relations. Some novels come to us exactly when we should read them: this one is about the danger of complete immersion in another person, about total love, which requires a woman to renounce herself, her talent, mission and space, her soul and destiny. The novel was published in English, Bulgarian, Dutch, Italian, German, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Swedish, Czech. Other works by Oksana Zabuzhko: “Sister, Sister”, “The Tale of the Kalinov Sopilka”, “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets” are also published in translation abroad.
Perversion
Yuri Andrukhovich, “Lileya”
A completely crazy plot, and it’s clear why foreign readers liked it. Imagine a scientific symposium in Venice, the theme of which is: “Post-carnival world: what’s in store?” The Ukrainian writer Stanislav Perfetsky gets to the symposium through Munich, driven by a strange married couple: Ada Citrina and the mute Doctor Janus Maria Riesenbock. In Venice, Perfetsky, rushing after a prostitute, ends up in a sectarian worship service: representatives of migrants of different nationalities worship a new deity, to whom at the end of the ceremony they sacrifice a large fish. And then the plot twists in such a way that Perfetsky finds its ending only on the remote island of San Michele, having finally discovered the only priest who can listen to his confession and talk to him about Ukraine. The novel was published in many languages, as was another cult work of the author, “Moscoviada”.
Mesopotamia
Sergey Zhadan, “Family Dozville Club”
"Mesopotamia" is nine stories in prose and thirty poetic clarifications. All the texts in this book are about the same environment, the characters move from one story to another, and then into poetry. Philosophical digressions, fantastic images, exquisite metaphors and specific humor - everything that is so attractive in Zhadan’s works is here. These are the stories of Babylon, retold for those interested in questions of love and death. Stories about the life of a city lying between two rivers, biographies of characters who fight for their right to be heard and understood, chronicles of street clashes and daily passions. The novel is very popular abroad.
Cult
Lyubko Deresh, “Kalvarya”
“Cult” is the first novel by Lubomir (Lyubka) Deresh. Back in 2001, the young author was 16 years old. Some people define the genre of this work as fantasy, but, be that as it may, Deresh’s novel “says hello” to such masters of gothic and fantasy as Poe, Zelazny or Lovecraft. The novel has been translated and published in Serbia, Bulgaria, Poland, Germany, Italy and France.
Picnic on Ice/Death of a Stranger
Andrey Kurkov, “Folio”
Kurkov is perhaps one of the most published Ukrainian writers abroad; his translations of “Picnic on Ice” were published by the best publishing houses. The book was published in English under the title Death and the Penguin, and many languages have retained this version. Today the novel has been translated into five languages, including English, German, and Italian. Why did the plot interest foreign readers? Because this is a very interesting intellectual detective story. Journalist Viktor Zolotarev receives an unusual assignment from a major newspaper: to write obituaries of prominent influential people, although all of them are still alive. Gradually, he realizes that he has become a participant in a large game of shadow structures, from which it turns out to be an almost impossible task to get out of it alive. Kurkov's works have been translated into 37 languages.
Tango of Death
Yuriy Vinnichuk, “Folio”
The novel was named the 2012 BBC Book of the Year. The novel takes place in two storylines. In the first we meet four friends: a Ukrainian, a Pole, a German and a Jew who live in pre-war Lviv. Their parents were soldiers of the UPR army and died in 1921 near the Bazaar. Young people experience all the vicissitudes of their age, but never betray their friendship. The second storyline has other characters, and its action takes place not only in Lviv, but also in Turkey. Both lines intersect in an unexpected ending. Vinnichuk's works were published in England, Argentina, Belarus, Canada, Germany, Poland, Serbia, USA, France, Croatia, and the Czech Republic.
Difficulties
Taras Prokhasko, “Lileya”
Difficulties - who are they? Hutsuls call people who differ from others in knowledge and skills, which can benefit or harm other people. The novel is dedicated to the “alternative” history of the Carpathians, its action takes place in the period from 1913 to 1951. The Carpathians were both a very archaic environment and, paradoxically as it may sound, a very open zone of intercultural communication. This second myth, about the open Carpathians, is its alternative history. Prokhasko's works have been translated into English, German, Polish, and Russian.
