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Contemporary Ukrainian literature is a notion referred to Ukrainian literature of the past several decades. Most often 1991 as a year of Ukrainian independence is considered as a start of the contemporary Ukrainian literature as from that year on the literary censorship of the Soviet Union ceased to exist and writers were able to deviate from the official socialist realism style. Principal changes took place in Ukrainian literature already in the years of Perestroika (1985) and especially after the Chernobyl disaster. Some researchers consider that contemporary Ukrainian literature started from the 1970-s after the generation of the sixtiers.
Contents
- History
- Features
- Poetry
- Prose
- Drama
- Translations in English
- Anthologies of contemporary Ukrainian literature in English
- Literature
- References
Due to the increased freedom and openness of the Ukrainian society to foreign influences and much broader contacts with literatures of other countries contemporary Ukrainian literature is different from the literature of soviet and classical period. It turns to the previously forbidden topics (Holodomor, sexuality, drugs, deviant behavior, etc.), using new styles (postmodernism, neo avant-garde, profanity and surzhyk), diversity and mixing of genres, shocking effects and reflecting upon social problems and historical memory.
Modern Ukraine also has a significant number of Russophone writers, who are especially successful in the genres of science fiction and fantasy.
History
During the later USSR some Ukrainian writers started to deviate from the officially approved literary style of socialist realism. Among these writers were Valeriy Shevchuk with his psychological prose and the authors of "chymeric prose" (Vasyl Zemlyak and Volodymyr Drozd) similar to magical realism. There existed also underground literary circles like the Kyiv school of poetry (Vasyl Holoborodko, Mykola Vorobyov, Viktor Kordun, Mykhaylo Hryhoriv), a circle of Lviv writers around the samizdat "Skrynya" almanac (Hryhoriy Chubay, Oleh Lysheha, Mykola Riabchuk, Viktor Morozov, Roman Kis, Orest Yavorskyi), separate dissident writers like Ihor Kalynets. Authors belonging to Kyiv ironic school (Volodymr Dibrova, Bohdan Zholdak, Les Podervianskyi) are considered to be the forefathers of Ukrainian postmodernism. Contemporary Ukrainian literature was also influenced by the New York group of Ukraininan emigre writers, who separated politics from their art in contrast to the politically active sixtiers writers in soviet Ukraine. On the background of stronger censorship and repression in the times of Brezhnev many writers in Ukraine since 1970-s distanced themselves into inner immigration making their literature self-sufficient.
With advent of Perestroika the censorship pressure on writers decreased. This allowed them to turn to previously prohibited styles and themes. The populist canon of social realism was revised, the works of the "Shot renaissance" modernist generation of 1920-s, diaspora and underground writers were printed.
The role of a writer in the society was revised. A writer in soviet Ukraine played a specially important social function, which new postmodernist writers (especially the Bu-Ba-Bu group of poets including Yuri Andrukhovych, Viktor Neborak and Oleksandr Irvanets) tried to debunk.
Interestingly some of the centers of new Ukrainian literature were situated away from the republican capital of Kyiv. Stanislav phenomenon emerged in Ivano-Frankivsk and included a group of eminent writers like Yuri Andrukhovych, Yuriy Izdryk, Taras Prokhasko, Halyna Petrosanyak and Mariya Makytsey.
Mykola Riabchuk was an influential figure in Ukrainian literature in the end of 1980-s and beginning of 1990-s. He edited "Suchasnist", the most influential literary journal at that period. Thanks to Riabchuk many still to become famous writers were first published.
After the collapse of the USSR Ukraine faced a decade of substantial social changes. A free book marked had to replace the state-financed soviet publishing system and the support of writers loyal to the regime.
Features
Modernist tradition in Ukrainian literature was raptured by extermination of many Ukraininan writers in 1930-es. A Soviet period of considerable cultural isolation followed. This led to the fact some contemporary Ukrainian authors write in classical, modernist or postmodernist styles coming in terms with the historic gap each on their own terms.
