Writers of Ukrainian literature. Modern Ukrainian writers

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 Ukrainianists and students of departments of Ukrainian language and literature in other countries. We do not mention writers of Ukrainian origin who lived and worked abroad, not positioning themselves as representatives of Ukrainian culture: the same Joseph Conrad, who was born in Berdychiv, 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 create in Ukraine, whose works are translated and published in other countries of the world.

Sexual interest in Ukrainian sex

Oksana Zabuzhko, Komora

Even if you are among those who do not like Zabuzhko, you cannot but agree that she is a master of modernity, a deep connoisseur of Ukrainian history and an attentive researcher. human relations. Some novels come to us just 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 give up herself, her talent, mission and space, her soul and destiny. The novel has been published in English, Bulgarian, Dutch, Italian, German, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Swedish, Czech. Other works by Oksana Zabuzhko: "Sister, sister", "The Tale of Viburnum Sopilka", "The Museum of Abandoned Secrets" are also published in translation abroad.

Perversion

Yuri Andrukhovych, "Lileya"

A completely crazy plot, and it is clear why foreign readers liked it. Imagine a scientific symposium in Venice, the theme of which is: “Post-carnival without a head of light: what's on the brink?”. Ukrainian writer Stanislav Perfetsky gets to the syposium through Munich, who is given a ride by a strange married couple: Ada Citrina and the mute Dr. Janus Maria Riesenbock. In Venice, Perfetsky, rushing after a prostitute, falls into a sectarian service: representatives of migrants of different nationalities worship a new deity, to whom a large fish is sacrificed at the end of the ceremony. And then the plot twists in such a way that Perfetsky finds its finale only on the remote island of San Michele, finally finding the only priest who can listen to his confession and talk to him about Ukraine. The novel has been published in many languages, as well as another cult work of the author - "Moskoviada".

Mesopotamia

Sergey Zhadan, "Family Dosville Club"

"Mesopotamia" is nine stories in prose and thirty verse clarifications. All the texts of this book are about one environment, the characters move from one story to another, and then into poetry. Philosophical digressions, fantastic images, exquisite metaphors and specific humor - there is everything that attracts so much in Zhadan's works. These are the stories of Babylon, retold for those who are interested in matters 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, a chronicle of street fights and daily passions. The novel is very popular abroad.

Cult

Lyubko Deresh, Calvary

"Cult" is the first novel by Lubomir (Lubko) Deresh. Back in 2001, the young author was 16 years old. Some 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 an Outsider

Andrey Kurkov, Folio

Kurkov is perhaps one of the most published Ukrainian writers abroad; translations of his "Picnic on Ice" were published by the best publishing houses. In English, the book was published under the title "Death and the Penguin" (Death and the Penguin), and many languages ​​​​have retained this version. To date, the novel has been translated into five languages, including English, German, and Italian. What interested foreign readers in the story? The fact that this is a very interesting intellectual detective story. Journalist Viktor Zolotarev receives an unusual assignment from a major newspaper: to write obituaries for prominent influential people, although they are all still alive. Gradually, he realizes that he has become a participant in a major game of shadow structures, getting out of which alive turns out to be an almost unrealistic task. Kurkov's works have been translated into 37 languages ​​of the world.

Tango of death

Yuriy Vinnichuk, "Folio"

This novel was named the 2012 Air Force 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 Lvov. Their parents were soldiers of the UNR army and died in 1921 near Bazar. Young people go through all the ups and downs of their age, but never betray 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, Czech Republic.

Difficulty

Taras Prokhasko, "Lileya"

Neprostі - who are they? Hutsuls call so 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 at the same time a very archaic environment and, paradoxically, 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, "Piramida"

The most famous novel by Maria Matios, rightly called "a tragedy adequate to the history of the twentieth century," and Darusya herself - "almost in a 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 call “sweet” for some reason, lives alone. In the yard - 70s. Darusya remembers her young and loving parents, who were “ground” by the millstones of the regime, and sometimes reminds the people living around her of the sins committed. But the moment comes, and Darusya's life changes. The novel went through 6 editions. "Solodka Darusya" was published in Polish, Russian, Croatian, German, Lithuanian, French, Italian.

Eye of Prіrvi/Chotiri Romani

Valery Shevchuk, A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA

Valery Shevchuk is a living classic. The publishing house of Ivan Malkovich has released a book with four of the most famous novels of the author, among which is "The Eye of Prіrvi". The genre of this novel is historical and mystical dystopia. Its action takes place in the distant 16th century, but the author, of course, hints at the totalitarian regime of the USSR. Shevchuk's works have long been published in English, Polish and German.

Remain the bajan

Evgenia Kononenko, "Annetta Antonenko's vidavnitstvo"

How do writers die who have been lying all their lives? They served the regime, wrote books that no one read, although the writer's family lived in abundance for fees. No one will die 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.

Soviet U. l. developed in an atmosphere of intense class struggle. As a result of the civil war in the Ukraine, the defeat of the bourgeoisie and international intervention, the decisive and final victory of the socialist revolution, a significant part of the bourgeois intelligentsia, including its literary representatives, emigrated abroad. In the bourgeois-imperialist countries, these enemies of the people continued their dirty work of slander, insinuations, sabotage and espionage directed against Soviet Ukraine, the Land of Soviets, its culture and literature. The other part of the bourgeois intelligentsia, which proclaimed its "loyalty" to the Soviet government, in fact only adapted to the legal possibilities and continued its hostile line, resorting to double-dealing methods of struggle, seeking support in the class of the rural bourgeoisie, and partly the industrial bourgeoisie, which had not been liquidated in the early years of the Soviet government. , and later - in the external capitalist environment. Suffering defeat after defeat on the Lithuanian front, it embarked on the path of underground counter-revolutionary activity. One of its groups (“SVU”) was liquidated in 1929. Nationalists, Trotskyists, “left” and right traitors for many years, right up to their defeat by the organs of the dictatorship of the proletariat, tried in every possible way to retard the growth of the Soviet literature, tried to decompose it from within to submit to your influence. However, despite the subversive activities of the enemies, Soviet Ukrainian literature has steadily grown, strengthened and achieved significant success, becoming in the forefront of the literature of the great Soviet Union.

Soviet U. l. developed under the beneficial influence of the liberating ideas of the great Russian literature, in particular, the socialist ideas of the Russian proletarian literature, its greatest representative, founder, brilliant writer A. M. Gorky. This influence was combined with the critical development of the Ukrainian revolutionary-democratic literary heritage. Soviet U. l. has grown stronger and stronger in close cooperation with the literature of the fraternal peoples of our great Union, making extensive use of the wealth of Soviet folklore in the process of its development. Creativity of Ukrainian writers - T. Shevchenko, M. Kotsiubinsky, Lesya Ukrainka, I. Franko, and on the other hand, Russian writers - A. Pushkin, N. Nekrasov, M. Saltykov-Shchedrin - the live communication of writers with A. M. Gorky and the participation of Ukrainian Soviet writers in the practice of building socialism - all this taken together had a great influence on the process of formation of the young Ukrainian Soviet literature, on the development of its language, genres and style.

