I want to laugh through my tears,
I want to sing songs in the midst of the misery,
I want to hope without hope,
I want to live! Away with the sad thoughts!
Lesya Ukrainka was one of the leading poets of the Ukrainian national revival in the early 20th century.
If Lesya lived nowadays, she would be called an indigo child: she learned to read at the age of 4, was already a skilled embroiderer at the age of 6, and wrote her first poem at the age of 9.
At the age of 19, Lesya Ukrainka wrote a textbook “Ancient History of Eastern Peoples” for her sisters. In addition, the poetess knew 7 languages – Ukrainian, French, German, English, Polish, Russian and Italian.
The poetess had a difficult relationship with her father, a writer and a publicist Petro Kosach, who did not accept her literary ambitions.
Lesya Ukrainka translated works by world literature classics such as William Shakespeare, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, and François William Henri de la Villiers.
Few people know that Serhii Merzhynskyi, who the famous letter “Your letters always smell like wilted roses” was dedicated to, did not reciprocate Lesya’s feelings. He perceived their relationship as friendly, if not business-like. And when Lesya Ukrainka proposed to him, he coldly replied “No…”. As he was leaving for a better world, Merzhynskyi asked Lesya to take care of another woman whom he really loved.
Ivan Franko called the sickly and fragile Lesya Ukrainka “the only man in our literature”.
Lesya Ukrainka wrote over 250 works, including poems, dramas and short stories.
Lesya Ukrainka died of tuberculosis in 1913, having dedicated her life to the struggle for the Ukrainian national idea and culture. She was only 42 years old, but she left an indelible mark on world literature and the history of Ukraine.
Few people know that there is an asteroid named after the poetess. Its full name is 2616 Lesya. It is a main-belt asteroid discovered on 28 August 1970.
