Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Rafeyenko (born November 25, 1969) is a Ukrainian

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, translator, literary and film critic, a member of

PEN Ukraine PEN Ukraine is a Ukrainian non-governmental organization established to protect freedom of speech and authors' rights, promote literature and international cultural cooperation. It is part of the network of national centers of the International P ...

. From 1992 to 2018, was writing in

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, published his works mostly in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and was regarded as a representative of

Russian literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia, its Russian diaspora, émigrés, and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. Major contributors to Russian literature, as well as English for instance, are authors of different e ...

. In 2014, having moved to the

Kyiv region Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special status. However, Kyiv also serves as the ...

, learned Ukrainian, started writing his new

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

in Ukrainian, and become a full-fledged representative of

Ukrainian literature The term Ukrainian literature () is normally used to describe works of literature written in the Ukrainian language. In a broader sense it can also relate to all literary works created in the territory of Ukraine. Ukrainian literature mostly de ...

as well. In 2022, he moved to Ternopil escaping active fighting in Kyiv region. Rafeyenko is a representative of

magic realism Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between speculation and reality. ''Magical re ...

Biography

Education

Rafeienko was born in

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. He graduated from

Donetsk University The Vasyl' Stus Donetsk National University ( DonNU, ; ) is one of the leading higher educational institutions of Ukraine. In 2014, due to the war in Donbas, a number of teachers and students left Donetsk and subsequently reestablished the uni ...

with a degree in Russian philology and cultural studies.

Career

Volodymyr Rafeyenko worked as an editor in such Donetsk publishing houses as "BAO" and "Kassiopeia", as a deputy editor in "Mnogotochiye" Magazine. He is an author and compiler of popular science and applicative books, detectives.

Bibliography

Prose books

* ''Brief Farewell Book'' (rus. "Краткая книга прощаний", 2000, ukr. "Мала книжка прощань", 2017) * ''Holidays of Wizards'' (rus. "Каникулы магов", 2005) * ''Irretrievable Verbs'' (rus. "Невозвратные глаголы", 2009) * ''Moscow Divertissement'' (rus. "Московский дивертисмент", 2011, 2013) — a second-place winner of the 2010 Russian Prize in nomination of "Big Prose" * ''All thorough the Summer'' (rus. "Лето напролёт", 2012) * ''Decartes ''Demon'' (rus. "Демон Декарта") — winner of the 2012 Russian Prize in nomination of "Big Prose" * ''The Length of Days'' (rus. "Долгота дней" ukr. "Довгі часи", 2017). * ''Mondegreen (Songs about Death and Love''). (ukr. "Мондегрін: пісні про смерть і любов")

Plays

* Mobile Waves of Life (ukr. «Мобільні хвилі буття», 2023)

Collections of poems

* ''Three Days in the Middle of the Week'' (rus. "Три дня среди недели", 1998) * ''Private Sector'' (rus. "Частный сектор", 2002) * ''Help across the Street'' (rus. "Переводы через дорогу", 2003).

Edited volumes

* ''The War 2022: Diaries, Essays, Poetry.'' (ukr. "Війна 2022: щоденники, есеї, поезія"

Awards

* ''Moscow Divertissement'' became a second-place winner in a category "Big Prose" of the Russian Literary Prizes " Russian Prize" (2010) * ''Decartes ''Demon'' is a winner of 2012 Russian Prize in nomination of "Big Prose" (2013) * NOS (Nose) Award, short list for the novel ''Decartes' Demon'' (2014) * Visegrad Eastern Partnership Literary Award for the novel ''The Length of Days'' (2017). * Volodymyr Korolenko Award, National Union of Ukrainian Writers, for the novel ''Brief Farewell Book'' (2016) * National Taras Shevchenko Prize of Ukraine, short list for the novel ''The Length of Days'' (2018) * National Taras Shevchenko Prize of Ukraine, short list for the novel ''Mondegrin. Songs about Death and Life'' (2020) * Angelus Central European Literature Award, short list for the novel ''Mondegrin. Songs about Death and Life'' (2021)

Language use

Volodymyr spoke Russian for 45 years of life. He was born in the east of Ukraine, in Donetsk, then, primarily a Russian-speaking city. His parents spoke Russian to him, the first books he read were in Russian; he had always spoken only Russian and studied in Russian. He learned Ukrainian when he moved to Kyiv in 2014. After Full-scale invasion started, he decided that none of his future books would be published in Russian. He reports that returning to his native Russian language is altogether impossible.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rafeienko, Volodymyr Living people 1969 births Donetsk National University alumni Russian-language writers Russian male writers Ukrainian male writers Ukrainian-language writers