Lina Vasylivna Kostenko ( uk, Ліна Василівна Костенко; born 19 March 1930) is a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

poet, journalist, writer, publisher, and former

Soviet dissident Soviet dissidents were people who disagreed with certain features of Soviet ideology or with its entirety and who were willing to speak out against them. The term ''dissident'' was used in the Soviet Union in the period from the mid-1960s until ...

. A founder and leading representative of the

Sixtiers The Sixtiers (Russian: Шестидесятники, romanized: ''Shestidesyatniki'', Ukrainian: Шістдесятники, romanized: ''Shistdesiatnyky''; "people of the 60s") were representatives of а new generation of the Soviet Intellig ...

poetry movement, Kostenko has been described as one of Ukraine's foremost poets and credited with reviving Ukrainian-language

lyric poetry Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...

. Kostenko has been granted numerous honours, including an honorary professorship at Kyiv Mohyla Academy, honorary doctorates of

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

and Chernivtsi Universities, and the

Shevchenko National Prize Shevchenko National Prize ( uk, Націона́льна пре́мія Украї́ни і́мені Тараса́ Шевче́нка; also ''Shevchenko Award'') is the highest state prize of Ukraine for works of culture and arts awarded since ...

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

Early life and career

Lina Vasylivna Kostenko was born to a family of teachers in

Rzhyshchiv Rzhyshchiv (, ; russian: Ржищев; yi, אירזיסטשוב, Irzistshub, also known by several #Names, alternative names; pl, Rzyszczów) is a city in Obukhiv Raion, Kyiv Oblast (oblast, province) of Ukraine. It hosts the administration of ...

. In 1936, her family moved from Rzhyshchiv to the Ukrainian capital city of

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

, where she finished her secondary education. From 1937 to 1941, she studied at the Kyiv school #100, located on

Trukhaniv Island Trukhaniv Island ( uk, Труханів острів, Romanization of Ukrainian, translit.: ''Trukhaniv ostriv'') is an island located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River opposite the historic Podil neighbourhood of the city of Kyiv. Location The isla ...

, where her family lived. The school, in addition to the rest of the village, were burned by

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

forces in 1943. The poem ''I Grew Up in Kyivan Venice'' is devoted to these events. After graduating from high school, she studied at the Kyiv Pedagogical Institute, and later at the

Maxim Gorky Literature Institute The Maxim Gorky Literature Institute (russian: Литературный институт им. А. М. Горького) is an institution of higher education in Moscow. It is located at 25 Tverskoy Boulevard in central Moscow. History The insti ...

in Moscow, from where she graduated with distinction in 1956.

Sixtiers movement

Kostenko was one of the first and most important figures of the

movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Her poetry is typically lyrical and sophisticated, but also relies heavily on aphorisms, colloquialisms, and satirical language, and is typically critical of authoritarianism. Kostenko has been credited with reviving

in the Ukrainian language, and has been called one of Ukraine's greatest female poets. Ivan Koshelivets, Ukrainian émigré scholar, referred to her writing as "unprecedented" for its deviation from

socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

. In the early 1960s, she took part in the literary evenings of the

Kyiv Creative Youth Club Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. K ...

. Following her graduation, she published three collections of poetry: ''Earthly Rays'' in 1957, ''Sails'' in 1958, and ''Journeys of the Heart'' in 1961. The poems became immensely popular among Ukrainian readers. However, the government of the Soviet Union forced her into silence as she was unwilling to submit to Soviet authorities who censored her poems.

Conflict with the Soviet government

In 1961, she was criticised for "

apoliticism Apoliticism is apathy or antipathy towards all political affiliations. A person may be described as apolitical if they are uninterested or uninvolved in politics. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased pos ...

." In 1963, ''The Star Integral'' poetry collection was removed from print, while another collection of poems, ''The Prince's Mountain'', was removed from typography. During these years, Kostenko's poems were published in Czechoslovak magazines and Polish newspapers. However, they only occasionally reached Ukrainian audiences, mostly via

samizdat Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...

