Yuri Andrukhovich could be called a cult contemporary Ukrainian writer, poet and translator, if he was not against cults as such. Sometimes, if you read his works one by one, it is created that they just boil down to the primordial “do not create an idol for yourself”, although, of course, the writer’s creations are much more diverse. Many people read Andrukhovich, but just as many scold him. Nevertheless, he is one of the most widely read Ukrainian writers in the world. As a person, he is no less
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Yuri Andrukhovich could be called a cult contemporary Ukrainian writer, poet and translator, if he was not against cults as such. Sometimes, if you read his works one by one, it is created that they just boil down to the primordial “do not create an idol for yourself”, although, of course, the writer’s creations are much more diverse. Many people read Andrukhovich, but just as many scold him. Nevertheless, he is one of the most widely read Ukrainian writers in the world. As a person, he is no less interesting.
Igor Andrukhovich was born on March 13, 1960 in Stanislava (now Ivano-Frankivsk), in Western Ukraine. Andrukhovich tells a lot about his own childhood in his own works (for example, in the mystification novel “The Secret”). He studied at a specialized school with in-depth study of the German language, then graduated from the editorial department of the Ukrainian Printing Institute in Lviv and the Higher Literary Courses at the Gorky Literary Institute in Moscow. He worked as a journalist, served in the army, and in 1994 defended his thesis on the work of the classic of Ukrainian literature of the first half of the XX century, Bogdan-Igor Antonich, banned in the Soviet period. Andrukhovich’s doctoral dissertation was devoted to the legacy of American beatnik poets. Along with his scientific work, he was actively engaged in literary creativity.
In 1985, together with Alexander Irvanz and Viktor Neborak, he founded the poetic group “Bu-Ba-Bu” (“Burlesque-Balagan-Buffonada”), and this itself became a huge breakthrough in the development of Ukrainian modern literature, which seemed to wake up from hibernation and rushed to catch up for the long years of neglect and prohibitions. Andrukhovich and the company were the first to renew the buffoonery and carnival traditions in Ukrainian literature. In 1991, Yuri became one of the editors of the literary magazine “Thursday”, where many of the famous modern writers were published for the first time.
The first and most significant prose works of Andrukhovich – “Recreation” (1992), “Moscoviada” (1993), “Perverzia” (1996) – were published in the journal “Suchanist”, and in 1997 were published as separate books. These novels, as well as the later work “12 Hoops”, have been translated into many languages of the world, including Russian, and even Esperanto. Very significant was the book-essay “Disorientation on the ground”.
A completely new, more mature period in the prose work of Andrukhovich is evidenced by his works “The Devil to Walk in Syria” (2006) and “Taiemnitsya”. Replacement of the novel (2007).
Yuri is the author of the fifth Ukrainian translation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Some Western critics call Andrukhovich one of the brightest representatives of postmodernism, comparing his importance in the world literary hierarchy with Umberto Eco.
Andrukhovich is a vice-president of the Association of Ukrainian Writers, which he created together with his associates, leaving the Union of Writers of Ukraine for ideological reasons.
Yuri Andrukhovich is a lucky family man. Together with his wife Nina Nikolaevna, they raised their daughter Sofia and son Taras. Sofia Andrukhovich is also a famous Ukrainian writer, from whose works you can learn the truth about her father, which Yuri himself might want to hide. Although the writer is proud of his children and wishes them full creative realization.