Poetic activity of the largest Ukrainian poet Pavlo stamens walked along the line symbolist poetics. Already in 1917-1919, Pavlo Tychyna made revolutionary-realistic poems (“There are poplars near the field in the wild”, “Thought about three winds”, “On the Maidan near the church”, “Yak having fallen from a horse”), which took a prominent place in Ukrainian Soviet poetry. Somewhat later, Vladimir Sosyura with poems ("Chervona Zim") and poems ("Vidplata", "Before Us", "Oh, not for nothing", etc.), written in the style of revolutionary romanticism (collections "Poeziya", 1921, and "Chervona Zim", 1922) .

The period of transition to peaceful work to restore the national economy expanded and deepened the growth of Soviet literature as a whole; at this time a number of new poets appeared (M. Bazhan, P. Usenko, L. Pervomaisky), prose writers (Yu. Yanovsky, YU. Smolich, A. Golovko, A. Kopylenko, P. Punch, A. Lyubchenko, I. Senchenko), S. Vasilchenko continued his work, began literary activity A. Korneichuk, who later moved to the forefront of the playwrights of the Union.

Lit-ra of this period paid much attention to the depiction of the civil war, showing the struggle of the working people of Ukraine against the enemies of the revolution (A. Golovko, collection of stories “I Can”, A. Kopylenko, collection “Wild hop”, P. Punch - story “Without a trump card ”, “Dove echelons”, A. Lyubchenko, stories “Zyama”, etc.); L. Pervomaisky published the poem "Tripilskaya tragedy", dedicated to the heroic campaign of the Komsomol members against the kulak gangs; P. Usenko sang the Komsomol in verse - Sat. "KSM". The class struggle in the countryside, the struggle of the poor peasantry against the kulaks, was reflected in the best story of this time - “Weeds” by Andrey Golovko. In this story, A. Golovko, having based the plot on the well-known fact of the murder of the worker correspondent Malinovsky with fists, managed to translate into vivid images characteristics the Ukrainian village in the first years of the revolution, to give an exciting work saturated with hatred of class enemies, which has firmly entered the asset of Soviet literature.

A significant contribution to Ukrainian Soviet prose is the post-revolutionary short stories by Stepan Vasylchenko, the best student of Kotsiubynsky. In the stories devoted to the depiction of the life of schoolchildren, S. Vasilchenko (for more details see about him in the section “Ukrainian literature of the late XIX and early XX centuries”) talks about how children's abilities flourish in the conditions of a free Soviet school. On the specific example work of the aviation circle ("Aviation Group") Vasilchenko draws a typical picture of the development of children's ingenuity, amateur pioneers, their love for aviation. In the most significant work, both in terms of size and artistic merit, Vasilchenko, with deep lyrical warmth and gentle humor, tells about the acquaintance of city pioneers-pupils with the village, about the disinterested help to their peasants in harvesting. The plot is complicated and complemented by a subtle display of the emerging feeling of falling in love among teenagers. In poetry, an outstanding event was Tychyna's collection "Wind from Ukraine", which testified to the further ideological and artistic growth of the poet. In this collection, the themes of the struggle of workers at various stages of history for free joyful labor are combined with new searches in the field of poetic form.

Mikola Bazhan, an outstanding master of verse, also began his poetic activity with a romantic chanting of the heroism of the revolution (the collection The 17th Patrol, 1926); his early poems were distinguished by the emphasized tension of the situation and psychological states, and in stylistic means the influence of early Mayakovsky's poetics was clearly felt.

During the period of transition to peaceful work and the struggle for socialist industrialization, the class struggle in literature became especially aggravated in the phenomenon of the so-called. "Khvylevism" (on behalf of Khvylovy - a representative of counter-revolutionary bourgeois nationalism). Khvylovy sought to orient Soviet literature towards bourgeois Europe. In this he was actively helped by the neoclassicists, one of the currents of the bourgeois-nationalist literature, the work of which Khvylevy declared the only true and desirable. Khvylevism reflected the influence on U. l. rural and urban bourgeoisie, which became more active in the 1920s. As an agent of the capitalist encirclement, going hand in hand with a similar manifestation of nationalism on the political front - "Shumskism" - Khvylevism sought to separate Ukraine from Soviet Russia in order to restore capitalism in Ukraine. These attitudes of Khvylovy were clearly revealed in the course of a literary discussion (1925-1928). The party led by Comrade Stalin, timely revealed the counter-revolutionary essence of Khvylevism, neoclassicism and other hostile currents and put an end to the "discussion" by a resolution of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CP(b)U, published on May 15, 1927. Spreading its temporary influence on a number of writers who began to go over to the side of Soviet power or were on Soviet positions, after the dissolution of their literary organization (Vaplite, 1927), Khvylovy’s group continued its corrupting activities in disguised forms (allegorism, Aesopian language), in their supposedly “out-of-group” journals Literary Fairs, Litfront. The party also exposed this maneuver of the nationalists. At that time, a certain part of the bourgeois-nationalist intelligentsia, which had made its way into literature and related ideological fields - theater, philosophy, etc. - went underground for counter-revolutionary subversive activities, but was exposed and liquidated by the organs of the dictatorship of the proletariat.

In addition to the neoclassicals, who covered up their hostility to the revolution with "apoliticality" and "neutralism", the futurists waged a stubborn struggle against the proletarian literature. The Ukrainian futurists, who took as a basis the Trotskyist thesis of the negation of the proletarian literature, were the conductors of counter-revolutionary Trotskyism. Under the guise of "destruction of form" they engaged in subversive "work". Some of them, who went underground, in the struggle against the Ukrainian people, subsequently descended into methods of terror. Those who took the path of counter-revolutionary underground activity, the representatives of the Futurists, neoclassics, Khvylevists and other literary organizations, were finally crushed and uprooted during the years of the second five-year plan.

In terms of style, the literature of the period of transition to peaceful work presented a motley picture. YU. Yanovsky, who already at that time had established himself as an outstanding stylist, but ideologically succumbed to nationalist influences, followed the path of abstract romanticism. Kopylenko and Sosyura, carried away by the heroism of the civil war, mainly developed in line with revolutionary romanticism, although in Sosyura's poems, for example. sometimes decadent moods prevailed, which testified to the poet's misunderstanding of the political essence of the NEP. Golovko, partly Punch, Lyubchenko, Kopylenko reflected impressionistic influences in their work, although they mostly moved towards realism. Smolich cultivated science fiction and adventure genres. Rylsky's poetry was influenced by neoclassical "apoliticism"; ignoring the surrounding reality and struggle, he plunged into the world of dreams and a fictional Greco-Roman idyll. Tychina, on the contrary, successfully overcame cosmic symbolism, moving on to realism, enriching his skills with the experience of in-depth study of reality and the use of folk art. Starting from the period of struggle for socialist industrialization and collectivization Agriculture, Tychyna was more and more inclined towards political poetry, became a bright singer of Soviet patriotism (collection Chernigiv, 1931, Party Vede, 1934). Rylsky began to move away from apathy, approaching modernity, becoming more and more interested in social topics (the collection “Gominі vіdgomin”, “De the roads converge”, 1929). Bazhan in his philosophical poems ("Budіvlі", "Number"), rich in synthetic images, showed himself to be an outstanding poet-thinker. In his works, the poet made a bold attempt to understand the historical path of human development, to present past formations in generalized images, to critically comprehend the social past, striving to perceive the era of socialism, which the poet pathetically affirms, more deeply and organically. This work was not free from idealistic breakdowns. There were also moments when the poet did not see a way out of the contradictions, was tormented by the consciousness of Hamlet's duality ("Hoffmann's Nich"). But in such major works as "Rozmov's Heart" (Conversation of Hearts) and "The Death of Hamlet", Bazhan subjected the instability of petty-bourgeois psychology and Hamletism to devastating criticism, mercilessly scourging the "romance of double souls." The stage of ideological awareness of the era ends with Bazhan with a picture of a merciless struggle against the remnants of capitalism in human psychology (“Trilogy of Passion”, 1933). The poet deeply understood that "the only great and real humanity is the Leninist humanity of the last battles."

