Yevhen Hrebinka
Encyclopedia
Yevhen Pavlovych Hrebinka ' onMouseout='HidePop("57613")' href="/topics/Poltava">Poltava
gubernia - 15 December 1848, Saint Petersburg
) was a Ukrainian
romantic
writer
and poet
. He wrote in both the Ukrainian
and Russian
languages.
His works first started being published in 1831. In 1834 he published "Little Russian Fables" in Moscow
which, because of its vivid and pure language, wit, laconic style, and attention to ethnographic detail, ranks among the best collections of fables in Ukrainian literature. Many of his lyrical poems, such as A Ukrainian Melody (1839) became folk songs
. Hrebinka is recognized as a leading representative of the so-called "Ukrainian school" of Russian literature
. Many of his Russian language works include Ukrainian themes, such as Stories of a Pyriatynian (1837), the historical poems Getman Svirgovskii (1839) and Bogdan (1843), the novelette
The Nizhen Colonel Zolotarenko (1842), and the novel
Chaikovskii (1843). In 1843 he wrote a poem Dark Eyes
that would later become a famous Russian song with the same name.
In Saint Petersburg in 1841, he compiled and published one of the first Ukrainian almanacs, called Lastôvka. It had 382 pages and contained works by many famous Ukrainian authors, along with Ukrainian folk songs, popular proverbs, and folktales
.
Hrebinka took kindly to the young enserfed
artist Taras Shevchenko
and helped connect him with Saint Petersburg elite who organized Shevchenko's liberation from serfdom in 1838. He also helped publish Shevchenko's Kobzar
in 1840.
His collected works were first published in 1862.
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
gubernia - 15 December 1848, Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
) was a Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. He wrote in both the Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
languages.
His works first started being published in 1831. In 1834 he published "Little Russian Fables" in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
which, because of its vivid and pure language, wit, laconic style, and attention to ethnographic detail, ranks among the best collections of fables in Ukrainian literature. Many of his lyrical poems, such as A Ukrainian Melody (1839) became folk songs
Ukrainian folk music
Ukrainian folk music includes a number of varieties of ethnic , folkloric, folk inspired popular and folk inspired classical traditions....
. Hrebinka is recognized as a leading representative of the so-called "Ukrainian school" of Russian literature
Russian literature
Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia or its émigrés, and to the Russian-language literature of several independent nations once a part of what was historically Russia or the Soviet Union...
. Many of his Russian language works include Ukrainian themes, such as Stories of a Pyriatynian (1837), the historical poems Getman Svirgovskii (1839) and Bogdan (1843), the novelette
Novelette
A novelette is a piece of short prose fiction. The distinction between a novelette and other literary forms is usually based upon word count, with a novelette being longer than a short story, but shorter than a novella...
The Nizhen Colonel Zolotarenko (1842), and the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Chaikovskii (1843). In 1843 he wrote a poem Dark Eyes
Dark Eyes (song)
Dark Eyes is a Russian song.The lyrics of the song were written by a Ukrainian poet and writer Yevhen Hrebinka. The first publication of the poem was in Literaturnaya gazeta on 17 January 1843....
that would later become a famous Russian song with the same name.
In Saint Petersburg in 1841, he compiled and published one of the first Ukrainian almanacs, called Lastôvka. It had 382 pages and contained works by many famous Ukrainian authors, along with Ukrainian folk songs, popular proverbs, and folktales
Ukrainian folklore
Ukrainian folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Ukraine and among ethnic Ukrainians. The earliest examples of folklore found in Ukraine is the layer of pan-slavic folklore that dates back to the ancient Slavic mythology of the Eastern Slavs. Gradually, Ukrainians developed a layer...
.
Hrebinka took kindly to the young enserfed
Russian serfdom
The origins of serfdom in Russia are traced to Kievan Rus in the 11th century. Legal documents of the epoch, such as Russkaya Pravda, distinguished several degrees of feudal dependency of peasants, the term for an unfree peasant in the Russian Empire, krepostnoi krestyanin , is translated as serf.-...
artist Taras Shevchenko
Taras Shevchenko
Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko -Life:Born into a serf family of Hryhoriy Ivanovych Shevchenko and Kateryna Yakymivna Shevchenko in the village of Moryntsi, of Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire Shevchenko was orphaned at the age of eleven...
and helped connect him with Saint Petersburg elite who organized Shevchenko's liberation from serfdom in 1838. He also helped publish Shevchenko's Kobzar
Kobzar (book)
Kobzar , is a book of poems by Ukrainian poet and painter Taras Shevchenko, first published by him in 1840 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Taras Shevchenko was nicknamed The Kobzar after the publishing of this book...
in 1840.
His collected works were first published in 1862.