Ukrainian literature

Last updated March 17, 2024

Ukrainian literature is literature written in the Ukrainian language.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Ukrainian literature mostly developed under foreign domination over Ukrainian territories, foreign rule by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Poland, the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Romania, the Austria-Hungary Empire, and the Ottoman Empire, enriched Ukrainian culture and language, and Ukrainian authors were able to produce a rich literary heritage.

History

Ukrainian literature’s precursor: writings in Old-Church Slavonic and Latin in Ukraine

Prior to the establishment of Ukrainian literature in 1700s, many authors from Ukraine wrote in "scholarly" languages of middle-ages – Latin and Old-Church Slavonic. Among prominent authors from Ukraine who wrote in Latin and Old-Church Slavonic are Hryhorii Skovoroda, Yuriy Drohobych, Stanislav Orikhovsky-Roxolan, Feofan Prokopovych, Jan-Toma Yuzefovych [ pl ], Pavlo Rusyn-Krosnyanyn [ pl ] and others.

Beginnings of oral Ukrainian literature

During this period of history there was a higher number of elementary schools per population in the Hetmanate than in either neighboring Muscovy or Poland. In the 1740s, of 1,099 settlements within seven regimental districts, as many as 866 had primary schools.^[4] The German visitor to the Hetmanate, writing in 1720, commented on how the son of Hetman Danylo Apostol, who had never left Ukraine, was fluent in the Latin, Italian, French, German, Polish and Russian languages^[5]

Late 16th and early 17th century included the rise of folk epics called dumy . These songs celebrated the activities of the Cossacks and were oral retellings of major Ukrainian historical events in modern Ukrainian language (i.e., not in Old-Church Slavonic). This period produced Ostap Veresai, a renowned minstrel and kobzar from Poltava province, Ukraine.

Beginnings of written Ukrainian literature

Ivan Kotlyarevsky (1769–1838)	Taras Shevchenko (1814–1861)	Ivan Franko (1856–1916)	Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky (1864–1913)	Lesya Ukrainka (1871–1913)

The establishment of Ukrainian literature is believed to have been triggered by the publishing of a widely successful poem Eneida by Ivan Kotliarevsky in 1798, which is one of the first instances of a printed literary work written in modern Ukrainian language.^[6]^[7] Due to Kotliarevsky's role as the inaugurator of Ukrainian literature, among literary critics he is often referred to as "the father of Ukrainian literature".^[8] Modern Ukrainian prose was inaugurated by Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko’s novel Marusya (1834).^[6]^[7]

Contemporary literature

Since the late 1980s, and particularly after the independence of Ukraine (1991) and disappearance of Soviet censorship the whole generation of writers emerged: Sofia Maidanska, Ihor Kalynets, Moysey Fishbein, Yuri Andrukhovych, Serhiy Zhadan, Oksana Zabuzhko, Oleksandr Irvanets, Yuriy Izdryk, Maria Matios, Ihor Pavlyuk and many others. Many of them are considered to be "postmodernists".

Notable Ukrainian writers

Related Research Articles

Shevchenko National Prize is the highest state prize of Ukraine for works of culture and arts awarded since 1961. It is named after the inspirer of Ukrainian national revival Taras Shevchenko. It is one of the five state prizes of Ukraine that are awarded for achievements in various fields.

Dnipro is a monthly colour literary magazine in Ukraine. Published as Dnipro since 1944, it has its origins in the Molodniak magazine of 1927. The magazine features prose, contemporary poetry, modern Ukrainian drama, interviews, and reviews.

Iryna Onufriyivna Kalynets was a Ukrainian poet, writer, activist and Soviet dissident during the 1970s. Kalynets was the wife of another Soviet dissident, Ihor Kalynets.

The Vasyl Stus Prize, given since January 1989, is the first non-governmental prize awarded for "talent and courage" and being worthy of the memory of Vasyl Stus. This Prize was set up by the Ukrainian Association of the Independent Creative Intelligentsia and awarded every year on the poet's, Stus', date of birth in Lviv. In 1990 it moved to Kyiv.

Contemporary Ukrainian literature refers to Ukrainian literature since 1991, the year of both Ukrainian independence and the collapse of the Soviet Union. From that year on, censorship in the Soviet Union ceased to exist and writers were able to break openly with the official socialist realism style of art, music, and literature. Principal changes had taken place in Ukrainian literature already under Perestroika (1985) and especially after the Chernobyl disaster. Some researchers consider that modern Ukrainian literature was born during the 1970s and founded by Soviet dissidents from the sixties generation.

Taras Prokhasko is a Ukrainian novelist, essayist and journalist. Together with Yuri Andrukhovych a major representative of the Stanislav phenomenon. Writing of Taras Prokhasko is often associated with magical realism, his novel «The UnSimple» has been compared to One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. Biologist by education Prokhasko's prose has been called to have features of "philosophy of a plant" for its dense and meditative character.

The Antonovych Prize is an annual award of US$10,000 given by the Omelian and Tetiana Antonovych Foundation, since 1981 for literary works written in Ukrainian and for research in Ukrainian studies. Institutions, individuals, and members of the prize jury can make nominations, but only the jury decides the winners. Laureates are asked to give a speech at an award ceremony.

The governor of Sumy Oblast is the head of executive branch for the Sumy Oblast.

