Lina Kostenko
Encyclopedia
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
poet and writer, recipient of the Shevchenko Award
Shevchenko National Prize
Shevchenko National Prize , the highest award given for works of art and literature in Ukraine. It is named after the Spiritual leader of Ukrainian national revival Taras Shevchenko.-History:...
(1987).
Kostenko is a leading representative of Ukrainian poets of the sixties known as Shestydesiantnyky (dissident
Dissident
A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
s). This group started publishing during the 1950s and reached its apex during the early 1960s. It was during the 1950s in which Kostenko published her first poems in major Ukrainian periodicals.
Life
Kostenko was born in a family of teachers. In 1936, she moved from Rzhyshchiv to KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, where she finished her secondary education.
Lina graduated with distinction from the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute
Maxim Gorky Literature Institute
The Maxim Gorky Literature Institute is a higher education institute in Moscow. It is located at 25 Tver Bulvar in Central Moscow.It was founded in 1933 on the initiative of Maxim Gorky, and received its current name at Gorky's death in 1936....
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1956. Following her graduation she published three collections of poetry in 1957, 1958, and 1961. These books became immensely popular among her Ukrainian readers, however they also forced her into publication silence as she was unwilling to submit to Soviet authorities.
It wasn't until 1977 (16 years later) that her next major collection was published. She followed this with several more collections and a children's book called The Lilac King. In 1979 she followed with one of her greatest works the historical novel in verse, Marusia Churai, about at 17th century Ukrainian folksinger. Her most recent collection is Berestechko, a book length historical poem.
Famous works
- Rays of the Earth (1957)
- Sails (1958)
- Wandering of the Heart (1961)
- On the Shore of the Eternal River (1977)
- Originality (1980)
- Marusia Churai (1979)
- Garden of Unthawed Sculptures (1987)
- The King of the Lilacs (1987)
- Selected Works (1989)