At the age of 12, young Mykhailo fell in love with a girl who was 16 years old, and to attract her attention, he decided to become a “great man”, and for this purpose, he began to read books with special zeal. He was influenced by the works of Taras Shevchenko and Marko Vovchok.
Kotsiubynskyi knew nine languages – three Slavic languages: Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian; three Romance languages: French, Italian, and Romanian; and three Oriental languages: Tatar, Turkish, and Gypsy.
In 1898, the writer moved to Chernihiv. Here he met his future wife, Vira Deisha, who gave Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi four beautiful children – Yurii, Oksana, Iryna, and Roman. He was unfaithful in his marriage, having an affair with another woman.
He had good friends. He was acquainted with Ivan Franko, Mykola Lysenko, Vasyl Stefanyk, Olena Pchilka, Lesya Ukrainka, and Mykhailo Starytskyi.
Kotsiubynskyi travelled a lot. He saw a lot in Europe. He visited Turkey, Switzerland, Greece, Austria, Germany, Moldova and Italy. He spent three winters on the Italian island of Capri because of his illness – he had asthma and tuberculosis, so he needed a warm and dry climate.
In 1909, he brought carnations to Ukraine.
Kotsiubynskyi was fashionable, modern and handsome not only in his words but also in his appearance. He loved expensive ties and gold cufflinks.
