Svetlana Viktorivna Ischenko (, born July 30, 1969,
Mykolaiv, Ukraine) — poet, translator, stage actress, teacher, artist.
She is a member of The Ukrainian Writers’ Association (1997) and The
National Writers' Union of Ukraine
The National Writers' Union of Ukraine () (''НСПУ'') is a voluntary social-creative association of professional writers, poets, prose writers, playwrights, critics, and translators.
History
The National Writers' Union of Ukraine was found ...
(1998).
Biography
Svetlana Ischenko was born on July 30, 1969, in Mykolaiv, in the steppe region of the south of Ukraine.
She graduated from Mykolaiv public school number 38. Svetlana pursued her childhood love of music at the Mykolaiv Rimsky-Korsakov Music School, and graduated in piano in 1986. She received a College Diploma in Acting, Stage Directing and Visual Art from the Mykolaiv State College of Culture in 1988. She later attended the Mykolaiv Branch of the Kyiv State University of Culture and Arts and received a BA in Recreation Management and Pedagogy in 1998.
For several years (1988–2001), Ischenko was a stage actress at the Mykolaiv Ukrainian Theatre of Drama and Musical Comedy. She played a number of significant characters from classic Ukrainian and European plays, among them Marusia (Marusia Churai by
Lina Kostenko
Lina Vasylivna Kostenko (; born 19 March 1930) is a Ukrainian poet, journalist, writer, publisher, and former Soviet dissident. A founder and leading representative of the Sixtiers poetry movement, Kostenko has been described as one of Ukrai ...
), Catherine (Catherine by
Taras Shevchenko
Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...
), Motrya (Kaydash's Family by
Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky
Ivan Semenovych Nechuy-Levytsky (born Levytsky; – 2 April 1918) was a well-known Ukrainian writer.
Biography
Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky was born on to the family of a peasant priest in Stebliv (Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine). In 1847 he en ...
), Yaryna (Where There are people, There is Sin by І. Tobilevych), Ryna (Myna Mazaylo by
Mykola Kulish
Mykola Hurovych Kulish () (18 December 1892 – 3 November 1937) was a Ukrainian prose writer, playwright, pedagogue, veteran of World War I, and Red Army veteran. He is considered to be one of the lead figures of the Executed Renaissance; he w ...
), Prince (Dregs by Janusz Glovatsky), Julie (The Family Weekend by Jean Poiret), and Countess Rosine (Marriage of Figaro by P. Beaumarchais). Svetlana also created many poetic texts and songs for thematic programs, plays and musical shows for the Mykolaiv Ukrainian Theatre of Drama and Musical Comedy.
A number of Ukrainian composers and singers have created songs using Ischenko's poetry for lyrics—Viktor Ures, Viktor Piatygorsky, Oleksandr Nezhyhai, Olena Nikishenko, Oleksandr Honcharenko, Anna Oliynykova, and others.
In 2001, Ischenko immigrated to Canada. She lives in North Vancouver, British Columbia. Svetlana continues to keep in close contact with Ukraine. She writes in Ukrainian and English. Her literary achievement includes translations. Svetlana Ischenko is a co-translator of English versions of poetry by
Dmytro Kremin, winner of the Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian National Literary Prize.
Ischenko's field of work in Canada is creating and teaching children's programs in visual arts, ballet, creative dance, jazz, hip-hop, and musical theatre at Recreational Centres in North Vancouver. She has given poetry readings at the Vancouver Public Library in the “World Poetry Reading Series” and radio interviews on Vancouver's Co-op Radio as well as Voice of America (“Musical Rainbow” by Alexandr Kaganovsky) in the U.S.
Publications
Ischenko's poems were first published in the Mykolaiv regional newspaper The Soviet Prybuzhia on December 14, 1991.
Svetlana's literary work has appeared widely in a variety of publications in Ukraine, including magazines such as Dzvin (Lviv), Kyiv (Kyiv), Gorozhanin (Mykolaiv), Dyvoslovo (Kyiv), Art-Line (Kyiv), Vitchyzna (Kyiv), Kurier Kryvbasu (Kryviy Rih), and Vezha (Kropyvnytskyi), almanacs such as Borviy (Mykolaiv), Buzsky Gard (Mykolaiv), and Osvityanski vitryla (Mykolaiv), and in poetry anthologies such as Pochatky (Kyiv, Smoloskyp Press, 1998) and The Mykolaiv Oberih (Mykolaiv, Mozhlyvosti Kimmerii Press, 2004).
