Yuri Koval is a writer and artist that everyone knows about: both adults and children. He, like no one else, showed that children's literature is a deep and inexhaustible source from which one can feed on such necessary energy for life. The work of Yuri Koval is known outside of Russia, his works have been repeatedly translated into both European, Chinese and Japanese. In addition, based on his books, even today they make original cartoons and films.
Short biography: Yuri Koval - childhood
Yuri saw the world in the midst of severe frosts, in the month of February of 1938,
in the city of Moscow. The writer's family included his father (the head of the criminal investigation department of the Moscow region) and his mother (chief doctor of a psychiatric hospital in the Moscow region). Koval Yuri Iosifovich, whose biography begins precisely from the Moscow region, spent almost all his pre-war childhood in this region.
After the war ended, the family moved to the Red Gate. This is a district of the city, about which several biographical works were already written in adulthood. Here Yuri Koval entered school and declared himself as the future genius of literature. At a school desk, a boy was writing poetry instead of math. These were both comic and lyrical lines, but already so deep and soulful that they touched the thinnest strings of the soul.
After school, Yuri Koval entered the Lenin Pedagogical Institute in Moscow. First, his faculty trained specialists in the Russian language and literature, and when Koval graduated, it was already a historical and philological faculty. At the institute, the writer met a huge number of famous people and continued friendship with them almost all his life.
Peaceful time
The first works of the author were published in the institute’s newspaper, and here the creative activity of the future genius of literature began. Yuri Koval left the institute with two diplomas: Russian language and literature, history and drawing. The society did not learn much less about the Kowala artist than about the Kowala writer. He was interested in the features of painting, mosaics, murals, repeatedly participated in exhibitions and even illustrated his books.
Yuri Koval: biography of the writer
The life of this man was incredibly eventful. A versatile person was
Yuri Koval, whose biography tells us that his first steps as a teacher have become promising. He began his teaching career in the village of Emelyanovo. He taught Russian language, literature, geography, history, singing and other subjects. At this point, Koval’s activities as a writer intensified, but, unfortunately, not all works were published.
It was during that period that Yuri Koval determined that he wanted to declare himself as a children's writer. The "adult" literature was too oversaturated for him. There was never and never will be that immediacy and ease, as in a nursery. That is why Koval Yuri Iosifovich chose the path of a children's writer.
The first children's works were published in collaboration with Leonid Mezinov in 1966 ("The Tale of How the House was Built", "The Tale of the Kettle"). Koval replaced teaching activities for work in the journal "Children's Literature", then "Murzilka". During these years, the author published biographical works “Scarlet” and “Clean Dor”.
Creative activity of the 1970–80s
The writer Yuri Koval at that time defined his life and creative motto, which said that you can not constantly work in the same genre. It is necessary to change more often and carry out more and more new searches. The author also worked in the genre of humorous detective stories, based on which cartoons were soon shot. This is a well-known story for both adults and children, The Adventures of Vasya Kurolesov.
For this work, the author was awarded the third prize at the All-Union Competition
children's books. The Frankfurt Fair recognized the book as one of the best in the world, after which the story was translated into several languages and published in many European countries. After the tremendous success of “The Adventures of Vasya Kurolesov,” the writer published a continuation of the story: “Five Abducted Monks” and “Miss of Citizen Loshakov”.
The incredible success of the works of Yuri Koval allowed him to become a member of the Union of Writers (thanks to the recommendations of Shergin B.V. and Pisakhov S.G. - authoritative members of the Union of Writers of the USSR). In gratitude for the trust placed in him, Koval publishes Shergin’s tales on the pages of the Murzilka magazine, and soon writes scripts and helps to shoot cartoons based on these tales.
The biography of this outstanding person tells the reader about numerous trips to the Urals, where the writer drew ideas for his work. The story "Undersanding" was written precisely on the basis of those impressions that Arctic foxes made from the fur farm in the Urals made on the author. But this story was not accepted by the world, and after its publication the following works of the writer were not published. But together with Eduard Uspensky, a writer who suffered the same fate, Koval appealed the decision to ban, and the replication of their stories was restored.
Writer's work in cinematography
Soon, based on the works of Yuri Koval, films are being made: “Undersanding Napoleon III”, “The Border Dog Scarlet”. Behind the scenes of films are songs of authorship of Koval, a little later he himself plays a role in the “Country Mark of Gondeloupe”. Incredible creative activity and the pursuit of excellence - this is what moved Yuri Koval constantly forward. As already mentioned, the writer was not indifferent to travel: the Urals, the North, Vologda, the center of the city bustle and the incredible wilderness of the village - all this was described in a particular essay.
Prizes and Honors
An honorary diploma of the International Council of Literature for Children and Youth was awarded to Koval for the story “The Lightest Boat in the World”. He became a genius of literature for children. No one could so subtly and penetrately feel child psychology and even more so describe it. “Wormwood Tales” are stories a little from the mouth of a mother, a little invented, but so true that you read and believe every word.
For these tales, Yuri Koval received the first prize at the All-Union Children's Book Competition. It was planned to win in the State, but failed.
Thanks to the great experience of the writer with 20 years of experience, Koval had the honor to hold a seminar for young children's writers, organized by the magazine Murzilka. First, classes were held at the publishing house, and then in the workshop of Yuri Koval himself.
Creative Activities of the 1990s
These were the last years of the writer’s life. He managed to finish his most important and
a major work is Sueer-Vyer. This is not a novel, not a story, it is “parchment”. Koval himself praised the work quite high, as soon as his critics. Posthumously for the Suer Vyer, the writer was awarded the prize of the International Congress of Science Fiction Writers under the name Wanderer.
A small number of audio versions of the novel were published and the play “Sooer-Vyer” was staged in the Hermitage.
Afterword
Death found Yuri Koval unexpectedly, at 57 years old. He died of a massive heart attack and was buried next to his parents at the Lianozovsky cemetery. Several generations of children all over the world have grown up on this man’s work, and his books are still waiting for new little readers.