What did the poet Dmitry Pavlychko for 93 years of life

Throughout his life, Dmitri Pavlychko argued that poetism It has no boundaries. As a six-costal writer, he fought for Ukraine’s cultural freedom and its future. On January 29, 2023, this struggle ended - the poet died. Today we want to honor the memory of the cult creator of the Ukrainian word and tell about the life of Pavlychko a little more.



The lines of the legendary song “Two colories” have been living in the memory of millions of Ukrainians for more than one generation. The music was created by the composer Alexander Bilash, but the author of words filled with lyrical reflections on the fate of a person was the poet Dmitry Pavlychko.

They call him the age man. He was a true patriot of his homeland, and this patriotism began to emerge in him as a child. Dmitry was born in the village of Ivano-Frankivsk region, which at that time was annexed by Poland. Because of this, the boy had to study at a Polish school.



Instagram / @museum_60s Teacher forced student to learn poetry in Polish But he refused, repeating that he was Ukrainian. For this, he was repeatedly beaten on the hands with an iron stick, lamenting that such a nation does not exist. But the young Pavlychko already knew what was going on, and confidently stood his ground.

Dmitry became addicted to the writing craft very early. It all began in the 5th grade, when the boy sniffed after the girls and dedicated them love quatrains. Over time, the passion of the future poet became more conscious and serious. The logical continuation was the admission to the Faculty of Philology at the Ivan Franko University of Lviv.



Instagram / @chis_chernomorsk True, it happened after a series of tragic events in the life of the poet. During the Second World War, his brother Pavlychko died. Despite his young age, Dmitry decided at all costs to avenge his brother. He joined the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.

And although he stayed there for a short time, it was enough to fall under the distribution of the NKVD. From autumn 1945 to summer 1946, 16-year-old Pavlychko was imprisoned for his insurgency. No matter how much the parents tried to dissuade the son from this step, he was implacable: “I must catch up with the Germans and avenge them for their brother!”

The creative path of the poet Dmitry Pavlychko first published his poem in 1951, when he was studying at the university. However, he began to write deep and soulful works in the 1940s. His work reflected the realities of the then life of Ukrainians. Not surprisingly, he was later called an anti-Soviet writer.

“Dmitry Pavlychko started what was later called dissidence in Ukraine,” literary critic Ivan Dzyuba said at the time. Pavlychko was the first Ukrainian writer to publicly assess Stalin as a tyrant. For this, he paid 18 thousand copies of his collection “Truth Kliche”. It was removed from sales and destroyed.



In his poetry, Dmitry Pavlychko exalts love, writes on deep philosophical topics, devotes lines to his native language. The poet also made literary translations. It was thanks to him that for the first time in the Ukrainian language appeared a complete collection of works by William Shakespeare in 6 volumes, as well as works by Charles Baudelaire, Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarch and many others.

Many of the lyrics that came from the pen of the poet became songs. These are the words: “The dew fell on the mowing”, “Yavir and Yavorin”, and “The valley of the fog flows”. However, the most famous among them is the poetry of Dmitry Pavlychko “Two colories”.



Instagram / @le.karpuk This poem has its own unique story. The censorship of the Ukrainian SSR called the song the national anthem of nationalists because of the symbolic red and black color (the revolutionary flag of the OUN). But the song itself soon became popular.

Dmitry Pavlychko wrote the text for half an hour at the congress of the Komsomol after he saw a black scarf with red roses on the shoulders of the scientist Lyudmila Moldovan. Together with Alexander Bilash, they fled the meeting to finish the song.

Pavlychko’s contribution to the development of Ukraine, Dmitry Pavlychko actively led not only writing, but also social activities. He is one of the organizers of the People’s Movement and the Democratic Party of Ukraine. The poet also became the first chairman of the Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian Language Society.

In addition, Pavlychko was one of those who laid his word in the foundation of the Ukrainian state - the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine. He is the first introductory sentence of this historic document.



Instagram / @lademeuredulivre “Pavlychko Doctrine” is the unofficial name of Ukraine’s foreign policy, which is the basis of the Declaration on State Sovereignty of Ukraine. This doctrine presupposed Ukraine’s desire to become a neutral and non-aligned state.

Dmitry Pavlychko’s contribution to the development of Ukrainian culture and statehood is invaluable. That is why Ukrainians took the news of the death of this great man so painfully. But we are sure that he will live as long as the lines of his piercing poetry are alive on our lips. Bright memory!