Licorice Darusya
Maria Matios, “Pyramid”
The most famous novel by Maria Matios, rightly called “a tragedy adequate to the history of the twentieth century,” and Darusya herself - “in an almost biblical way.” The action takes place in Bukovina, in a mountain village where Darusya and her parents live, and where the NKVD officers come after the occupation of Western Ukraine by Soviet troops. Now Darusya, whom her fellow villagers consider crazy and for some reason call her “sweet,” lives alone. It's the 70s outside. Darusya remembers her young and loving parents, who were “grinded” by the millstones of the regime, and sometimes reminds people living around her of the sins they committed. But a moment comes and Darusya’s life changes. The novel went through 6 reprints. “Licorice Darusya” was released in Polish, Russian, Croatian, German, Lithuanian, French, Italian.
Oko prіrvi/Chotiri romani
Valery Shevchuk, “A-BA-BA-GA-LA-MA-GA”
Valery Shevchuk is a living classic. The publishing house of Ivan Malkovich has released a book with four of the author’s most famous novels, including “Tear the Eye.” The genre of this novel is a historical-mystical dystopia. Its action takes place in the distant 16th century, but the author hints, of course, at the totalitarian regime of the USSR. Shevchuk’s works have long been published in English, Polish and German.
Ostannє bazhanya
Evgenia Kononenko, “Anneta Antonenko’s show”
How do writers who lied their whole lives die? They served the regime, wrote books that no one read, although the writer’s family lived in abundance for the fees. No one will leave this life until they tell the truth. Even if a notebook with an autobiography falls into the hands of his son, having lain in a pile of unnecessary drafts for a decade and a half. Evgenia Kononenko is a wonderful author and translator of fiction. Her works have been translated into English, German, French, Croatian, Russian, Finnish, Polish, Belarusian and Japanese.
Ukrainian literature originates from a common source for the three fraternal peoples (Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian) - ancient Russian literature.
The revival of cultural life in Ukraine at the end of the 16th - first half of the 17th century, associated with the processes of development of the Ukrainian people, was reflected in the activities of the so-called brotherhoods, schools, and printing houses. The founder of book printing in Ukraine was the Russian pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov, who founded the first printing house in Ukraine in Lvov in 1573. The emergence of printing contributed to the growth of the cultural community of the Ukrainian people and strengthened their linguistic unity. In the context of the intense struggle of the Ukrainian people against Polish-gentry oppression and Catholic expansion at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries. polemical literature arose in Ukraine. An outstanding polemicist was the famous writer Ivan Vyshensky (second half of the 16th - early 17th centuries). During the liberation war of 1648-1654. and in the following decades, school poetry and drama, directed against Latin-Uniate dominance, rapidly developed. The school drama had predominantly religious and instructive content. Gradually she retreated from narrow church themes. Among the dramas there were works on historical subjects (“Vladimir”, “The mercy of God freed Ukraine from the bearable grievances of Lyadsky through Bogdan-Zinovy Khmelnitsky”). In the depiction of the events of the liberation war, elements of realism and nationalism are observed. They are intensified in interludes, nativity plays and especially in the works of the philosopher and poet G. S. Skovoroda (1722-1794), author of the collections “Kharkov Fables”, “Garden of Divine Songs” and others, which were outstanding phenomena during the formation of new Ukrainian literature.
The first writer of new Ukrainian literature was I. P. Kotlyarevsky (17b9-1838) - the author of the famous works “Aeneid” and “Natalka-Poltavka”, which reproduced the life and way of life of the people, the high patriotic feelings of ordinary people. The progressive traditions of I. Kotlyarevsky during the period of formation and approval of new literature (the first half of the 19th century) were continued by P. P. Gulak-Artemovsky, G. F. Kvitko-Osnovyanenko, E. P. Grebenka and others. Evidence of originality and originality New Ukrainian literature in Galicia included the works of M. S. Shashkevich, as well as works included in the almanac “The Dniester Mermaid” (1837).
