Bohdan-Ihor Antonych: A Poet Who Spoke with Eternity

Bohdan-Ihor Antonych is a figure shrouded in mysteries and enigmas. He was not only a talented poet, prose writer, translator, and literary critic, but also a man ahead of his time. His work, filled with modernist motifs and mystical images, still evokes admiration and interest among researchers and readers. Despite his short life, Antonych left a literary legacy that is a valuable contribution to Ukrainian and world culture.

Interesting Facts from the Life and Work of Bohdan-Ihor Antonych:

• Lemko Roots: Bohdan-Ihor Antonych was born on October 5, 1909, in the village of Novytsia in the Lemko region, which was then part of Austria-Hungary, into the family of a Greek Catholic priest. The Lemko region is an ethnic Ukrainian territory located in the Carpathian Mountains, inhabited by the Lemko people, or Rusyns.
• Real Surname – Kit: Antonych's real surname was Kit, but the family changed it before the birth of their son. The surname Antonych comes from the name of his grandfather – Anton Kot. Interestingly, the ancestral estate of the grandfather was called "Cat's Castle."
• Musical and Artistic Talent: From an early age, Bohdan-Ihor was not only drawn to poetry, but also virtuoso played the violin and drew beautifully, which made his work multifaceted.
• Forced Move to Vienna: With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the Antonych family moved to Vienna, where they lived for four years in difficult conditions. Due to difficulties during the war, the boy often fell ill, so he initially studied at home, and at the age of 11 he entered the Sianok Gymnasium.
• Student Years in Lviv: Bohdan-Ihor studied at the University of Jan Kazimierz in Lviv (now LNU named after Franko) at the Faculty of Philosophy, specializing in Polish philology. Since there was no Ukrainian studies at the university, he independently studied the Ukrainian language.
• The First Language of Poetry – Polish: Since the future poet grew up in a Polish environment, his first poems were written in Polish.
• Double Name and Pseudonym: The writer's real name is Bohdan, but he added a second name – Igor, in honor of the prince, a fan of whom he was. He signed his first works with the pseudonym Igor Igorenko, and later began to use the double name – Bohdan-Ihor Antonych.
• Features of the Creative Process: Antonych wrote works mainly early in the morning, trying to immediately write down all his thoughts and ideas, so as not to forget them.
• Love and the Collection "The Green Gospel": Many of Antonych's poems are dedicated to his beloved girl, Olga Oliynyk, in particular poems from the famous collection "The Green Gospel." They met at a literary evening and planned to get married, but the writer's premature death prevented these plans.
• First Collections: The poet's debut collection "Greetings to Life" was published in 1931, when he was 22 years old. Later, "Three Rings" (1934) and "The Book of the Lion" (1936) appeared. After the poet's death, two more collections were published from his manuscripts – "The Green Gospel" (1938) and "Rotations" (1938).
• Mastery in Forms: Antonych masterfully mastered poetic forms – from the classic sonnet to the modern free verse. He was considered "the greatest poet after Franko" and a mystical poet.
• In Addition to Poetry: The poet wrote not only poems, but also engaged in journalism, translated, created reviews and feuilletons. He also worked on a prose work – an unfinished novel "On That Shore."
• Premature Death: Bohdan-Ihor Antonych died on July 6, 1937 at the age of 27. The cause was complications after appendicitis and pneumonia. He is buried in Lviv at the Yanivsky cemetery.
• Banned in the USSR: After the annexation of Western Ukraine to the USSR, the poet's work was banned due to its "apolitical nature." Interest in him returned only in the 1960s in the Ukrainian diaspora, and then in independent Ukraine.
• Commemoration of Memory: In 1989, a memorial plaque was installed in Lviv on the house where the poet lived, and a memorial sign to the poet appeared in his native village of Novytsia. In 2016, a monument to Antonych was opened in Lviv according to the project of Volodymyr Odrekhivsky.
• Antonych in Music: The band "Pirog i Batig" released the album "Green" to Antonych's poems.
• Christmas Carol: Antonych's poem "God Was Born on a Sleigh" is performed as a Christmas carol. The music for it was written by the Ukrainian bandura player Vasyl Zhdankin.

Bohdan-Ihor Antonych is a unique figure in the history of Ukrainian literature. His work, filled with deep philosophical content, mystical images, and modernist experiments, remains relevant and interesting to the modern reader. Despite his difficult fate and short life, Antonych managed to create his own unique style, which distinguishes him from other writers.