The prose of this period sought to reflect the socialist construction, covering to some extent the processes of industrialization (V. Kuzmich, "Kryla", L. Smilyansky, "Mashinisti", "Mekhzavod"), putting forward the problems of the relationship between the intelligentsia and the working class (Kopylenko, "Vizvolennya") , questions of the social significance of labor and science in the capitalist countries and in our country (Smolich, "The State of Dr. Galvanescu", "What Bulo Let's Go"), class struggle in the colonial countries (Smolich, "Another Beautiful Catastrophe"). Some of the works of this period did not escape nationalist influences (Yanovsky's Chotiri Patterns, Sosyura's "Heart", Smolich's "False Melpomene", Smolich's "On the Heart's Beat"), naturalistic tendencies ("Hard Material" Kopylenko), decadent moods, Yeseninism (“If the acacias bloom” by Sosyura). The confusion of some writers in the face of the difficulties of the revolutionary struggle was reflected in the decadence.

The bulk of writers resolutely and irrevocably switched to Soviet positions. The VUSPP, which did not notice the restructuring of these writers, continued to bully and defame them. Having become a brake on the path of the further development of the Soviet literature and the unification of its forces, the VUSPP, like similar organizations in other republics and their association "VOAPP", was liquidated by a decree of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of April 23, 1932.

Decree of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks "On the restructuring of literary and artistic organizations", an indication of comrade. Stalin on the struggle for socialist realism, his definition of the role of writers as "engineers human souls”, a high assessment of V. Mayakovsky, which emphasized the enormous importance of political poetry, the All-Union Congress of Writers, the organization of the Writers' Union and the tireless leadership of A. M. Gorky, the Stalin Constitution - created all the prerequisites for that heyday and a new upsurge of Soviet literature, to- ry came in the years of the second five-year plan. The period of struggle for the socialist industrialization and collectivization of agriculture was marked by glorious victories and achievements on the front of the collectivization and industrialization of the country, the fruit of which was the Stalin Constitution. The USSR became a country of victorious socialism, an unshakable outpost of the world revolution. This was the reason why the enemies of the people - Trotskyists, nationalists and other agents of the counter-revolution - with particular bitterness, by means of individual terror, sabotage, sabotage, espionage, tried to slow down the powerful forward movement of socialism on all fronts of construction, including Lithuania. But the enemies were completely defeated. Part of the members of literary organizations, including the VUSPP, were exposed as enemies of the people, who in every possible way also harmed the cause of the development of Soviet literature. Despite the subversive activities of the enemies, the Soviet literature continued to develop rapidly. The Second Five-Year Plan was a very intensive period in the development of Soviet ultrasonic literature, and its ideological and artistic level rose considerably. Such poets as P. Tychina, M. Bazhan, M. Rylsky, prose writers - A. Golovko, Yu. Yanovsky, Yu. Smolich, A. Kopylenko, playwrights - A. Korneichuk, I. Kocherga, became prominent figures in Soviet literature. ry. The tireless leadership of the party, personally by Comrade Stalin and A. M. Gorky, contributed to the development of the Soviet legal system. in the spirit of socialist realism, although literature continued to lag behind the tasks that the cultural construction of the country put forward before it.

Subjects of the Soviet U. l. this period is as varied as it is significant. Lit-ra of these years reflected the processes of building socialism, the further growth of industrialization, collectivization, created images of a new man, reflected the period of the civil war, the recent past - from the revolution of 1905 to October. As for previous historical eras, the life of the Ukrainian people in the historical past, writers began to approach these topics closely only in this period. In 1933, M. Rylsky's poem "Marina" was published, depicting the hard life of a serf woman and the wild customs of the feudal lords. It clearly reflects the era of serfdom in Ukraine. One of best plays I. Kocherhy "The Song of the Candle" truthfully depicts the struggle of the Ukrainian people against the feudal lords in the 16th century.

Socialist construction in the broad sense of the word was reflected in a number of works of this period. Most of the poetic works showed the achievements and victories of the socialist era, developing the motives for the defense of the country and the fight against international reaction; poets called for vigilance, expressing hatred and contempt for traitors to the motherland - Trotskyists, nationalists and all kinds of counter-revolutionaries. They sang the new, socialist man, a joyful, cultured, prosperous life, love for the motherland, the party and the leader, comrade. Stalin. Unforgettable pages of the history of the civil war came to life under their pen, they were inspired by the exploits of the heroes of the Soviet Union, the Stakhanov movement, the desire of the international proletariat for a world revolution, the heroic struggle of the Spanish and Chinese peoples for their independence.

A significant ideological and political upsurge is characteristic of the work of many poets of this time, and especially of outstanding masters of poetry. So Tychyna, in his wonderful collections of poems - "Chernigiv" and "Partiya Vede", based on the organically deep use of folklore, gave a number of exciting songs about tractor drivers, about Kotovsky, poems about the heroism of youth and caustic satyrs on all sorts of pans and enemies of the motherland. He created brilliant examples of politically pointed poetry. A very significant ideological turn of Maxim Rylsky it was from the end of the first five-year plan: the poet resolutely moved away from neoclassicism, began to perceive the real Soviet reality more deeply. An indicator of this turning point was the collection "Sign of Tereziv", which was soon followed by: the poem "Marina", collections - "Kyiv", "Leto", "Ukraine". If Rylsky's first two collections ("The Sign of Tereziv" and "Kiev") still bore the imprint of contemplation in search of a new path, as well as individual relapses of neoclassical poetics, then the last two - "Leto" and "Ukraine" - already gave samples of the poetry of a mature master, depicting the achievements of socialist construction. His “Song about Stalin” enjoys significant success. It gained popularity throughout the Soviet Union, became truly popular. At the same time, Rylsky is keenly interested in the historical past of Ukraine; The poet contrasts the tragic past of the enslaved Ukrainian people with the bright present - the victories and cheerfulness of the Stalin era. Ukrainian Soviet poetry created images of a positive hero, as the embodiment of the best typical features of a socialist person. Such is, for example, the image of S. M. Kirov in M. Bazhan's poem "Immortality", reproducing three main stages in the life and work of Kirov: underground work in Siberia, participation in the civil war and the role of Kirov - the builder of socialism, the leader of the party. This poem is a major victory for M. Bazhan. In it, the poet showed himself to be one of the best political lyricists. For Soviet poetry as a whole, this poem is a significant achievement. Having got rid of his earlier features of idealistic thinking, heaviness of style and archaic vocabulary, Bazhan in Immortality created a majestic image of a heroic, energetic, indefatigable in work, humane, devoted to the people of the Bolshevik, full of bright joy, faith in the victory of socialism, inexhaustible optimism and intransigence to the enemy. The poem is distinguished by a broad outlook, it deeply feels the vast expanse of our country, the scale and grandiose scope of the construction of socialism, this whole picture is imbued with the majestic pathos of socialist creativity and life, conquering death, defeating the vile intrigues of the enemy. The poem ends with a hymn to the free socialist creative labor of liberated humanity. characteristic style feature poems: the power of expressiveness, aphoristic conciseness, the synthesis of thought and emotional tension. The second poem by M. Bazhan - "Fathers and Blues" (Fathers and Sons, 1938) - is a poem about the brave selfless struggle of workers for Soviet power, it is a hymn to Soviet patriotism. In this poem, M. Bazhan embodied the thought of comrade. Stalin that "the blood shed abundantly by our people was not in vain, that it gave its results." The poem captures with the pathos of majestic truth, heroism and hatred for the enemies of the revolution.