The work of the greatest Ukrainian poet, artist and thinker, democratic revolutionary T. G. Shevchenko (1814-1861) finally established critical realism and nationalism as the main method of artistic reflection of reality in Ukrainian literature. “Kobzar” (1840) by T. Shevchenko marked a new era in the development of artistic creativity of the Ukrainian people. All of T. Shevchenko’s poetic work is permeated with humanism, revolutionary ideology, and political passion; it expressed the feelings and aspirations of the masses. T. Shevchenko is the founder of the revolutionary-democratic trend in Ukrainian literature.
Under the powerful influence of the work of T. Shevchenko, in the 50-60s, Marco Vovchok (M. A. Vilinskaya), Yu. Fedkovich, L. I. Glibov, A. P. Svidnitsky and others began their literary activities. Works of Marko Vovchok (1834 -1907) “Narodsch opovshchannia” (“People’s stories”),” the story “The Institute” was a new stage in the development of Ukrainian prose along the path of realism, democratic ideology and nationality.
The next stage in the development of realistic prose was the work of I. S. Nechuy-Levitsky (1838-1918), the author of social stories “Burlachka”, “Mikola Dzherya” (1876), “The Kaidash Family” (1878) and others, in which The writer created true images of rebel peasants.
The increased development of capitalist relations after the reform of 1861 led to a sharp aggravation of social contradictions in Ukrainian society and to the intensification of the national liberation movement. Literature is enriched with new themes and genres, reflecting the uniqueness of new socio-economic relations. Critical realism in Ukrainian prose acquired qualitatively new features, the genre of the social novel arose, and works from the life of the revolutionary intelligentsia and the working class appeared.
The intensive development of culture during this period, the activation of social thought, and the intensification of political struggle contributed to the emergence of a number of important periodicals. In the 70-80s, such magazines and collections were published as “Friend”, “Hromadskyi Druzh” (“Public Friend”), “Dzvsh” (“Bell”), “Hammer”, “Svt> (“Peace” in meaning universe). A number of Ukrainian almanacs appeared - “Luna” (“Echo”), “Rada” (“Council”), “Niva”, “Steppe”, etc.
At this time, the revolutionary-democratic direction in Ukrainian literature acquired significant development, represented by such outstanding writers - revolutionary democrats as Panas Mirny (A. Ya. Rudchenko), I. Franko, P. Grabovsky - followers and continuers of the ideological and aesthetic principles of T. Shevchenko. Panas Mirny (1849-1920) began his literary activity in the early 70s of the 19th century. (“The Dashing Beguiled”, “The Drunkard”) and immediately took a prominent place in the Ukrainian literature of critical realism. His social novels “Xi6a roar will, yak manger povsh?” (“Do oxen roar when the manger is full?”), “Pov1ya” (“Walking”) represent a further stage in the development of revolutionary democratic literature. A new phenomenon in the literature of the revolutionary-democratic direction was the work of I. Ya. Franko (1856-1916) - a great poet, prose writer, playwright, famous scientist and thinker, ardent publicist and public figure. After “Kobzar” by T. Shevchenko, the collection of poems by I. Franko “3 peaks and lowlands” (“Peaks and Lowlands”, 1887) was the most outstanding event in Ukrainian literature of the 80s. In the poems and poems of I. Franko, the high ideology of revolutionary art, the principles of new, civil poetry born in the revolutionary political struggle, and the poetry of broad social and philosophical generalizations are affirmed. For the first time in Ukrainian literature, I. Franko showed the life and struggle of the working class (“Borislav laughs,” 1880-1881). The influence of I. Franko was enormous, especially in Galicia, which was then part of Austria-Hungary; it affected the creativity and social activities of writers M. I. Pavlik, S. M. Kovaliv, N. I. Kobrinskaya, T. G. Bordulyak, I. S. Makovey, V. S. Stefanik, whose stories I highly valued M. Gorky, JI. S. Martovich, Mark Cheremshina and others.
