The first half of the 20th century was known not only for large-scale wars, but also for the flourishing of literature. Despite all the deaths and devastation, writers, artists, composers and poets of that period tried to awaken wonderful feelings in coarse human souls. Among them was the Ukrainian poet Maxim Rylsky. He happened to survive two world wars, a revolution, a civil war and suffer from repression. Despite this, he remained not only a worthy man, but also a wonderful poet.
Maxim Rylsky: biography of early years
Maxim Fadeevich Rylsky (Maxim Tadeiovich Rilsky) was born in the village of Romanovka in 1895, as evidenced by an entry in the parish book. The ancestors of his father were Polish nobles. Despite such a glorious pedigree, Fadeya Rylsky married an ordinary peasant girl Melania.
According to the memoirs of the poet himself, his mother, having barely mastered reading and writing, was fond of reading with incredible passion, she especially loved the works of L. N. Tolstoy. At the same time, Melania Rylskaya did not forget her roots, therefore, an atmosphere of love and reverence for Ukrainian culture reigned in their house. The companions of Fadey Rylsky were famous cultural figures of the 19th century - composer Nikolai Lysenko, theater figure Afanasy Saksagansky and many other folklorists, historians and ethnographers.
Thanks to the highly cultured environment, from the very childhood, the poet was passionate about Ukrainian culture, language, and even more nature. As the son of a landowner, he did not know about the daily difficulties of the peasants, so Romanovka was a paradise for him. He was in love with the nature of his native land and at an early age began to write poetry.
Maxim Rylsky received his primary education at home (in Romanovka). When the guy turned thirteen, he was sent to Kiev to study in a private gymnasium.
At first, the young man lived with his father’s close friend, Nikolai Lysenko, and after his death, with the ethnographer Alexander Rusov.
During this period he was actively writing poetry, and already in 1910, when the guy was fifteen, his first collection of lyric poetry “On the Big Islands” was published. This book marked the emergence of a new star of the poetic word.
Rylsky-Neoclassic
Fortunately, the First World War bypassed the young man, and after graduating from high school in 1915, Maxim Rylsky became a student in the medical faculty of the University of Kiev. However, after two years of study, the young man is transferred to the historical and philological faculty.
Unfortunately, the revolution and the civil war prevented them from completing their studies. In 1917, Maxim Rylsky left the university and, leaving Kiev, returned to his native Romanovka, where he was arranged as a teacher. Despite the incomplete higher education, the poet continues to actively engage in self-education. It is known that he independently studied more than a dozen languages, which allowed him to translate works of foreign authors.
Despite the difficulties, the poet does not stop writing poetry. So, in 1918, another collection of his poems was published - "Pіd Osіnnіmi Dawns".
At the very beginning of the twenties, the poet became a member of the literary association of neoclassics. Neoclassicists gravitated to classicism, admiring the past centuries, and tried to abstract in their work from pressing problems. They argued that a creative person should not depend on the political situation, but create according to the dictates of the heart. That is why, by the end of the twenties, the neoclassicals began to actively “poison” the press. Soon, many of them were arrested and shot.
This cup did not pass and Maxim Rylsky, who by that time had lived and taught in Kiev for several years, and also managed to publish several more poetry collections: “Sinya Dalechіn”, “Krizy Stormy Snig”, “Thirteen Spring”, “Gomіn і vidgomin "and others. Also during this period, he was actively engaged in translations into Ukrainian of works by Russian, Polish and French writers. For example, in 1927 he translated from the Polish poem by Adam Mickiewicz “Pan Tadeusz”.
In 1931, Rylsky was accused of isolation of his poetry from politics and arrested.
Poetry after imprisonment
The poet had to spend almost six months in prison. During this time he had to go through a lot. He was forced to sign false evidence of his participation in various conspiracies. Ultimately, the poet was released, believing that a person of such talent would still be useful to the party.
After his release, Maxim Rylsky forever changed: he was broken, which could not but affect his work. To help the poet "acclimatize" to life, after the destruction of many of his friends, Ostap Vishnya took him for a while from Kiev to stay at his place.
Friendly care helped to recover and return to the literary activity of a poet named Maxim Rylsky.
Poems of the poet soon began to appear on the pages of various publications. However, Rylsky could no longer freely create, as before. To survive, with the help of his talent, he had to exalt the “native” party, its leaders and their achievements. And although Maxim Rylsky sometimes managed to push his verses “for the soul” into the press, they no longer had that “spark”, but fatigue and disappointment were felt.
The Great Patriotic War and the last years of the poet
When World War II struck, Rylsky was already forty-one. They did not send him to fight. However, all the years of the war, he voluntarily spoke at the front in front of the soldiers, reading poetry and trying to morally support them. In addition, the poet donated personal funds to the defense fund.
After the victory, Maxim Rylsky actively participated in the restoration of Kiev.
Thanks to his work, Rylsky began to be awarded with prizes and given ranks. He became the owner of the Stalin, Lenin and State Prizes of the USSR. In addition, from the end of 1944 until his death, the poet headed the Institute of Art Studies, Folklore and Ethnography of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences (later this educational institution began to bear the name of the poet). In addition, since 1946, Maxim Rylsky was elected deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
In 1964, after a long struggle with the disease (Rylsky had cancer), the poet died. He was buried in the legendary Baikov cemetery in Kiev.
Throughout his life, Rylsky published thirty-five collections of poems, not counting publications in the press and translations. After his death, several books and brochures about his work and biography were published. Among them is the book of his son Bogdan "Mandrivka in the youth of the old man." At the same time, the collected works of the poet began to be published. And also a bilingual (in Ukrainian and English) book “Vibrany create” by Maxim Rylsky was published.
M. Rylsky: personal life
Being a calm and peaceful person, Maxim Rylsky was able to show firmness of character. So, falling in love with the wife of a fellow villager, Catherine, the poet was able to “recapture” her. It did not stop him that the beloved was older, or that she already had a son. The poet in love married her, adopted her six-year-old son and raised her as his own. Later, the couple had a son, Bogdan.
Maxim and Ekaterina Rylsky lived together a long and difficult life. After the death of his beloved in 1958, Rylsky was very sad and six years later he died.
In 2014, it was 50 years since the death of this poet. Many years passed, and what was written by him "at the direction" eventually lost its relevance and was forgotten. However, those verses that Maxim Rylsky wrote at the behest of the heart, are still beloved readers.