Of the positive images, special attention of poets is attracted by the image of the leader of the peoples, comrade. Stalin, to whom many poems are dedicated to Rylsky, Tychyna, Bazhan, Sosyura, Usenko, Golovanivsky, Kryzhanivsky and others. The legendary heroes of the Red Army - Kotovsky, Shchors, Frunze, the iron commissar Voroshilov, their exploits and victories inspire many poets. Of these poems, it should be noted "The Song of Kotovsky" and "The Poem of Kotovsky" by Tychyna, L. Dmiterko's great poem about the folk hero Shchors - "The Oath of the Supreme", in which the poet painted an expressive image of the glorious commander of the Red Army. Formal growth and a deeper ideological aspiration are visible in such poets as V. Sosiura, L. Pervomaisky, S. Golovanivsky, P. Usenko. In the collection "New Poetry" V. Sausyura sang the heroism of the defenders of Madrid, created heartfelt images of the leaders of the revolution. His poems are imbued with optimism, they feel the boiling of young creative forces.

L. Pervomaisky with the collection "Nova Lyrica" ​​(poems 1934-1937) showed that he successfully overcomes the dryness, some artificiality and ideological breakdowns characteristic of his previous works. The last poems and songs of this poet acquire a transparency of form and greater simplicity of expression. Their distinctive quality is cheerfulness and solemn elation, with which the poet speaks of love for the motherland, for Comrade. Stalin, to heroic people and youth Soviet country.

S. Golovanivsky in new poems in the collection "Zustrich Mary" is freed from mannerisms, his verses become more natural and smooth; best of all he succeeds in song motives.

A number of young poets are tirelessly working to improve the culture of verse, expanding their ideological and thematic range. During this period, new talented youth came into poetry: Andrei Malyshko, Igor Muratov, K. Gerasimenko, Vyrgan, Yu. Karsky, A. Novitsky, G. Plotkin, A. Kopshtein. Andrei Malyshko is characterized by an active and cheerful interpretation of current socialist topics, he is mainly concerned with the life and exploits of people of our era. A remarkable fact in the development of the creativity of the broad masses of the people, liberated by the October Revolution, is the arrival of poets from the people (Maria Mironets and others. See the section “Oral folk art"). The Ukrainian Soviet prose, which in the most significant works reflected the processes of industrialization and collectivization, the construction of socialist cities, the psychology of new people, the cultural revolution. The topics of prose are varied.

In the novel "48 hours" Y. Smolich shows the achievements of socialist construction during the years of the first five-year plan.

A. Kopylenko in the novel “A City Is Being Born” (A City Is Born, 1932) based on the construction of a socialist city showed differentiation in the ranks of the old intelligentsia, the growth of young, Soviet technical personnel, new forms of socialist labor, overcoming kulak resistance. The novel by the same author, “Duzhe Dobre” (Very good, 1936) is dedicated to the Soviet high school, exposing the enemies who tried to get into the school, the relationship of students with each other, with parents and teachers, and home education. This work is rich in concrete material, everyday drawings, gives a number of types of Soviet teachers devoted to the cause, draws a gallery of various figures of excellent students and social activists. Thematically, Natan Rybak's novel "Kyiv" (Kyiv, 1936) adjoins it, depicting a Soviet university, the struggle against nationalism, and stratification in the ranks of the intelligentsia. Yu. Smolich also develops this theme. In the novel "Our Secrets" Y. Smolich showed the pre-revolutionary gymnasium during the World War, creating a whole gallery of socially and individually diverse figures of students who, by the beginning social revolution, as revolutionary events develop and their political consciousness grows, they disperse in different directions as representatives of various social groups and parties. "Our Secrets" - a work that gives a truthful and extensive picture of the old school, reveals the methods of pre-revolutionary education; it occupies in U. l. one of the prominent places.

In the sense of outlining the historical epoch, as it were, the introductory part to this novel is the autobiographical Childhood (Childhood, 1937) by the same author, which depicts the life of the provincial intelligentsia, its attitude towards the workers and the landowner in the period between the revolution of 1905 and the imperialist war.

Among the vast series of prose works devoted to depicting the civil war and the revolution of 1905, Y. Yanovsky's "Vershniki" (Horsemen) should be singled out. "Horsemen" in essence is not a novel, but a series of short stories, organically united into one whole by the unity of characters, material, and ideological aspirations. The original, juicy language, peculiar syntax, creative use of folklore, skill in creating monumental heroic images make this work one of the best examples of Soviet Ukrainian prose.

The revolution of 1905 was vividly reflected in Golovko's novel Mother (Mother, 1935). The writer made an interesting and valuable attempt to develop the same theme and the same period of time, which are given in classic M. Kotsiubinsky "Fata Morgana". In the novel "Mother" the leading role of the urban proletariat in revolutionary movement the poorest peasantry. In addition, in the novel "Mother", which is the first part of the planned trilogy, Golovko portrayed the Ukrainian intelligentsia, its differentiation during the first revolution, exposed the traitorous role of its bourgeois-nationalist part. The theme of the civil war in Ukraine is also devoted to “Obloga nochi” (Siege of the Night, 1935) and “Peace” by Petro Panch, “The Battalions crossed the Desna” (Battalions crossed the Desna, 1937) Ol. Desnyak, "Way to Kyiv" (Road to Kyiv, 1937) S. Sklyarenko, the first part of the novel by N. Rybak"Dnipro" (Dnepr, 1937). Punch showed the struggle of the Donbass miners against the enemies of the motherland, the hetman, the Petliurites, Denikinists, against their attempts to restore capitalism and exploitation, shed light on the process of growing activity and revolutionary consciousness of the working masses. Desnyak, knowing the material well, gave a detailed picture of the struggle of the former deserters of the imperialist war, who became at the head of the partisan movement against the kulaks and the bourgeois central council, foreign interventionists. The writer managed to give a bright heroic figure of Shchors. Although the latter is not the main character in the novel, the author managed to characterize his individual characteristics - courage, decisiveness, speed of action, courage, strategic talent of this truly folk hero-commander. In Sklyarenko's novel The Road to Kyiv, the image of Shchors was less successful for the author. This novel is rich in events of a historical nature, depicting in detail not only the complex domestic, but also the international situation. N. Rybak's novel "Dnepr" also adjoins the works devoted to the theme of the civil war, although the author touches on the topic of foreign occupation only at the end of the first book. Basically, this work broadly depicts life, the customs of timber rafters and pilots, their struggle with entrepreneurs. N. Rybak created a colorful figure of an active, cruel and treacherous, greedy money-grubber, merchant and businessman of Kashpur. A. Shiyan's novel "Thunderstorm" includes quite extensive material, covering the period from the imperialist up to the civil war. The Thunderstorm depicts the struggle of the poorest peasantry against the bourgeoisie. The novel by V. Sobko "Granite" is distinguished by the freshness of the idea, the author's ability to build an entertaining dynamic plot. The novel shows the courage and endurance of the Soviet people, ideologically it is directed against imperialism. The story of A. Rizberg "Creativity", where the author makes a successful attempt to penetrate the psychology of a Soviet person, is built on the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bcreativity inherent in the people of the Soviet land, whether it be an artist-painter, pilot, parachutist or Stakhanovite of the canning industry.