The revolutionary poet P. A. Grabovsky (1864-1902), known for his original poetic and critical works published in the 90s of the 19th century, reflected the thoughts, feelings and moods of revolutionary democracy in the 80s-90s.
Ukrainian drama, represented by the names of outstanding playwrights and theatrical figures M. Starytsky, M. Kropivnitsky, I. Karpenko-Kary, reached a high level of development in the 80-90s. The works of these playwrights, which are successfully staged on the stage and in Soviet theaters, reflect the life and everyday life of the Ukrainian village, class stratification and the struggle of the advanced intelligentsia for progressive art, the people’s struggle for freedom and national independence. The most prominent place in the history of Ukrainian drama belongs to I. Karpenko-Karom (I.K. Tobilevich, 1845-1907), who created classical examples of social drama, a new type of social comedy and tragedy. An ardent patriot and humanist, the playwright denounced the contemporary system, revealing the social contradictions of bourgeois society. His plays are widely known: “Martin Borulya”, “One Hundred Thousand”, “Savva Chaly”, “The Master”, “Vanity”, “The Sea of Life”.
In the development of literature of the late XIX - early XX centuries. the work of M. Kotsyubynsky, Lesya Ukrainka, S. Vasilchenko was the highest stage of Ukrainian critical realism, organically connected with the emergence of socialist realism.
M. M. Kotsyubinsky (1864-1913) in the story “Fata morgana” (1903-1910) showed the leading role of the working class in the bourgeois-democratic revolution in the countryside, revealed the rottenness of the bourgeois system, and exposed traitors to the interests of the people. Lesya Ukrainka (1871 - 1913) glorified the revolutionary struggle of the working class and exposed the reactionary nature of populist and Christian ideals. In a number of artistic and journalistic works, the poetess revealed the reactionary meaning of bourgeois philosophy and affirmed the ideas of revolution and the international unity of workers from different countries. The Bolshevik newspaper Pravda, responding to the death of the writer, called her a friend of the workers. The most significant works of Lesya Ukrainka are collections of political lyrics (“On the Krills of Shsen”, 1893; “Thoughts and Dreams” - “Thoughts and Dreams”, 1899), dramatic poems “Davnya Kazka” (“Old Tale”), “In the Pushcha” , “Autumn Tale”, “In the Catacombs”, plays “Forest Song”, “Kamshny Gospodar” (“Stone Lord”) - are among the best works of Ukrainian classical literature.
Under the conditions of the cruel national oppression of the Russian autocracy, along with the creation of works of art, Ukrainian writers carried out great cultural and educational work. The scientist and realist writer B. Grinchenko was especially active in the national cultural movement.
The literary process in Ukraine was not ideologically homogeneous; there was a struggle between different social and political forces. Along with literary artists of the democratic trend, writers of liberal-bourgeois, nationalist convictions (P. Kulish, A. Konissky, V. Vinnichenko, etc.) spoke.
At all historical stages, Ukrainian literature of the pre-October period developed in close connection with the liberation movement of the people, in organic unity with advanced Russian literature. Writers who expressed the interests of advanced, revolutionary art fought for realism, nationalism and high ideological content of Ukrainian literature. Therefore, Ukrainian classical literature was a reliable basis for the creation of new Soviet literature, born of the October Socialist Revolution.
Ukrainian Soviet literature
Ukrainian Soviet literature is an integral and integral part of the multinational literature of the peoples of the USSR. Even in the early stages of its development, it acted as an ardent fighter for the ideas of socialism, freedom, peace and democracy, for the revolutionary transformation of life on the basis of scientific communism. The creators of the new Soviet literature were people from the working class and the poor peasantry (V. Chumak, V. Ellan, V. Sosyurai, etc.), the best representatives of the democratic intelligentsia, who began their activities even before the October Revolution (S. Vasilchenko, M. Rylsky, I. Kocherga, P. Tychina, Y. Mamontov
In the first post-revolutionary years, books by poets were very popular: V. Chumak’s “Zapev”, V. Ellan’s “Blows of the Hammer and the Heart”, P. Tychina’s “The Plow”, poems and poems by V. Sosyura, etc. The process of establishing Soviet literature took place in a tense the fight against the enemies of the revolution and the agents of the bourgeois-nationalist counter-revolution.
