Literature

Everyone in “Literature”. Search by name or narrow down by era and region.

  • Portrait of Hryhorii Skovoroda

    1722–1794

    Hryhorii Skovoroda

    The wandering philosopher

    One of the most important Ukrainian philosophers of the 18th century, a poet and teacher. He taught that happiness lies in knowing yourself and in “kindred work” - the work you are naturally called to do.

    Philosopher, Poet

  • Oil portrait of Ivan Kotliarevskyi by Leontii Kashtelianchuk

    1769–1838

    Ivan Kotliarevskyi

    Father of modern Ukrainian literature

    A native of Poltava and author of the Eneida, the first major work printed in living vernacular Ukrainian (1798). Modern Ukrainian literature is traditionally dated from it, and his plays Natalka Poltavka and Moskal-Charivnyk launched the new Ukrainian theater.

    Poet, Writer

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  • Portrait of Nikolai Gogol by Fyodor Moller, 1840

    1809–1852

    Nikolai Gogol

    Classic of world prose

    A writer of Ukrainian origin who wrote in Russian, one of the most influential prose writers of the 19th century. His Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka and Taras Bulba introduced readers worldwide to Ukrainian culture.

    Writer

  • Posthumous portrait of Taras Shevchenko by Ivan Kramskoi, 1871

    1814–1861

    Taras Shevchenko

    National poet of Ukraine

    The national poet of Ukraine, an artist and thinker. His work laid the foundations of modern Ukrainian literature and the literary language, and shaped Ukrainians’ national consciousness.

    Poet, Artist, Philosopher

  • Photograph of Marko Vovchok (Mariia Vilinska)

    1833–1907

    Marko Vovchok

    Writer, a classic of Ukrainian prose

    The writer Mariia Vilinska, who wrote under the pen name Marko Vovchok. Her Folk Stories (1857) about the lives of serfs were a landmark in Ukrainian literature, and Taras Shevchenko called her his “daughter.” She translated 15 Jules Verne novels into Russian.

    Writer

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  • Photograph of Ivan Franko

    1856–1916

    Ivan Franko

    Writer, scholar and thinker

    Writer, poet, scholar and journalist, the author of thousands of works. He was one of the first to argue for Ukraine’s political independence.

    Writer, Poet, Scientist, Philosopher

  • Lesya Ukrainka, photograph by Johann Krzanowski, 1901

    1871–1913

    Lesya Ukrainka

    Poet and playwright

    Poet, playwright and public figure, author of The Forest Song. Despite a serious illness she wrote dramas of world standing and became, for many, a symbol of strength of spirit.

    Poet, Writer

  • Mykola Khvylovyi, photograph by O. Korenevych, 1928

    1893–1933

    Mykola Khvylovy

    Voice of the Executed Renaissance

    Writer and pamphleteer, one of the leaders of the Ukrainian cultural revival of the 1920s. His slogan “Away from Moscow!” called for turning towards Europe, and his fate became a symbol of a generation of artists destroyed by the Soviet regime.

    Writer

  • Portrait photograph of Olena Teliha, c. 1929

    1906–1942

    Olena Teliha

    Poet and OUN activist

    A poet and essayist who grew up in a Russian-speaking environment and, in emigration, became one of the voices of Ukrainian nationalism. In 1941, in occupied Kyiv, she headed the Union of Ukrainian Writers. In 1942 she was executed by the Nazis and most likely buried at Babyn Yar.

    Poet, Writer

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  • Lina Kostenko, photograph, 2006

    b. 1930

    Lina Kostenko

    Poet of the Sixtiers

    A poet and one of the earliest of the Sixtiers. Soviet censorship kept her poems out of print for more than ten years, and her historical novel in verse Marusia Churai earned her the Shevchenko Prize.

    Poet

  • KGB case-file photograph of Vasyl Stus, 1980

    1938–1985

    Vasyl Stus

    Poet and human rights defender

    Poet of the Sixtiers generation and human rights defender, a member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group. He died in a Soviet labor camp, leaving Palimpsests, one of the landmark collections of modern Ukrainian poetry.

    Poet, Human rights defender