. In 1965, Kostenko signed a letter of protest against arrests of the Ukrainian intelligentsia. She was present at the trial of

Mykhailo Osadchyi Mykhailo or Mykhaylo ( uk, Михайло) is a Ukrainian given name, equivalent to English Michael. Notable people with the name include: * Mykhaylo Berkos (1861–1919), Russian and Ukraine artist of Greek origin *Mykhailo Bolotskykh (born 1960), ...

and Myroslava Zvarychevska in

. During the trial of the

Horyn The Horyn or Haryn ( uk, Горинь ; be, Гарынь ; russian: Горы́нь; pl, Horyń) is a tributary of the Pripyat, which flows through Ukraine and Belarus. The Horyn is long, and has a drainage basin of .Ivan Drach, she appealed to the editorial office of the magazine "Zhovten" (now " Dzvin") and to the Lviv writers with a proposal to speak out in defence of the arrested. The writers did not dare to protest, but filed a lawsuit with the request to admit

Bohdan Horyn Bohdan Horyn ( uk, Богдан Миколайович Горинь; born in Kniselo, Lwów Voivodeship) is a Ukrainian human rights activist and dissident. He was a People's Deputy of the first and second convocations of the Verkhovna Rada fr ...

on bail as the youngest of arrested. These efforts did not influence the trials, although they influenced the morale of Ukrainian dissidents at the time. In May 1966, in the

National Writers' Union of Ukraine The National Writers' Union of Ukraine ( uk, Національна спілка письменників України) (''НСПУ'') is a voluntary social-creative association of professional writers, poets, prose writers, playwrights, criti ...

, where the "nationalist outlaws" were labelled, a part of the youth held the ovation of Kostenko, who defended her position and defended Ivan Svitlichny, Opanas Zalyvaha, Myhajlo Kosiv and

. In 1967

Omeljan Pritsak Omeljan Yosypovych Pritsak ( uk, Омелян Йосипович Пріцак; 7 April 1919, Luka, Sambir County, West Ukrainian People's Republic – 29 May 2006, Boston) was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Har ...

nominated Kostenko and Ivan Drach for the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

along with the older Ukrainian poet and politician

Pavlo Tychyna Pavlo Hryhorovych Tychyna ( uk, Павло Григорович Тичина; – September 16, 1967) was a major Ukrainian poet, translator, publicist, public activist, academician, and statesman. He composed the lyrics to the Anthem of the Ukra ...

. In 1968, she wrote letters in defence of

Viacheslav Chornovil Viacheslav Maksymovych Chornovil ( uk, В'ячесла́в Макси́мович Чорнові́л; 24 December 1937 – 25 March 1999) was a Ukrainian politician and Soviet dissident. As a prominent Ukrainian dissident in the Soviet Union, ...

in response to the defamation against him in the newspaper " Literary Ukraine." After that, the name of Lina Kostenko was not mentioned in the Soviet press for many years. She worked "in the drawer", knowing that her works were not going to be published. In 1973 Lina Kostenko was blacklisted by Secretary of the Central Committee on Ideology of the Communist Party of Ukraine Valentyn Malanchuk. Only in 1977, after the departure of Malanchuk, was her collection of poems ''On the Banks of the Eternal River'' published, and in 1979, under a special decree of the Presidium of the Socialist-Revolutionary Guard, one of her greatest works was published, a historical novel in the verses ''

Marusia Churai Maria or Marusia Churai (1625–1653) was a mythical Ukrainian Baroque composer, poet, and singer. She became a recurrent motif in Ukrainian literature and the songs ascribed to her are widely performed in Ukraine. According to the legend ...

'' (about a 17th-century Ukrainian folk singer) which had stagnated with recognition for 6 years. She was awarded the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of the Ukrainian SSR in 1987. Kostenko also wrote collections of poems ''Originality'' (1980) and ''Garden of Unthawed Sculptures'' (1987), a collection of poems for children, titled ''The Lilac King'' (1987).

