Ukrainian literature contains a lot of glorious names. Among them one can name Taras Shevshenko, Pavlo Zagrebelny, Lesia Ukrainka, Lina Kostenko and others. But it’s a pity but I’ll to admit that Ukrainian writers and poets are not well-known in the country. In my own opinion this can be explained by the fact of poor popularity of Ukrainian literature in general. But especially nowadays much is being done to make it known to everybody who wishes to learn something about the Ukrainian writers and poets.
I would like to tell you about outstanding Ukrainian poet – Vasyl Simonenko. His name became known not so long ago. He represents the generation of the Ukrainian progressive poets and writers.
He was born on the 8th of January in 1935 to a poor family in a small Ukrainian village not far from Poltava. According to his mother recollections he was the brightest pupil at school. The family couldn’t afford giving the boy a proper education. He managed to study only 5 years at school in the village where he lived. And them he had to go to the village that was nine kilometres away from his house. At this school he was the brightest and the poorest one.
Vasyl had a great thirst for knowledge, he was a great lover of books. He left school with distinction. When he was a boy he decided to devote his life to people by writing about everything he experienced and knew. He wrote poems, fables and short stories for children. His works are full of love for his motherland and people. In one of his poems he wrote: “I live for you, I came from you, I’ll go into you”. He died very young in 1963 in Cherkassy.