The growth of Ukrainian Soviet drama is especially significant. She entered the all-Union stage. Of the five prizes at the All-Union Drama Competition in 1934, two were awarded to Ukrainian Soviet playwrights: A. Korneichuk ("Death of the Squadron") - the second, I. Kocherga ("The Watchmaker and the Chicken") - the third.

The talented writer Alexander Korneichuk moved into the forefront of the playwrights of the Union during the second Stalinist five-year plan. Korneichuk is mainly interested in the image of a new, socialist person, his distinctive features - whether he is a party member or a non-party, red commander or an ordinary Soviet worker in a civilian post. Especially successfully Korneichuk shows a positive hero, a man devoted to revolutionary duty, a Soviet social activist who fundamentally puts the public above the personal. These people are endowed with high qualities of mind, will and feeling, the artist expressively emphasizes the creative, active, organizing and heroic quality inherent in the best people of the Soviet era. That is why Korneichuk's plays (the best of them are "The Death of the Squadron" and "Bogdan Khmelnitsky") enjoy well-deserved success on the stage of theaters throughout the Union. In plays about the civil war (“Death of the Squadron”), about the revolution (“Pravda”), about Soviet construction (“Banker”, “Platon Krechet”), Korneichuk seeks to embody the features of the new, socialist man, clearly revealing them in the development of intense action. Korneichuk's plays are an outstanding phenomenon in Ukrainian and all-Union dramaturgy. Korneichuk enjoys well-deserved popularity among the masses. In 1937 Korneichuk was elected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, in 1938 - a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR.

Ivan Kocherga in his plays gravitates mainly to philosophical problems; reflecting Soviet reality, he seeks to comprehend and generalize it philosophically. So in the play "Watchmaker and the Chicken" he is interested in the problem of time, its significance in social life, in the play "Go - don't come back" (Go - don't come back) - the problem of space in the physical and psychological sense.

The dramaturgy of Kocherga is distinguished by formal skill, originality and ease of language. Not limited to depicting Soviet reality, people of Bolshevik hardening, overcoming the vast expanses of our vast homeland, Kocherga gives vivid pictures from the history of the civil war (“Maistri Chasu”) or the historical past of Ukraine: his “Song of the Candle” is an exciting picture of the struggle of the Ukrainian people against feudal lords in the 16th century

In the field of drama, one should also note the historical play by V. Sukhodolsky "Karmelyuk" - about the folk hero Karmelyuk, who led the movement of the Ukrainian people against the landlords and autocracy. In The Thought of a British Woman, Y. Yanovsky depicts in juicy language the courageous struggle of the Red partisans against the Denikin, Petliura and Makhnovist gangs. The author created a number of original images of staunch fighters for the revolution. The musical comedy by L. Yukhvid "Vesillya v Malinovtsi" (Wedding in Malinovka, 1938) enjoys great success with the audience. The author managed to overcome the usual operetta stencils and write a play with lyrical and dramatic images based on the material of the civil war in Ukraine. goodies and poignant comedic situations. At the all-Ukrainian competition of plays on collective farm themes in 1938, Y. Mokreev's drama The Blossom of Life (Rye Blossoms) and E. Krotevich's comedy The Flower Garden (The Garden Blossoms) were recommended for staging.

Ukrainian children's literature has also grown significantly. Not only "children's" writers work in this area, but also "adult" writers. So, P. Tychina, P. Panch, M. Rylsky, L. Pervomaisky, A. Golovko, O. Donchenko wrote for children. The poets gave not only their original works, but also translations from the classics (Pushkin and Goethe, adaptations from Franco) and contemporary writers fraternal peoples - K. Chukovsky, S. Marshak, etc. The stories and novels for children by A. Golovko ("Chervona Khustina"), P. Panch ("Sin of the Tarashchansky Regiment", "Small Partisan") reflect the heroism of the civil war, participation there are children in it. Master children's genre in Soviet U. l. is N. Zabila. She successfully uses the animal epic, the adventure genre, dressing the story in a light poetic form. Poetry stories for children are characterized by simplicity and amusingness. M. Prygara, V. Vladko cultivates the genre of science fiction. Having begun his activity under the strong influence of Jules Verne, Wales (“The Miraculous Generator”, “Argonaut of the All-Retinue”), Vladko in his further works (“12 opivdan”) goes on an independent path. A fairy tale for children is developed by O. Ivanenko, using for this not only folk art, but also the classics of literature (Andersen). The most prolific children's writer O. Donchenko knows how to build a fascinating plot, to interest the reader with a variety of material. The story "Fatherland" (Fatherland) is interesting in contrasting the upbringing of children in our country and abroad. The result of the collective work of children's writers was the almanac "Lenin and Stalin in works for children" (Lenin and Stalin in works for children), published for the 20th anniversary of the October Revolution.

The development of many Ukrainian Soviet poets, prose writers, playwrights, and writers for children was greatly influenced by Ukrainian oral folk art, enriching them with new ideas, images, and the culture of the language (see the U. L. section “Oral Folk Art”).

A lot of work was done by Ukrainian Soviet writers in the field of translation into Ukrainian language works of the best representatives of the Russian literature and other literature of the fraternal peoples of our Union (Pushkin in the translation of Rylsky, Shota Rustaveli in the Bazhan Lane, Gorky, Nekrasov, etc.).

Soviet printing press, which in its best examples has reached the level of the advanced art of the Soviet Union, is one of the powerful manifestations of the creativity of the great Ukrainian people liberated by the Great October Socialist Revolution. Its ideological and artistic achievements are the result of the correct Leninist-Stalinist national policy, the tireless leadership of the Lenin-Stalin party and the victories won in the fight against enemies of all stripes in building socialism. The inalienable victories and daily growing achievements of socialism, the indestructible might of the Soviet Union, the close unity of all the fraternal peoples of the great Soviet country, the blood ties with the people of writers armed with Marxism-Leninism, devoted to the Party, inspired by faith in the world revolution, are the key to the further flourishing of the Soviet U. l. in an atmosphere imbued with the spirit of the great Stalinist Constitution.

Literary Encyclopedia

This article is part of a series of articles about the people of Ukrainians ... Wikipedia

UKRAINIAN LITERATURE- UKRAINIAN LITERATURE, literature of the Ukrainian people; develops in Ukrainian. The beginning of U. l. refers to the IXXII centuries, to the era of Kievan Rus; its primary source and common (for Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians) root old Russian ... ... Literary Encyclopedic Dictionary

Ukrainian SSR (Ukrainian Radianska Socialist Republic), Ukraine (Ukraine). I. General Information The Ukrainian SSR was formed on December 25, 1917. With the creation of the USSR on December 30, 1922, it became part of it as a union republic. Located on… … Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Ukrainian Radian Socialist Republic flag of the republic coat of arms of the republic Motto: Proletarians of all lands, unite! ... Wikipedia

Ukrainian literature originates from a common source for the three fraternal peoples (Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian) - Old Russian literature.