Life in independent Ukraine

In 1991, Kostenko moved to the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, saying that she wished to "gain strength," though she cautioned others against doing so. Following the death of her husband in 2000, she went into a hiatus from writing. In 2010, ''

Notes of a Ukrainian Madman ''Notes of a Ukrainian Madman'' ( uk, Записки українського самашедшого) is the first novel by Ukrainian poet Lina Kostenko. It was published in 2010, and was the first new book by Kostenko in 20 years.

'' was released. It was her first novel, and her first book since her 1989 ''Selected Works''. The release of ''Notes'' was intended to be followed by a book tour across Ukraine, but abruptly ended in Lviv, allegedly after Kostenko had been offended either by Lviv residents selling tickets to the presentation (which was intended to be free) or by critics who disliked the book. In 2005, an attempt was made by then-President

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. As an informal leader of th ...

to decorate Kostenko as a

Hero of Ukraine Hero of Ukraine (HOU; uk, Герой України, ''Heroi Ukrainy'') is the highest national title that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the President of Ukraine. The title was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma and as ...

, the highest reward of the state. However, Kostenko refused the award, declaring, "I will not wear political jewellery." Amidst the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

, Kostenko criticised the usage of obscene language and publicly opposed its legalisation, writing on social media, "There is, perhaps, no other such thing s the Ukrainian languagein the whole world. The language is a nightingale, while the devil is blabbering on."

Awards and honours

* Taras Shevchenko National Prize (1987, for the novel "Marusya Churai" and the collection "Uniqueness") *

Antonovych prize 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 pr ...

(1989) * Honourary professorship from the

National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( NaUKMA) ( uk, Національний університет «Києво-Могилянська академія» (НаУКМА)) is a national, research university located in Kyiv, Ukraine. ...

. * Honourary doctorates from

and

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the u ...

universities. * Asteroid 290127 Linakostenko, discovered at the

Andrushivka Astronomical Observatory Andrushivka Astronomical Observatory ( uk, italic=yes, Андрушівська астрономічна обсерваторія) is a private astronomical observatory in the town suburbs of Andrushivka, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine. It was establ ...

in 2005, was named in her honor. The official was published by the Minor Planet Centre on 2 June 2015 ().

Bibliography

List of publications (chronologically)

* ''Rays of the Earth (1957)'' * ''"Sails" (1958)'' * ''"Journeys of the Heart" (1961)'' * ''"Knyazha Gora" (1972, the collection was not released due to a ban by Soviet censorship)'' * ''"On the banks of the eternal river" (1977)'' * ''"Marusya Churai" (1979, reprint 1982, 1990, 2018)'' * ''"Uniqueness" (1980)'' * ''"Garden of non-melting sculptures" (1987)'' * ''"Elder King" (1987) - for children'' * ''"The Chosen One" (1987)'' * ''"Incrustations" (1994, edition in Italian, awarded the Petrarch Prize)'' * ''"Berestechko" (Kyiv: Ukrainian writer, 1999, reprint 2007, 2010)'' * ''"Notes of the Ukrainian self-made man" (2010)'' * ''"River of Heraclitus" (2011)'' * ''"Madonna Crossroads" (2011)'' * ''"Three hundred poems. Selected poems" (2012)''

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) * ''

'' (2010)

References

External links

Poems of Kostenko

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kostenko, Lina Ukrainian women poets Ukrainian dissidents 1930 births Living people People from Rzhyshchiv Recipients of the Shevchenko National Prize Soviet dissidents 20th-century Ukrainian poets Ukrainian women novelists Ukrainian children's writers 20th-century Ukrainian women writers 21st-century Ukrainian poets 21st-century Ukrainian women writers Historical novelists Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 5th class National Pedagogical Dragomanov University alumni Maxim Gorky Literature Institute alumni