Oleksandr Oles


Oleksandr Ivanovych Oles was a prominent Ukrainian writer and poet. He is the father of another Ukrainian poet and political activist, Oleh Olzhych, who perished in the Nazi labor camps in 1944.

Life

He was born in 1878 in Kharkiv area, studied at Kharkiv agriculture school, later at Kharkiv veterinary institute.
He is one of representatives of the Ukrainian Cossack family of Kandyba.

Collections

Among his poetic collections are "Z zhurboyu radist obnymalas" — With Sadness a Joy was Embracing, "Komu povim pechal moyu" — To Whom I'll Tell About My Woes, and others. Oleksandr Oles also created several dramatic works.

Death

Oles died in emigration in Prague in 1944. He was buried there until early January 2016 when his and his wife remains were exhumed and replaced by the body of Volodymyr Mykhailyshyn, who was the man that had been paying for the family grave. On 29 January 2017 Oles and his wife Vera were reburied, paid for by the Ukrainian government, in Kiev Lukyanivske cemetery. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and his wife Maryna Poroshenko took part in this ceremony.

Example of his work