Svetlana's poems have also been published in Canadian literary magazines such as The Antigonish Review (Antigonish, Nova Scotia), Lichen (Whitby, Ontario), Event (Vancouver, British Columbia), and in poetic anthologies such as From This New World (Vancouver, Canada, 2003) and Che Wach Choe—Let the Delirium Begin (Lantzville, British Columbia, 2003).
Ischenko's co-translations of the poetry of
Dmytro Kremin, winner of the Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian National Literary Prize, have appeared in well-known literary magazines such as ''London Magazine'' (London, England, 2007), ''Prism International'' (Vancouver, Canada, 2007), and ''Hayden’s Ferry Review'' (Arizona, US, 2009), in the trilingual collection ''Two Shores'' (Mykolaiv, Iryna Hudym Publisher, 2007) and in the book ''Poems From The Scythian Wild Field'' (Ekstasis Editions, Victoria, B.C., Canada, 2016) -- a selection of the poetry of Dmytro Kremin translated into English by Svetlana Ischenko and Russell Thornton
Books of poetry
* 1995 ''Chorals of the Earth and Sky'' (Ukrainian Writer—Vyr Press, Kyiv, Ukraine), including ''A Crane’s Cry'', a dramatic play based on the novel by
Roman Ivanychuk
* 1998 ''B-Sharp'' (Mozhlyvosti Kimmerii, Mykolaiv, Ukraine)
* 2005 ''In the Mornings I Find a Crane’s Feathers in My Damp Braids'' (Leaf Press, Lantzville, BC, Canada)
* 2019 ''The Trees Have Flown Up In Couples'' (Viktor Shvets Publishing House, Mykolaiv, Ukraine)
* 2024 ''Nucleus: A Poet's Lyrical Journey From Ukraine To Canada'' (Ronsdale Press, Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Works of translation
;From Ukrainian into English
* Dmytro Kremin ''The Horse Constellation'' (magazine ''The Malahat Review'', issue 188, Victoria, B.C., Canada, 2014), ''The Lost Manuscript'' (magazine ''The London Magazine'', issue June–July 2007, London, England), ''Don Quixote From the Estuary'' (magazine ''Prism International'', issue 45:4, Summer 2007, Vancouver, Canada), ''The Tower of Pisa'', ''The Tendra Mustungs' Odyssey'', ''Wild Honey'', ''A Church in the Middle of the Universe'', ''Christmas in Bohopil'', ''The Hunt For the Wild Boar'' (magazine ''Hayden's Ferry Review'', issue 44, spring-summer 2009, Virginia, Arizona, US).
* ''Poems From The Scythian Wild Field'' (Ekstasis Editions, Victoria, B.C., Canada, 2016) -- a selection of the poetry of Dmytro Kremin translated into English by Svetlana Ischenko and Russell Thornton
* Dmytro Kremin ''The Lost Manuscript'' (magazine ''The Walrus'', issue June 2022, Toronto, Canada)
;From Russian into Ukrainian
* Sergei Yesenin ''Persian Motives'' in the book ''B-Sharp'' (Mykolaiv, "Можливості Кіммерії", 1998)
* Alexandr Pushkin ''To the Fountain of the Bakhchisaray Palace'' in the book ''The Trees Have Flown Up In Couples'' (Mykolaiv, «Видавництво Віктора Швеця», 2019)
* Larisa Маtveyevа (selected poems) in the book ''The Trees Have Flown Up In Couples'' (Mykolaiv, «Видавництво Віктора Швеця», 2019)
;From English into Ukrainian
* Seven Canadian poets in translation in ''Variations on the Word Love: Anthology of Canadian Poets'' (magazine ''Kyiv'', issue 7-8, 2017, Ukraine)
* ''Canadian Poetry translated by Svetlana Ischenko'' (magazine "Soborna Vulytsia" (Cathedral Street), Mykolaiv, December, 2017)
Awards
* in Ukraine: ''The New Names of Ukraine'' and ''The Golden Harp'', 1995
* in Canada: ''Burnaby Writers’ Society Poetry Contest'', 2003
* in Israel: ''The Ivan Koshelivets International Literary Prize'', 2013
* in Ukraine:''
