Andrusyak Ivan
Born on December 28, 1968, in the village of Verbovets of the Kosiv district in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, Ivan Andrusiak is a poet, children’s author, prose writer, literary critic, and translator.
At the beginning of the 1990s, he joined the realm of literature as one of the members of the New Degeneration group with Stepan Protsiuk and Ivan Tsyperdiuk. Ivan is acclaimed to be one of the leading poets on the 1990s generation. He designed his own discernible poetic manner based on the use of metaphors ("Andrusiak writes in metaphors which do not exist," T. Devdiuk, Krytyka); this acquired a name of ‘flowing semantics’ (A. Dnistrovyi, Knyzhnyk-review).
Ivan Andrusiak’s prose is characterized as ‘densely’ symbolic and metaphoric with active usage of dialects. Since 2000, he avidly engages in literary criticism (media such as Knyzhnyk-review, Book Review, Courier of the Kryvbas, Kalmius, Berezil, Suchasnist etc.) mostly examining poetry, defending moral principles in literature and distinction between ‘high’ and ‘pop’ literature.
Since 2005, Ivan Andrusiak turns to children’s literature: his poems are published in media, almanacs, and anthologies – later to be included in the book Soft and Fluffy (2010). In 2007, his fairy-tale novel for preschool and primary-school ages Stefa and her Chakalka was published.
Preschool editions also include Animal ABC (2008) and Bunny’s Book (2008), both consisting of poems and poetic tales; a game narrative Who’s Afraid of the Bunnies (2010) was singled out with the first Zolotyi Leleka Children’s Literature Award. Children of primary and secondary school age would take a fancy for cheery adventure stories collection Shrikes, or How Lisa and Stefa Ran Away from Home (2009) and A Wild Boar, Big Tale (published in Barvinok magazine, November 2009 – February 2010); high school teens would be interested in the book of biographic stories Ivan Andrusiak about Dmytro Tuptalo (St. Dymytrii Rostovskyi), Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko, Taras Shevchenko, Nil Khasevych and Oleksa Dovbush (2008). However, the author himself considers his ‘main’ children’s work to be a small story Uncle Barbatko Laughs (issued in the book Three Days of Fairy Tale, 2008), which in poetic manner narrates to a child of the subtle nature of human relations, of each person’s uniqueness in the world, of love and pain, of a deep connection between a human and nature, of beauty and complexities of life.
Ivan Andrusiak is a member of the National Writers’ Union of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Writers Association. Since November 2011, he is a member of PEN Ukraine. He resides in the town of Berezan in the Kyiv region.
Bibliography
Poetry collections:
- Depressive Syndrome (New Degeneration book, Ivano-Frankivsk: Pereval, 1992)
- Poisoning by the Voice (Кyiv: Smoloskyp, 1996)
- Sharga (Lviv: Lir-Artil — Piramida, 1999)
- Return to Galapagos (Donetsk: Kalmius Magazine Library, 2001)
- Migratory Garden (Lviv: Kalvaria, 2001 / Kovcheh series)
- Trees and Waters (Kharkiv: Аkta, 2002 / Ars poetica series)
- Garlic Juice (Кyiv: Fakt, 2004 / Ovid’s Zone series)
- Pigweed (Donetsk: Kalmius Journal Library, 2006)
- Writing the M: A Journey (Кyiv: Fakt, 2008)
- Language Impossibilities (Кyiv: Yaroslaviv Val, 2011)
Prose:
- Vurgun (Кyiv: Diokor, 2005, includes the metaphor-story Snow Restoration, the story Sharga and novel story Vurgun)
Translations:
- Andrzej Bursa. Smile of a Throat: selected poems. Transl. from Polish by І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: New Degeneration, 1999)
- Edward Estlin Cummings. Tulips and Chimneys: selected poems. Transl. from English by І. Andrusiak and К. Borysenko (Khmelnytskyi-Kyiv: Serhii Pantiuk Publishing House, 2004)
- Anna Politkovskaya. The Second Chechen War. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: Diokor, 2004)
- Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko. Wild Energy: a novel. Transl. from Russian by Lesia Voronina and І. Andrusiak (Vinnytsia: Teza, 2006)
- Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko. Olena and Aspirin: a novel. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Vinnytsia: Teza, 2006)
- Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Transl. from English by І. Andrusiak (Christmas Stories collection. Кyiv: Shkola, 2006)
- Natalya Guzeeva. Alenka: a story. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Lviv: Old Lion Publishing House, 2007)
- Yuliya Galanina. Three from the City: a story. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Vinnytsia: Teza, 2008)
- Valery Panyushkin, Mikhail Zygar and Irina Reznik. Gazprom: Russia’s New Weapon. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: Fakt, 2008)
- Valery Kuklin. Moon Dragon: a story for children. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: Grani-T, 2008)
- Sergey Makhotin. A Dreadful Weapon: a story for children. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: Grani-T, 2008)
- Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko. The Wing: stories. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak and О. Butsenko (Кyiv: Grani-T, 2008)