The revival of cultural life in Ukraine at the end of the 16th - the first half of the 17th centuries, associated with the development of the Ukrainian nationality, reflected the axis in the activities of the so-called brotherhoods, schools, printing houses. The founder of book printing in Ukraine was the Russian pioneer 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, strengthened its linguistic unity. In the conditions of the acute struggle of the Ukrainian people against the Polish-gentry oppression and Catholic expansion in the late 16th - early 17th centuries. polemical literature arose in Ukraine. He was an outstanding debater 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 were rapidly developing, directed against the Latin Uniate dominance. school drama had a predominantly religious and instructive content. Gradually, she retreated from narrow-church themes. Among the dramas there were works on historical plots (“Vladimir”, “God's Grace liberated Ukraine from the easily bearable insults of Lyadsky through Bohdan-Zinovy ​​Khmelnitsky”). In displaying the events of the liberation war, elements of realism and nationality are observed. They are amplified in interludes, nativity scenes, and especially in the works of the philosopher and poet G.S. Skovoroda (1722-1794), the author of the collections Kharkiv Fables, The Garden of Divine Songs and others, which were outstanding phenomena in the period of 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, high patriotic feelings of ordinary people. Progressive traditions of I. Kotlyarevsky in the period of formation and approval new literature(the first half of the 19th century) were continued by P. P. Hulak-Artemovsky, G. F. Kvitko-Osnovyanenko, E. P. Grebenka and others. also the works placed in the almanac "Mermaid of the Dniester" (1837).

The work of the greatest Ukrainian poet, artist and thinker, revolutionary-democrat Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861) finally established critical realism and nationality as the main method of artistic reflection of reality in Ukrainian literature. "Kobzar" (1840) T. Shevchenko marked new era in the development of artistic creativity of the Ukrainian people. All poetic creativity of T. Shevchenko is permeated with humanism, revolutionary ideology, 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 T. Shevchenko’s creativity, in the 50s and 60s, Marko Vovchok (M.A. Vilinskaya), Yu. Fedkovich, L.I. -1907) "People's Opovshchennya" ("Folk Stories")," the story "Institute" were 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 social stories Burlachka, Mykola Dzherya (1876), The Kaidash Family (1878) and others, in which the writer created true images of peasant rebels.

The intensified development of capitalist relations after the reform of 1861 led to a sharp aggravation of social contradictions in Ukrainian society, to the intensification of the national liberation movement. Literature is enriched with new themes and genres, reflecting the originality of new socio-economic relations. Critical realism in Ukrainian prose acquired qualitatively new features, the genre of the social novel arose, 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 the political struggle contributed to the emergence of a number of important periodicals. In the 1970s and 1980s, such magazines and collections were published as "Friend", "Gromadsky Friend" ("Public Friend"), "Dzvsh" ("Bell"), "Hammer", "Svt" ("Peace" in the meaning of the universe). A number of Ukrainian almanacs appear - "Moon" ("Echo"), "Rada" ("Council"), "Niva", "Steppe" and others.

At that time, the revolutionary-democratic trend 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. (“Dashing Beguiled”, “Drunkard”) and immediately took a prominent place in the Ukrainian literature of critical realism. His social novels"Xi6a roar of will, like a 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 trend was the work of I. Ya. Franko (1856-1916) - the great poet, prose writer, playwright, famous scientist and thinker, ardent publicist and public figure. After T. Shevchenko's "Kobzar", 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 ideological content of revolutionary art, the principles of new, civil poetry, born in the revolutionary political struggle, the poetry of broad socio-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). I. Franko's influence was enormous, especially in Galicia, which was then part of Austria-Hungary; it had an impact on creativity and social activities writers M. I. Pavlik, S. M. Kovaliv, N. I. Kobrinskaya, T. G. Bordulyak, I. S. Makovei, V. S. Stefanik, whose stories were highly appreciated by 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 the revolutionary democracy of the 80s and 90s.

A high level of development was reached in the 80-90s by Ukrainian drama, represented by the names of prominent playwrights and theatrical figures M. Starytsky, M. Kropyvnytsky, I. Karpenko-Kary. In the works of these playwrights, which are successfully staged and Soviet theaters, the life and way of life of the Ukrainian village, class stratification and the struggle of the progressive intelligentsia for progressive art, the struggle of the people for freedom and national independence are displayed. 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 modern system, revealing the social contradictions of bourgeois society. His plays are widely known: "Martin Borulya", "One Hundred Thousands", "Sawa Chaly", "Master", "Vanity", "The Sea of ​​Life".

In the development of literature late XIX- beginning of XX century. the work of M. Kotsyubinsky, Lesya Ukrainka, S. Vasilchenko was the highest stage of Ukrainian critical realism, organically connected with the birth 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, exposed the traitors to the interests of the people. Lesya Ukrainka (1871 - 1913) sang the revolutionary struggle of the working class, 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, 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 wings of a horse”, 1893; “Dumi i mri” - “Thoughts and Dreams”, 1899), dramatic poems “Long Cossack” (“Old Tale”), “In the Forest” , "Autumn Tale", "In the Catacombs", the plays "Forest Song", "Kamshny Gospodar" ("Stone Lord") - refer to the best works Ukrainian classical literature.

In the conditions of the cruel national oppression of the Russian autocracy, along with the creation of works of art, Ukrainian writers carried out a 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; it was a struggle of different social and political forces. Along with the artists of the word democratic direction, writers of liberal-bourgeois, nationalist convictions (P. Kulish, A. Konissky, V. Vinnichenko, and others) 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, nationality and high ideological content of Ukrainian literature. Therefore, the Ukrainian classic literature was a reliable basis for the creation of a 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 foundations of scientific communism. The creators of the new Soviet literature were people from the working class and the poorest 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, the books of poets were very popular: V. Chumak "Zapev", V. Ellan "Blows of the Hammer and the Heart", P. Tychyna "The Plow", poems and poems by V. Sosyura, etc. The process of establishing Soviet literature took place in a tense struggle against the enemies of the revolution and the agents of the bourgeois-nationalist counter-revolutionaries.

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 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 groupings arose in Ukraine: in 1922, the "Plug" co*oz of peasant writers, in 1923, the "Gart" organization, around which proletarian writers grouped, in 1925, the union of revolutionary writers "Western Ukraine"; in 1926, an association of Komsomol writers Molodnyak arose; There were also futuristic organizations (Association of Pan-Futurists, New Generation). The existence of many diverse organizations and groupings hampered the ideological and artistic development of literature and hindered the mobilization 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.

Since that time, the theme of socialist construction has become 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 come out with new books. Ukrainian prose writers achieve great success; the novels and stories of G. Epik “First Spring”, I. Kirilenko “Outposts”, G. Kotsyuba “New Shores”, Ivan Le “Roman Mezhyhirya”, A. Golovko “Mother”, Y. Yanovsky “Horsemen”, etc. The theme of the revolutionary past and contemporary socialist reality is also becoming the main theme in dramaturgy. In theaters of Ukraine with great success the plays “Personnel”, “Girls of our country” by I. Mikitenko, “Death of the Squadron” and “Platon Krechet” by A. Korneichuk and others are being performed.