The Best Mykolaiv Book of the Year 2019 in Poetry nomination: Svetlana Ischenko ''The Trees Have Flown Up In Couples'', 2019* in Ukraine:''
The Panteleimon Kulish International Literary-Artistic Prize for ''Nucleus: A Poet's Lyrical Journey From Ukraine To Canada'', 2025
Visual Art displayed
* Mykolaiv Central Library of Marko Kropyvnytsky, Mykolaiv, Ukraine, 2000 and 2017
Art portal online ''Ukrainian Woman''* Fundraiser / Exhibition "My Connections: Ukraine - Canada", The Polygon Gallery, North Vancouver, BC, Canada, August 22 2023
* Lions Gate Community Centre, North Vancouver, BC, Canada, August 2023 - February 2024
References
Sources and external links
Entry in Encyclopedia of Modern UkrainePoetry in internet-magazine ''The Literary Mykolaiv''Songs using Svetlana Ischenko’s poetry for lyrics available in internet-magazine The Literary MykolaivPoetry, songs, biography on web-portal Zhinka-UkrainkaPhoto Gallery on web-portal Zhinka-UkrainkaPaintings by Svetlana Ischenko
*
ttp://vitchyzna.ukrlife.org/1_2_07ischenko.htm Poetry in Vitchyzna magazine issue 1-2, 2007Poetry on Bukvoyid website
*
ttp://dotyk.in.ua/solomonovo.htm Poetry ''After the Song of Solomon'' on Dotyk Slovom websiteDmytro Kremin re: Svetlana Ischenko (video) on internet magazine The Literary Mykolaiv issue 4 – 2012
''Personal thanks to a Poet -- Dmytro Kremin'', an article on the 60th birthday of the poet D. Kremin
Entry in Mykolaiv Regional Viktor Liagin Library for children website
Interview with S. Ischenko by Inna Bereza, “A Dialogue with a Compatriot” in Prosvita Khersonschyny—Visnyk Tavriyskoyi Fundatsiyi, issue 4, 2007
Mykolaiv Scientific-Pedagogic Library: Svetlana Ischenko -- BiographyEntry in Mykolaiv Central Marko Kropyvnytskyi Library websiteInterview with Svetlana Ischenko, TV channel "Mykolaiv", Ukraine, June 23, 2017"Poems From the Scythian Wild Field" -- poetry readings at the Marko Kropyvnytskyi Library, TV channel "Mykolaiv, Ukraine June 23, 2017Video and photos from the poetry readings by Dmytro Kremin and Svetlana Ischenko at the Marko Kropyvnytskyi Library, Mykolaiv, Ukraine, June 23, 2017Paintings by Svetlana Ischenko gifted by the author to the Marko Kropyvnytskyi Library, Mykolaiv, Ukraine*
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Canadian Literary Magazine "The Walrus", June 2022: Dmytro Kremin "The Lost Manuscript" translated by Svetlana Ischenko and Russell Thornton"Dmytro Kremin: A Portrait" poem by Svetlana Ischenko (video)An interview "North Vancouver fundraiser supports Ukrainians affected by Russian invasion" about an arts and poetry fundraiser "My Connections: Ukraine - Canada" organized by Svetlana Ischenko at the Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver, The Early Edition CBC Radio, Vancouver, August 22 2023"Nucleus: A Poet's Lyrical Journey From Ukraine to Canada" by Svetlana Ischenko, Ronsdale Press, Vancouver, BCBC BookWorld interview, winter 2023-2024"Nucleus" - Book TrailerCBC Books, spring 2024All Lit Up: An interview with poet Svetlana Ischenko, April 23 2024The Literary Ukraine:"Світлана Іщенко: Мені хотілося розповісти про Україну, її історію і культуру через свій особистий досвід і погляд"(interview in Ukrainian), Jan.12 2025The British Columbia Review: Resilience, transformation, memory (Jan.23 2025)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ischenko, Svetlana
1969 births
Living people
Actors from Mykolaiv
Ukrainian women poets
20th-century Ukrainian poets
20th-century Ukrainian women writers
21st-century Ukrainian poets
21st-century Ukrainian women writers
21st-century Ukrainian writers
Writers from Mykolaiv