During the period of restoration of the national economy (20s), Ukrainian literature developed especially intensively. At this time, writers A. Golovko, I. Kulik, P. Panch, M. Rylsky, M. Kulish, M. Irchan, Yu. Yanovsky, Ivan Jle, A. Kopylenko, Ostap Vishnya, I. Mikitenko and many others actively spoke Young literature reflected the liberation struggle of the people and their creative work in creating a new life. During these years, a number of writers' unions and groups arose in Ukraine: in 1922 - the union of peasant writers "Plow", in 1923 - the organization "Hart", around which proletarian writers were grouped, in 1925 - the union of revolutionary writers "Western Ukraine"; in 1926, the association of Komsomol writers “Molodnyak” arose; There were also futurist organizations (“Association of Pan-Futurists”, “New Generation”). The existence of many different organizations and groups hampered the ideological and artistic development of literature and prevented the mobilization of the forces of writers throughout the country to carry out the tasks of socialist construction. At the beginning of the 1930s, all literary and artistic organizations were liquidated, and a single Union of Soviet Writers was created.
From that time on, the theme of socialist construction became the leading theme of literature. In 1934, P. Tychina published a collection of poems, “The Party Leads”; M. Rylsky, M. Bazhan, V. Sosyura, M. Tereshchenko, P. Usenko and many others are publishing new books. Ukrainian prose writers are achieving great success; The novels and stories of G. Epik “First Spring”, I. Kirilenko “Outposts”, G. Kotsyuba “New Shores”, Ivan Le “Roman of Mezhygorye”, A. Golovko “Mother”, Yu. Yanovsky “Riders” and others are becoming famous. The theme of the revolutionary past and modern socialist reality becomes the main one in drama. The plays “Personnel”, “Girls of Our Country” by I. Mikitenko, “Death of the Squadron” and “Platon Krechet” by A. Korneichuk and others are performed with great success in Ukrainian theaters.
During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), a third of the entire writing organization in Ukraine joined the ranks of the Soviet Army and partisan detachments. Journalism is becoming a particularly important genre. Writers appear in the army press with articles, publish brochures and collections of articles in which they expose the enemy and help cultivate the high morale of the Soviet people who have risen to fight the fascist invaders. M. Rylsky (“Zhaga”), P. Tychyna (“Funeral of a Friend”), A. Dovzhenko (“Ukraine on Fire”), perform works of art that depict the heroism and courage of the people, glorify the patriotism and high ideals of Soviet soldiers. M. Bazhan (“Daniil Galitsky”), A. Korneychuk (“Front”), Y. Yanovsky (“Land of the Gods”), S. Sklyarenko (“Ukraine Calling”), A. Malyshko (“Sons”) and others. Ukrainian literature was a faithful assistant to the party and the people, a reliable weapon in the fight against the invaders.
After the victorious end of the Great Patriotic War, writers for a long time turned to the theme of heroism and patriotism, military valor and courage of our people. The most significant works on these themes in the 40s were “Flag Bearers” by A. Gonchar, “Certificate of Matriculation” by V. Kozachenko, “Chernomortsy” by V. Kucher, “General Vatutin” by L. Dmiterko, “Prometheus” by A. Malyshko, works J. Galan, A. Shiyan, J. Basch, L. Smelyansky, A. Levada, J. Zbanatsky, J. Dold-Mikhailik and many others.
