Bohdan Ihor Antonych

Bohdan-Ihor Vasyliovych Antonych (Ukrainian: Богдан-Ігор Васильович Антонич; 5 October 1909 – 6 July 1937) was a 20th-century Ukrainian poet.^[1] In 1934 Antonych received third prize honours from the Ivan Franko Society of Writers and Journalists for his work Three Signet Rings.^[2]

Bohdan Ihor Antonych Богдан-Ігор Антонич
Antonych in the 1930s
Born	(1909-10-05)October 5, 1909 Nowica, Galicia, Austria-Hungary
Died	6 June 1937(1937-06-06) (aged 27) Lviv, Poland
Occupation	poet, writer, translator, literary critic
Nationality	Ukrainian
Citizenship	Austria-Hungary West Ukrainian People's Republic Ukrainian People's Republic Poland
Alma mater	Lviv University
Period	1931   37
Parents	Vasyl Antonych [uk] (father)

Biography

The house where Antonych lived in 1928-1937

Grave of Bohdan Ihor Antonych at Yanivsky cemetery in Lviv

Antonych was born and raised in the Lemko village of Nowica where his father, Vasyl, was a parish priest. In 1928, Antonych left Nowica to study at Lviv University, where he remained until he received his degree in Slavic studies in 1933.^[3] From 1928 to 1933, Antonych was a student at the Jan Kazimierz University in Lviv, where he studied at the Faculty of Philosophy (specializing in Polish philology). In order to help finance his chosen career of professional writer, he occasionally worked as an editor for journals such as Dazhboh and Karby. Antonych died from pneumonia on 6 July 1937.^[3] In October 2009, the National Bank of Ukraine issued a commemorative coin in his honor as a part of their "Outstanding Personalities of Ukraine" series.^[4]

In his poetry, he combines the principles of imagism with a life-affirming paganism inspired by Lemko folklore. He declared himself "a pagan in love with life" and "a poet of spring intoxication".^[1]

Selected works

• Autobiography (Автобіографія)
• The Green Gospel (Зелена Євангелія). Lviv, 1938
• Book of the Lion (Книга Лева). Lviv, 1936;
• На другому березі (unfinished)
• Welcome to Life [Привітання життя]. Lviv, 1931;
• Song on the Indestructibility of Matter (Пісня про незнищенність матерії)
• Rotations (Ротації). Lviv, 1938.
• Three Rings (Три перстені). Lviv, 1934;
• Ukrainian translations of Rainer Maria Rilke's works

Further reading

• The Essential Poetry of Bohdan Ihor Antonych: Ecstasies and Elegies. Bohdan-Ihor Antonych, Michael M. Naydan. (Bucknell University Press, 2010) ISBN 0-8387-5769-3
• The Grand Harmony. Bohdan-Ihor Antonych, Translated by Michael M. Naydan. (Glagoslav Publications, 2017) ISBN 9781911414353

References

1. "Encyclopedia of Ukraine". pp. Vol. 1, 1984. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
2. "In the Grip Of Great Frustrations". The Day. 28 December 2004. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
3. "A poet with the Lemko sun in his pocket". The Day. 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
4. "Commemorative and Jubilee Coins of the Ukraine". Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2010.

External links

• Antonych's works in audio format