During the years of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), a third of the entire writers' organization of 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 pamphlets and collections of articles in which they expose the enemy, and help to educate the high morale of the Soviet people, who have risen to fight the fascist invaders. M. Rylsky (“Zhaga”), P. Tychina (“Funeral of a Friend”), A. Dovzhenko (“Ukraine in Fire”), perform with works of art that depict the heroism and courage of the people, sing patriotism and high ideals of Soviet soldiers, M. Bazhan ("Daniil Galitsky"), A. Korneichuk ("Front"), Y. Yanovsky ("Land of the Gods"), S. Sklyarenko ("Ukraine Calls"), 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 turn to the theme of heroism and patriotism, military prowess and courage of our people. The most significant works on these topics in the 40s were A. Gonchar's "Banner Bearers", V. Kozachenko's "Certificate of Maturity", V. Kucher's "Chernomortsy", L. Dmiterko's "General Vatutin", A. Malyshko's "Prometheus", works Ya. Galan, A. Shiyan, Ya. Bash, L. Smelyansky, A. Levada, Yu. Zbanatsky, Yu. Dold-Mikhaylik and many others.

The themes of socialist labor, friendship of peoples, struggle for peace, international unity become the leading ones in Ukrainian literature of all post-war years. The treasury of the artistic creativity of the Ukrainian people was enriched with such outstanding works as the novels by M. Stelmakh "Big Relatives", "Human Blood Is Not Water", "Bread and Salt", "Truth and Falsehood"; A. Gonchar "Tavria", "Perekop", "Man and Weapon", "Tronka"; N. Rybak "Pereyaslav Rada"; P. Panch "Bubbling Ukraine"; 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. Sosyura "Happiness of the working family"; A. Malyshko "Beyond the Blue Sea", "Book of Brothers", "Prophetic Voice"; plays by A. Korneichuk "Over the Dnieper"; A. Levada and others.

Important events in literary life were the second (1948) and third (1954) congresses of Ukrainian writers. A huge role in the development of Ukrainian literature was played by the decisions of the 20th and 22nd Congresses of the CPSU, which opened up new horizons for the ideological and artistic growth of Ukrainian literature, its strengthening on the positions of socialist realism. The path of development of Ukrainian Soviet literature shows that only on the basis of socialist realism could artistic creativity Ukrainian people. Ukrainian Soviet literature at all stages of its development was true to the ideas of the Communist Party, the principles of friendship between peoples, the ideals of peace, democracy, socialism and freedom. She has always been a powerful ideological weapon Soviet society in the struggle for the victory of communism in our country.

In addition to being a good poet, Tychyna was also an excellent musician. These two talents are 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 noticed 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 Soviet Socialist Republic, Tychina becomes a true Soviet writer, "singer of the new day", descends to composing praises new government and lines like “Tractor in the field dir-dir-dir. We are for the world. We are for the world. For the Communist Party, he left many works, but for posterity - perhaps only the first three collections: "", "", "In the Space Orchestra". But even if after the first of them he had not written a single line, Tychyna would still be included in the ranks of the best Ukrainian poets.

The poet, scientist, translator, leader of the Ukrainian neoclassicists Mykola Zerov in his work has always been guided by the spiritual values ​​and traditions of the world classics verified over the centuries - from antiquity to the 19th century. However, his poems are not the inheritance of classical texts, but the modernization of the culture of the past.

Zerov sought to recreate the harmony between the individual and the world around him, feelings and mind, man and nature. And even in terms of sound, his poems are distinguished by an ordered, polished form, because he used only clear classic poetic meters.

Zerov was an authority not only for his neoclassical colleagues, but also for many other writers, including prose writers. He was the first, and after him all the rest, proclaimed that it was worth destroying the primitive "Liknep" reading for the masses, which filled bookshelves Soviet Ukraine, and direct our literature along the European path of development.

The heir of an ancient Polish noble family, Maxim Rylsky became one of the most famous Ukrainian poets. In the fateful 1937, he changed the apolitical course of the neoclassics to glorify the valor of Soviet workers and peasants, thanks to which he was the only one from the “group” who survived. However, becoming a propagandist, he did not stop being a poet. Unlike the same Tychyna, he continued to write subtle lyrical works dedicated to everyday, everyday life.

However, the real creative revival of the poet falls on the 50s, when the Khrushchev thaw began. Poetry collections of this last period the poet's life - "", "", "", "" - adequately complete his biography. They synthesized all the best from previous books. Rylsky was mostly remembered for exactly the kind of poet he became in his later days - a supporter of wise simplicity and a melancholy dreamer in love with autumn.

Folk poetic images, which in all their diversity abounded in the Ukrainian poetry of the Romantic era, in the 20th century receive a new development in the work of Volodymyr Svidzinsky. This poet refers 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 Swidzinski, a person can communicate directly with the sun, earth, flower, tree, etc. As a result, his lyrical hero completely dissolves in such a dialogue with Mother Nature.

Swidzinsky's poems are complex and incomprehensible, they should not be recited, but analyzed, looking for ancient archetypes and hidden meanings in each line.

Antonych was born in the Lemkivshchyna, 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 possibilities. After unsuccessful formal experiments with rhythm and alliteration in the first collection "", he realized that he was primarily the creator of images, and not the melody of verse.

Antonich turns to pagan motifs, which he organically intertwines with Christian symbols. However, this worldview n "yanoy dіtvaka іz sun kishenі”, as he called himself, is more close to the pantheism of Walt Whitman. He looks like a child who is just beginning to discover the world for himself, 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 he was forced to work as an archaeologist in order to earn money for his family. His profession in a sense determined his work. Creating the poetic cycles "Flint", "Stone", "Bronze", "Iron", he brings into Ukrainian poetry new images of Scythia, Sarmatia, Kievan Rus and more. He sings of the distant past, hidden in the ruins 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 urging them to fight for the independence of Ukraine.

Elena Teliga is a civic activist, a member of the OUN, a well-known poetess, who wrote only 47 poems, but even this small creative heritage provided her with an honorable place among our best poets. In her poems, she created the image of a Ukrainian revolutionary woman. Already in the first works, she proclaimed:

І voltage at a glance
Vіdshukati u tmi glibokіy -
Bliskavok fanatical eyes,
And not a peaceful month

Her poems are poetry of high ideological tension, in which there is a direct or veiled call to fight for Ukraine, a proposal to plunge into a mortal risk.

She believed that poetry is not just fiction, but an instrument of influence on the souls of people, so each line places a huge responsibility on the one who wrote it. “If we, poets,” said Teliga, “we write about courage, firmness, nobility, and with these works we ignite and send danger to others, how can we not do this ourselves?” She never backed down from the principles she proclaimed, so when the time came to risk her life, she did it without hesitation. In 1941, Teliga left Poland and illegally arrived in Ukraine, where she was lost a year later. In her cell in the Gestapo, she drew a trident and wrote: “Elena Teliga sat here and from here goes to be shot.”

Pluzhnyk became the most consistent representative of existentialism in Ukrainian poetry. Rejecting 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 a unique ability to express a lot in a few words: in his small, concise poems, he reveals complex philosophical thoughts.