Many works of contemporary writers are concentrated on darker sides of human life, violence and crisis. This came about as a reaction to the false and compulsory optimism of the official socialist realist literature.
There are numerous literary festivals in Ukraine, most important are the Lviv international literary festival, Meridian Czernowitz and Kyivski lavry.
Some Ukrainian authors write in a mixture of Ukrainian and Russian called surzhyk (Bohdan Zholdak, Les Podervianskyi, Volodymyr Dibrova, Myhaylo Brynyh) using it to create a comic effect as this is the language of the marginalized.
A number of writers of Ukraine write in Russian language. Andriy Kurkov is the best known of them. Also a great number of contemporary Russian science fiction writers originally come from Ukraine or still live there (H. L. Oldie, Alexander Zorich, Yuri Nikitin, Andrey Valentinov, Marina and Sergey Dyachenko and Vladimir Arenev).
Poetry
Among famous Ukrainian poets are: Oleh Lysheha, Vasyl Herasymyuk, Ihor Rymaruk, Petro Midyanka, Ivan Malkovych, Oksana Zabuzhko, Yuri Andrukhovych, Kost Moskalets, Volodymyr Tsybulko, Ihor Pavlyuk, Serhiy Zhadan, Halyna Kruk, Mariyanna Kiyanovska, Andriy Bondar, Ostap Slyvynskyi, Dmytro Lazutkin, Oleh Kotsarev, Bohdana Matiyash, Pavlo Korobchuk, Iryna Shuvalova, Andriy Lyubka, Les Beley.
Prose
Prose writers: Valeriy Shevchuk, Volodymyr Dibrova, Yuriy Vynnychuk, Yuriy Hudz, Yuri Andrukhovych, Oksana Zabuzhko, Yuri Pokalchuk, Yuriy Izdryk, Yevhen Pashkovskyi, Oles Ulianenko, Stepan Protsyuk, Taras Prokhasko, Natalka Snyadanko, Serhiy Zhadan, Anatoliy Dnistrovyi, Dzvinka Matiyash, Irena Karpa, Tanya Malyarchuk, Lyubko Deresh, Markiyan Kamysh, Victoria Amelina, Iryna Tsilyk, Oleksiy Chupa.
Well known essay writes: Ivan Korsak, Mykola Riabchuk, Vitaliy Zhezhera, Yuri Andrukhovych, Oksana Zabuzhko, Vasyl Makhno, Oleksandr Boychenko, Yurko Prokhasko, Anatoliy Dnistrovyi, Andriy Bondar.
Notable novels: Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex (1996) by Oksana Zabuzhko, Perverzion (1997) by Yuri Andrukhovych, Wozzek by Yuriy Izdryk, Sweet Darusya (2002) by Maria Matios, A Stroll to the Zone (2015) by Markiyan Kamysh.
Drama
Drama writers: Oleksandr Irvanets, Nadiya Symych, Neda Nezhdana, Les Podervianskyi, Pavlo Arye, Anna Bahryana, Olena Klymenko, Oleh Mykolaychuk-Nyzovets, Serhiy Shchuchenko, Artem Vyshnevskyi, Oleksandra Pohrebinska, Oleksa Slipets, Volodymyr Serdyuk.
Translations in English
Many works of Yuri Andrukhovych, Oksana Zabuzhko and Serhiy Zhadan being best known in Ukraine and overseas are translated in English. Ukrainian poet Ihor Pavlyuk for the first time in the history of Ukrainian literature was Winner of a 2013 English PEN Award. The book of Ihor Pavlyuk "A Flight over the Black Sea" became the winning book within Writers in Translation competition by English PEN club.
Ukrainian Literature journal publishes English translations of contemporary writers. A special issue of the International Poetry Review was dedicated to Ukrainian poetry from 1985 to 2010. Among active Ukrainian-English translators are Michael Naydan, Mark Andryczyk, Steve Komarnyckyj, Vitaly Chernetsky and others.