Lesya Ukrainka

Lesya Ukrainka (25 February 1871 – 1 August 1913) was a Ukrainian writer, poet, translator, and critic. Her real name was Larysa Kosach-Kvitka. She is one of the most important writers in Ukrainian literature. She also worked as a journalist and wrote plays, short stories, and poems. She supported women’s rights and was active in politics.

Life

Lesya Ukrainka was born in 1871 in the Volhynia region. Her mother, Olha Drahomanova-Kosach (known as Olena Ptchilka), was a writer and editor. Her father was Petro Kosach. Her family had many connections with famous people in Ukraine, such as the composer Mykola Lysenko and the writer Mykhailo Starytsky. Her uncle, Mykhailo Drahomanov, was a well-known scholar and her spiritual mentor.

Lesya wrote her first poem, Hope, when she was nine years old. She wrote it after her aunt was sent to Siberia by the Russian authorities for taking part in the national freedom movement.