The themes of socialist labor, friendship of peoples, the struggle for peace, and international unity became leading in Ukrainian literature in all post-war years. The treasury of artistic creativity of the Ukrainian people has been enriched with such outstanding works as M. Stelmakh’s novels “Big Relatives”, “Human Blood is Not Water”, “Bread and Salt”, “Truth and Falsehood”; A. Gonchar “Tavria”, “Perekop”, “Man and Weapon”, “Tronka”; N. Rybak “Pereyaslavskaya Rada”; P. Punch “Ukraine was boiling”; Y. Yanovsky “Peace”; G. Tyutyunnik “Whirlpool” (“Vir”) and others; collections of poems by M. Rylsky: “Bridges”, “Brotherhood”, “Roses and Grapes”, “Goloseevskaya Autumn”; M. Bazhan “English impressions”; V. Sosyury “The Happiness of the Working Family”; A. Malyshko “Beyond the Blue Sea”, “Book of Brothers”, “Prophetic Voice”; plays by A. Korneychuk “Above the Dnieper”; A. Levada et al.
Important events in literary life were the second (1948) and third (1954) congresses of Ukrainian writers. The decisions of the XX and XXII Congresses of the CPSU played a huge role in the development of Ukrainian literature, which opened new horizons for the ideological and artistic growth of Ukrainian literature and its strengthening in the positions of socialist realism. The path of development of Ukrainian Soviet literature testifies that only on the basis of socialist realism could the artistic creativity of the Ukrainian people rapidly develop. Ukrainian Soviet literature at all stages of its development was faithful to the ideas of the Communist Party, the principles of friendship of peoples, the ideals of peace, democracy, socialism and freedom. It has always been a powerful ideological weapon of Soviet society in the struggle for the victory of communism in our country.
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 a 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 an English translation of the popular novel “Black Raven” by Vasily Shklyar. 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 disfigured by the occupation of Western Ukraine by Soviet troops, was 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 that, the English version of 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. 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 both his political position and his 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 admired for their psychology, depth, criticality, and some fiction novels for their 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 Zhadan’s most successful novels, “Voroshilovgrad,” was published, 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 writers, journalist and screenwriter Irene Rozdobudko is the author of almost 30 works of fiction. 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 Maria Matios’s book, then, in 2012, published Irene Rozdobudko’s novel “The Button” in English.
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 tendency to invent mysterious stories for his 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 Makes the Snow" is an instructive story about little babies, friendship and mutual assistance, care and homeliness, 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 work includes historical novels, 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. 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.
In addition to the fact that Tychyna was a 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, but literary critic Sergei Efremov noticed that Tychyna does not fit into any literary movement, because he is one of those poets who create them themselves.
However, when Ukraine officially joins the USSR, Tychina becomes a true Soviet writer, a “singer of the new day,” and descends into 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, Tychyna would still have been included in the ranks of 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 “Liknepian” reading material for the masses, which filled the bookshelves of Soviet Ukraine, and directing 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 ordinary, everyday life.
However, the real creative revival of the poet occurred in the 50s, when the Khrushchev Thaw began. Poetry collections from this last period of the poet’s life - “”, “”, “”, “” - 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 of 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 the 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 more. He glorifies the distant past, hidden in the debris of material culture - in jewelry, household utensils, weapons, rock paintings and patterns on ceramics.
Olzhich 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 civic activist, a member of the OUN, a famous poetess, who wrote only 47 poems, but even this small creative heritage has 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 the inner life, experiences and thoughts of his lyrical hero. Pluzhnik is primarily interested not in the metanarratives of his time, but in global philosophical issues, 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. Over his long career, 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 the continuity of aesthetic principles of 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 forever entered the annals of domestic literature as the creator of unusual neologisms and bright shocking images.
Funny video
The 2 year old loves to throw. Look what happened when his parents bought him a basketball hoop!
In recent months, the Library of Ukrainian Literature in Moscow has not disappeared from the city news. At the end of October, its director Natalya Sharina faced a criminal case for allegedly distributing among readers books by the 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 community.
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. The main character travels around Moscow, communicates with different people, finds himself in 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 a grandiose novel, “The 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 doing 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 grows not 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 number of 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 appears 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 of the 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 over most of 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 the 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 the 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 Russian Prize prizes for two years. 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 –