- Henry Lion Oldie. Eyewitness’ Story, or the Supervision Archive of the Seven: stories. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: Grani-T, 2008)
- Mikhail Yasnov. The Life of Renowned Animals. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: Grani-T, 2008)
- Mikhail Yasnov. A Naughty Grandfather: selected poems for children. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: Grani-T, 2008)
- Thomas Stearns Eliot.Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats: poetry. Transl. from English by І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: Grani-T, 2008)
- Svyatoslav Loginov. A True Story of a Fabulous Beast. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: Grani-T, 2009)
- Natalya Guzeeva. How Petryk Piatochkin Counted Elephants: a story. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak. (Кyiv: Makhaon-Ukraine, 2009)
- Vitali Gubarev. Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors: a fairytale story. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak. (Кyiv: Makhaon-Ukraine, 2009)
- Yuri Koval. The Adventures of Vasya Kurolesov: a story. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak. (Кyiv: Makhaon-Ukraine, 2009)
- Natalya Guzeeva. Petryk Pyatochkin and a Cheerful Topsy-turvy: a story. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak. (Кyiv: Makhaon-Ukraine, 2010)
- Lev Tolstoy. Folk Stories. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Kyiv: Grani-T, 2010)
- Henry Lion Oldie. The Path of the Sword: a novel. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak. (Vinnytsia: Teza, 2010)
- Irina Pivovarova. What My Head Thinks of: stories. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: Makhaon-Ukraine, 2010)
- Yuri Koval. The Five Abducted Monks: a story. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: Makhaon-Ukraine, 2010)
- Stephen King. The Shining: a novel. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Kharkiv: Folio, 2010)
- Hanna and Petro Vladymyrski. A Boy who was given to a Puppy: poems. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: Grani-T, 2011)
- Andrei Khadanovich. Daddy’s Notes.: poems. Transl. from Belarusian І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: Grani-Т, 2011)
- Marina Aromshtam. When Angels Rest: a story. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (К.: Grani-Т, 2011)
- Yuliya Galanina. The Adventures of Bublik, the Scullion: a story. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Vinnytsia: Теza, 2011)
- Leonid Soroka. A Pocket Dragon: poems. Transl. from Russian by І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: Grani-Т, 2011)
For children:
- Stefa and her Chakalka: A Story for Girls (Кyiv: Grani-Т, 2007)
- Bunny’s Book: tales in poems (Кyiv: Grani-Т, 2008)
- Animal ABC (Кyiv: Grani-Т, 2008)
- Uncle Barbatko Laughs / Ivan Andrusiak, Valentyna Zaporozhets, Mykola Hrytsenko. Three Days of a Fairy Tale (Кyiv: Grani-Т, 2008)
- Ivan Andrusiak about Dmytro Tuptalo (St. Dymytrii Rostovskyi), Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko, Taras Shevchenko, Nil Khasevych and Oleksa Dovbush (Кyiv: Grani-Т, 2008, Life of Prominent Children series)
- Shrikes, or How Lisa and Stefa Ran Away from Home (Lviv: Old Lion Publishing House, 2009)
- Who’s Afraid of the Bunnies: a game narrative (Кyiv: Grani-Т, 2010)
- Soft and Fluffy: poems (Кyiv: Grani-Т, 2010)
- A Wild Boar, Big Tail. The Second Story of Stefa and Her Chakalka: story (Кyiv: Grani-Т, 2010)
- Stefa and Her Chakalka: second edition, even naughtier (Кyiv: Grani-Т, 2011)
- Soft and Fluffy: poems; in Braille / Ivan Andrusiak, Yurii Bedryk, Serhii Pantiuk, Mykhailo Hryhoriv, Vasyl Holoborodko, Lesia Movchun. Contemporary children’s poetry (Кyiv: Grani-Т, 2011)
- Eight Days from the Life of Burunduk: a story (Кyiv: Grani-Т, 2012)
Criticism and essayistic:
- Andrusiak І. Litprocession: reviews, essays, articles (Donetsk: Kalmius Journal Library, 2001).
- Andrusiak І. Patching Up the Nimbuses: reviews, essays, articles (Ivano-Frankivsk: Tipovit, 2008, Other Criticism series).
- Andrusiak І. Oaks and Lions: selected essayistic (Кyiv: Grani-Т, 2011, De profundis series).
Other editions:
- Andrusiak І., Petrenko Y. Splendor and Destitution of Ukrainian National Democracy: political science essay (Кyiv: Smoloskyp, 1999).
- Wanderer and Fisherman. Nature in works of Volodymyr Svidzinskyi and Maksym Rylskyi. Compiled by І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: Fakt, 2003 / Text plus Content series).
- Modern Ukrainian Literature (end of XX — beginning of XXI centuries): textbook. Compilation, foreword, epilogue, and notes by І. Andrusiak (Кyiv: Shkola, 2006).
- Poets of the Supplanted Generation. Anthology / Text compilation and foreword by І. М. Andrusiak. — Kharkiv: Ranok, 2009.
Distinctions
Laureate of the first Smoloskyp Publishing House Prize (1995), Blahosvit Award for Literature (1996), Borys Necherda Literary Prize (2002), Courier of Kryvbas Magazine Award (2007), the first Zolotyi Leleka Children’s Literature Award (2008), Corona Carpatica International Award (2010).