The Honorary Diploma of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is an award of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) of Ukraine for significant contribution to any sphere of life, outstanding socio-political activities, services to the Ukrainian people in promoting and strengthening Ukraine as a democratic, social, legal state, implementing measures to ensure rights and freedoms of citizens, development of democracy, parliamentarism and civil harmony in society, and active participation in legislative activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honorary Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine</span> Ukrainian government award

The Honorary Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is a government award for many years of hard work, exemplary performance of official duties, personal contribution to economic, scientific, technical, socio-cultural, military, public and other spheres of activity, service to the Ukrainian people in promoting the rule of law and implementation of measures to ensure the protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens, the development of democracy, and the effective operation of executive bodies and local governments.

Science fiction, fantasy and horror are literary subgenres of speculative fiction found in Ukrainian literature and media, written in Ukraine or by Ukrainian writers in both Ukrainian, Russian, Crimean Tatar, & some other languages. The most influential classic writer of Ukrainian science fiction is Oles Berdnyk.

Anna-Galya Gorbach, née Lutsyak was a Ukrainian literary critic, translator of Ukrainian literature into German, publisher, and public and political figure. Doctor of Philosophy, member of the National Writers' Union of Ukraine (1993), corresponding member of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in Europe, winner of the Ivan Franko literary prize (1994), the Vasyl Stus award of the Ukrainian Association of Independent Creative Intelligentsia (1993), the Triumph Award (2001), the Olena Teliga (2009), Panteleimon Kulish (2019). A wife of a Ukrainian philologist and publisher Oleksa Gorbach. One of the most famous and active personalities in the Ukrainian cultural and intellectual world of the Ukrainian diaspora.

References

↑ Ukraine: Cultural life — literature // Encyclopædia Britannica 15th ed. (second version, Macropædia) Vol. 28: S-U (1985–2010). 1050 p.: 981—1982 pp. (in English)
↑ Ukrainian literature // Encyclopædia Britannica 15th ed. (second version, Micropædia) Vol. 12: Trudeau — Żywiec (1985–2010). 968 p.: p. 111 (in English)
↑ Ukrainian literature // Encyclopædia Britannica Online, жовтень 2019 (in English)
↑ Magocsi, Paul Robert (1996). A History of Ukraine. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 285. ISBN 0-8020-0830-5.
↑ Volodymyr Sichynsky (1953). Ukraine in foreign comments and descriptions from the VIth to XXth century. New York: Ukrainian Congress Committee of America
1 2 Ukrainian literature // Encyclopædia Britannica 15th ed. (second version, Micropædia) Vol. 12: (1985–2010). 948 p.: p. 111 (in English)
1 2 Ukrainian literature // Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2019 (in English)
↑ Parody and Burlesque // Hardie, Philip. The Last Trojan Hero: A Cultural History of Virgil's Aeneid. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. 2014. 264 p: 187 (in English)

Bibliography

A History of Ukrainian Literature (From the 11th to the End of the 19th Century): With an Overview of the Twentieth Century (Annals of the Ukrainian Academy … and Sciences in the U.S., Inc, Vol 17–19) by Dmitrij Tschizewskij, George S. N. Luckyj, Dolly Ferguson, and Doreen Gorsline
Ukrainian Literature Through the Ages by Yevhen Shabliovsky, Abraham Mistetsky, and Andrew Marko (Paperback – 1 January 2001)
Toward a history of Ukrainian literature. Grabowicz, George G. / distrib. by Harvard University Press for the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute / 1981 (104: SLA U 50 : 50s Bungehuis-Spuistraat 210, 2e etage)
A history of Ukrainian literature, from the 11th to the end of the 19th century. Cyzevs'kyj, Dmytro / Ukrainian Academic Press / 1975 (UBM: H 77–63, Singel 425, UB magazijn)
Ukrainian literature. Kasinec, Edward / Harvard University / 1977 (UBM: Br. f\0 L m 9)
Ukrainian literature in the twentieth century: a reader's guide. Luckyj, George S.N. / Univ. of Toronto press / 1992 (UBM: H 96-1818)
Ukrainian Literature in English, 1980–1989 by Marta Tarnawsky

External links

A history of Ukrainian literature by Dmytro Čyževs'kyj
Electronic Library of Ukrainian Literature – established under the auspices of the Institute of Encyclopedic Research, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Danylo Husar Struk. Literature at the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
Slavic Literature Resources from the Slavic Reference Service, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
Ukrainian literature in The Columbia Encyclopedia
Ukrainian literature in Encyclopædia Britannica
Ukrainian Writing in Canada in The Canadian Encyclopedia
Ukrainian literature in The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Ukraine: Cultural life — literature // Encyclopædia Britannica 15th ed. (second version, Macropædia) Vol. 28: S-U (1985–2010). 1050 p.: 981—1982 pp. (in English)

[2] Ukrainian literature // Encyclopædia Britannica 15th ed. (second version, Micropædia) Vol. 12: Trudeau — Żywiec (1985–2010). 968 p.: p. 111 (in English)

[3] Ukrainian literature // Encyclopædia Britannica Online, жовтень 2019 (in English)

[4] Magocsi, Paul Robert (1996). A History of Ukraine. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 285. ISBN 0-8020-0830-5.

[5] Volodymyr Sichynsky (1953). Ukraine in foreign comments and descriptions from the VIth to XXth century. New York: Ukrainian Congress Committee of America

[BT_1-6] 1 2 Ukrainian literature // Encyclopædia Britannica 15th ed. (second version, Micropædia) Vol. 12: (1985–2010). 948 p.: p. 111 (in English)

[BT_2-7] 1 2 Ukrainian literature // Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2019 (in English)

[8] Parody and Burlesque // Hardie, Philip. The Last Trojan Hero: A Cultural History of Virgil's Aeneid. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. 2014. 264 p: 187 (in English)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]