There are poems that cut into memory and remain in it forever. Ukrainian poet Malyshko Andrey Samoilovich wrote just such poems. Starting to compose at the age of ten, he created magnificent poetic masterpieces that are still loved today.
Andrey Malyshko: a short biography of the early years
The future poet was born in the small town of Obukhov in November 1912. His parents were Samoilo and Evgenia (Їvga) Malyshko. His father made a living by sewing and repairing shoes. He taught his profession to his sons from childhood.
Great influence on Andrei Malyshko had his own uncle Nikita. It was he who read the Bible to the very young nephew, the poems of Taras Shevchenko, the prose of Leo Tolstoy, Alexander Pushkin and other famous writers.
When Andrei reached the age of eight, he was sent to school in his hometown. Thanks to the efforts of his parents and older brothers, by that time the boy had already read perfectly, and also knew the basics of arithmetic.
The youth of the poet
After graduating from seven classes, the young man decided to become a physician and went to Kiev. But he arrived too late and did not enter. However, the following year, Andrei Malyshko was still able to enter the medical college.
In the same year, a disaster happened in the poet’s family: his older brother Pyotr Malyshko, being against the Soviet regime, was actively subversive. Soon he was caught, convicted and executed. The whole family suffered very hard what happened. Years later, Malyshko said that Peter was a much more talented poet than he was.
After college, the young man continued his studies at the Faculty of Literature at the Institute of Public Education of the city of Kiev. During his studies, Andrei met Maxim Rylsky, who praised Malyshko's first poetic experiments. In addition, poems of young talent began to be published in newspapers and magazines during the same period.
After graduation, the young man began to teach in the secondary school of the town of Ovruch.
Since 1934, Andrei Malyshko served a year in the Red Army. The written poems during this time were later published in the collection "Fatherland". After demobilization, the poet moved to Kharkov and was actively engaged in literary activity, about which he had long dreamed. Over the next few years, he has been working in such reputable publications as Komsomolets Ukrainy, Molodiy Bilshovik and Literaturna Gazeta. Prior to the outbreak of the war, seven collections of poems written by Andrei Malyshko were published. Photos of the talented poet are printed next to poetry in many literary magazines and newspapers, and he is beginning to be recognized throughout the country.
Also in the pre-war period, Malyshko wrote several excellent poems: “The Duma of the Cossack Danil”, “Tripіllya”, “Karmalyuk”, “Yarina”. In addition, at the very beginning of the forties, he begins to compose songs for movies.
The Great Patriotic War
From the first days of the war, the poet becomes a war correspondent for the newspapers with which he worked previously.
Being at the front, not only writes articles for newspapers, but also composes poems by Andrey Malyshko. The biography of the poet during the war years knows many facts of his heroism. At the front, Malyshko’s life was more than once in danger, but he continued his work anyway.
His poetry during this period was characterized by incredible depth and sincerity. One of the most penetrating poems of the war years is “My Ukraine!”, Which was included in the eponymous collection. This book was so popular that it was published twice.
Post-war period
After the victory, Andrey Malyshko worked for two years in the Dnipro magazine as a responsible editor.
In 1947, his dramatic poem about the heroism of the common people during the war was published under the name "Prometheus." For her, the poet is awarded the Stalin Prize.
Three years later, Andrey Malyshko, as part of a delegation of cultural figures, was sent on a business trip to Canada and the United States. Poems written during this trip were included in the collection “Over the Blue Sea”. For him, the author was awarded the Stalin Prize for the second time.
The fifties are considered the most productive in the poet's work. It was in this decade that Malyshko wrote his most famous poems, some of which were put to music. So there were such songs as “I know the flower of chestnuts again”, “Writing about a rushnyk”, “My proclamator”, “White chestnuts”. To most of them, the music was written by the famous Ukrainian composer Plato Mayboroda.
The poet’s friends said that he inherited the talent for singing from his mother and often composed music for his poems himself, though he rarely recorded it.
Recent years Baby
In the sixties and seventies, the poet continued to be loved by readers and remained held in high esteem by the authorities. He was awarded the Taras Shevchenko Prize for the collection “Far Orbits”, and the USSR State Prize for “The Road with the Syndromes”.
In the early sixties, two films were released according to the scripts of Andrey Malyshko: “Kvitucha Ukrainy” and “Miz Ukrainy”.
In addition to poetry, Malyshko also writes many critical articles, as well as translates from other languages.
The poet died in 1970 and was buried, like most Kiev intelligentsia, in the Bike cemetery.
Andrei Malyshko: "Pisnya about rushnyk"
Despite the fact that during his life the poet has published about forty poetry collections in Ukrainian, his most famous poem, which later became the song - “The Song of the Rushnyk” or, as it is sometimes called, “My Mother's Ridna ...”. The music for him was written by Plato Mayboroda.
This song was first played in the film “Years Young” (1958) performed by Alexander Taranz and instantly gained popularity throughout the USSR. D. Bezborodikh translated it into Russian, but most often it is sung in the original language.
In Ukrainian literature of the twentieth century there are not many strong poets such as Andriy Malyshko. The biography of this talented person is quite short, he lived only 57 years. However, over the years he managed to write as many inspirational poems as another person could not compose in a thousand years.