Yuriy Pavlovych Vynnychuk ( uk, Юрій Павлович Винничук; born 18 March 1952) is a Ukrainian journalist, writer and editor.

Biography

Educated in the

Vasyl Stefanyk Subcarpathian National University The Precarpathian National University (abbreviated as PNU) is a public research university in Ivano-Frankivsk. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Western Ukraine. The history of the university dates back to March 15 ...

(formerly Ivano-Frankivsk Pedagogical Institute), Faculty of

Philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

(1969–1973 years), a teacher of

Ukrainian language Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state lan ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

. In 1974 he moved to the city and worked as a loader, graphic designers. 1987–1991 — director of Lviv Theatre of Variety "Do not worry!". He was the author of the script for the play "Do not worry!" and song lyrics. In 1990 he had to leave the

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and together with Stefka Orobets created "Cabarete Yurtsya and Steftsya". 1991–1994 — editor of mysticism and sensational newspaper "Post-Postup". 1995–1998 — chief editor of "Gulvіsa",

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

. 1998–1999 — editor of the newspaper "Postup". Since 2006 — chief editor of " Post-Postup" (restored). Member of the Association of Ukrainian Writers (1997).

Awards

Vynnychuk's novel ''Tango of Death'' was awarded the BBC Ukrainian Book of the Year for 2012. The novel is set in

, in the interwar period. The novel is marked with Vynnychuk's trademark fusion of

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

and humor. The award was Vynnychuk's second BBC Ukrainian Book of the Year. He won the inaugural award in 2005 for his novel ''Spring Games in Autumn Gardens''.

Political prosecution

On 23 January 2012, two police officers came to Vynnychuk's house and asked him to explain in writing about a poem he had recited a few months ago at the "A Night of Erotic Poetry" festival held in

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. Kyi ...

. A complaint had been lodged with the Prosecutor General by

Leonid Hrach Leonid Ivanovych Hrach ( uk, Леоні́д Іва́нович Гра́ч), also as Leonid Ivanovich Grach (russian: Леони́д Ива́нович Гра́ч), is a Soviet, Ukrainian, and Russian politician. Biography Hrach was born in a town ...

, a communist

People's Deputy of Ukraine People's, branded as ''People's Viennaline'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt GmbH'', is an Austrian airline headquartered in Vienna. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights mainly from its base at St. Gallen-Alten ...

who accused the writer of reciting a pornographic poem and inciting revolt against the Ukrainian government.

Yuriy Vynnychuk's works translated in English

*''The Fantastic Worlds of Yuri Vynnychuk'' (collected short stories). Translated in English by Michael M. Naydan. (Glagoslav Publications, 2016) *''Tango of Death'' (novel). Translated from the Ukrainian by Michael M. Naydan and Olha Tytarenko. Translation edited by Ludmilla A. Trigos. (Spuyten Duyvil, 2019)

References

External links