This poet visited almost all Ukrainian literary groups and organizations, and left everyone 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's dacha, a well-known mental hospital, for treatment. His work did not fit into any ideological parameters of Soviet Ukraine. Unlike his politicized and patriotic colleagues, Sausyura always remained only the author of a beautiful love lyrics. During his long career, he published several dozen collections. If in his first books he sought to shock the reader with unusual images of the imagists like “ pocі the holes are squashing like grains on patelnі”, then in the latter he created simple and heartfelt poems, for example, “If you pull the daring of the gurkoche” and “Love Ukraine”.

The Futurists, those artistic revolutionaries who proclaimed the death of the old and the emergence of an absolutely 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 those who wrote in Ukrainian were few. And the most talented poet among them was Mikhail Semenko. Despite the fact that he so vehemently denied the continuity of the aesthetic principles of different eras, his merit 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 Russian literature as the creator of unusual neologisms and bright outrageous images.

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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 was charged with a criminal case for allegedly distributing books by Ukrainian nationalist Dmytro Korchinsky among readers, which were recognized as extremist in Russia. Last week the library was searched again. Official Kyiv called them a provocation.

The Village asked for 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 Ukrainian independence, both in Ukrainian and in Russian, to show the value of modern Ukrainian literature and the importance of the Library of Ukrainian Literature for Moscow.

YURI VOLODARSKY

publicist, critic, jury member of the Ukrainian literary prize 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 iconic in Ukrainian literature. In addition, I tried to choose books that had 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, but they themselves will not be able to understand Ukrainian either on paper or by ear.

To designate modern Ukrainian literature in local criticism, the term "modern Ukrainian literature" is used, in abbreviation - suchukrlit. Although this term is a bit ironic, it is used in the Ukrainian literary environment.

An interesting situation with Russian-speaking authors, because there are disputes 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-speaking poets and prose writers of Ukraine have been somehow pushed aside from the general literary process. The last two books on this list were written in Russian.

Yuri Andrukhovych - "Moskoviada"

Moskoviada, 1993

Yuri Andrukhovych is one of the founding fathers of modern Ukrainian literature. You could even say that it started with him. "Moskoviada" is his second novel, dedicated to the Moscow period of the author's life, who studied at the Gorky Literary Institute. This is a kind of programmatic book that Ukraine is not Russia and that a Ukrainian is not Russian. The 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 Andrukhovych's hero does not die, and as he develops, the action becomes more and more phantasmagoric. And it is at the end that declarations are heard that the Ukrainian person is not Russian. To understand the differences between Ukraine and Russia, it is necessary to read the Moskoviada.

Oksana Zabuzhko - "Field research of Ukrainian sex"

"Polish research on Ukrainian sex", 1996

Oksana Zabuzhko's story "Field Studies of Ukrainian Sex" was published in the mid-1990s, and then the 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 outrageous, in fact the book is quite chaste. By the way, a few years ago Zabuzhko published a grandiose novel "The Museum of Abandoned Secrets", which many called almost the main book of suchukrlita. Much of it is devoted to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, although the author said that the book is not about the UPA, but about love. It was translated into Russian. Now it is impossible to imagine the publication 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 name of the novel "Voroshilovgrad" is not directly related to the real Voroshilovgrad, which is now called Lugansk. A novel about what needs to be protected and protected. His hero is a restless young man who hangs out in the city at office work, and then finds out that his brother has disappeared and a gas station remains from him, which must be saved from the raiders who claim it. The leitmotif of the novel is two words that are often mentioned there: "vdyachnist" and "vіdpovidalnіst", 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 actually crosses the Styx River by means of transportation by bus 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 - "Uneasy"

"Not easy", 2002

Taras Prokhasko is considered one of the most original Ukrainian authors, but writes catastrophically little. He is the author of only one short novel, The Uncomplicated. This is Ukrainian magical realism, which does not grow in accessible flat areas, but in rugged remote areas. For Pavic, these were the Balkans, and for Prohasko, the Carpathians. The writer depicts a completely mythological Carpathian world, where their own laws operate, not only social, but also the laws of the world order. The protagonist marries one woman, and each of his next women is his own 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 but in the Carpathians.

Yuri Izdryk - "Wozzeck"

If Prokhasko is Ukrainian mythology, and Zhadan is social literature, then Izdryk is such an introverted, close to essay, almost plotless prose with huge amount references to other suchukrlit texts. 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 does not like the plot. The hero of Wozzeck is Izdryk himself, who performs in various guises. It is characteristic that almost all writers from this list are from the west of Ukraine. These are representatives of the so-called "Stanislav phenomenon", whose name is associated with Ivano-Frankivsk, which until 1961 was called Stanislav. This phenomenon characterizes a sharp departure from the socialist realism of the Soviet period and the rapid manifestation of postmodernism in Ukrainian literature.

Oleksandr Irvanets - "Rivne/Rivne"

This novel is important, but at the same time secondary. Alexander Irvanets is a colleague of Yuri Andrukhovych in the group "BuBaBabu" ("Burlesque, buffoonery, buffoonery"), with which suchukrlit began in the mid-1980s. In the novel "Rivne/Rivne" we are talking 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 in the middle of the city of Rivne. Therefore, part of the city is called in Ukrainian, and part - in Russian. And between life in these parts of the city - a grandiose contrast. A dull "scoop" on one side and a completely prosperous, joyful, meaningful life in terms of the arts in the second half. For any person who is well acquainted with Russian literature of the second half of the 20th century, this plot inevitably resembles Vasily Aksyonov's novel The Island of Crimea.

Maria Matios - "Darusya sweet"

"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 of different powers, which trampled it down 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 fell silent. This is probably main novel about what happened in the west of Ukraine after it came under the control of the USSR.

Sofia Andrukhovych - "Felix Austria"

Felix Austria, 2014

Sofia Andrukhovych is the daughter of Yuri Andrukhovich. Her novel Felix Austria won the BBC Book of the Year award last year. The name is a Latin fragment of a phrase that was once dropped by one of the Austro-Hungarian emperors: “Let others wage war! You, happy Austria, marry!” The action takes place in Stanislav, now Ivano-Frankivsk, in 1900. The main character is a Rusyn maid (that is, Ukrainian) in an Austrian-Polish family, whose mistress is both her friend and everything else. It turns out a curious symbol: the hostess symbolizes Austria-Hungary, and the maid symbolizes the Ukrainian lands in its composition. This is the 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. Although life was better than under the Soviets, it is also clear that grace is illusory, and Andrukhovych 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 - "The Demon of Descartes"

Vladimir Rafeenko, in my opinion, is the most significant Russian-speaking writer in Ukraine. He used to live in Donetsk, and in July 2014, for obvious reasons, he moved to Kyiv. Rafeenko is the successor 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, registers switch from mythological to realistic. When Rafeenko lived in Donetsk, his books were virtually unknown in the rest of Ukraine. They were published in marginal Donbas publications, but then for two years he won prizes at the Russian Prize. At first it was "Moscow Divertissement", and then "Descartes' Demon". The latter was published in Eksmo, and Rafeenko became known in his homeland. Such an absurd way: to become famous in Kyiv, you need to publish in Moscow.

Karine Arutyunova - "Say Red"

Karine Arutyunova started writing quite late: she released her first book when she was over 40. She writes short prose, which is marked by a very special authorial style. It is such an exclusive attention to the evidence of all the senses. She has many shades, colors, olfactory and tactile sensations in her works, always very subjective evidence about the world. This prose can be called feminine, but not in terms of plots, but in terms of temperament. If you asked me what this book is about, I would not be able to answer. She is 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 -