Vira Vovk
Encyclopedia
Vira Ostapivna Selianska , pen name
Vira Vovk , (*1926, Boryslav
) — Ukrainian writer, critic and translator living in Brazil
. She writes in Ukrainian
, German
and Portuguese
.
in 1926, she grew up in the Hutsul region in the town of Kuty
(at that time on the Polish-Romanian border). Vira Vovk's secondary education was completed in Lviv
and Dresden
. She studied Germanic
s, music history and comparative literature at the University of Tübingen. In 1945 she emigrated with her mother to Portugal
and in 1949 further to Brazil
. She went to Rio de Janeiro
where she completed her University studies. Post graduate studies were completed at Columbia University
(New York) and Munich University. Vira Vovk received a PhD. Professor of German literature at the State University of Rio de Janeiro
.
Literary award in 1957, 1979, 1982 and 1990, the Blahovist award 2000. She actively propagates Ukrainian culture and language. In 2008, Vira Vovk received Ukrainian state award named after Taras Shevchenko
.
Vira Vovk has created 10 collections of poetry, 10 novels, and 11 plays and has made numerous translations of Western writers into Ukrainian and Ukrainian writers into Portuguese
.
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Vira Vovk , (*1926, Boryslav
Boryslav
Boryslav is a city located on the Tysmenytsia River , in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. The city is designated as a separate raion within the oblast....
) — Ukrainian writer, critic and translator living in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. She writes in Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
.
Biography
Born in BoryslavBoryslav
Boryslav is a city located on the Tysmenytsia River , in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. The city is designated as a separate raion within the oblast....
in 1926, she grew up in the Hutsul region in the town of Kuty
Kuty
Kuty is a town in Ukraine, on the Cheremosh river, located in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. It is notable as one of the historical centres and the namesake of a historical region of Pokuttya. Population is 4,272 ....
(at that time on the Polish-Romanian border). Vira Vovk's secondary education was completed in Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
and Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
. She studied Germanic
Germanic studies
Germanic studies is the field of study of the Germanic languages and the history of the Germanic peoples.Subfields*English studies*German studies*Dutch studies*Scandinavian studies*Runology*comparative linguistics Founding figures...
s, music history and comparative literature at the University of Tübingen. In 1945 she emigrated with her mother to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and in 1949 further to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. She went to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
where she completed her University studies. Post graduate studies were completed at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(New York) and Munich University. Vira Vovk received a PhD. Professor of German literature at the State University of Rio de Janeiro
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro is one of the largest federal universities of Brazil, where public universities comprise the majority of the best and most qualified institutions...
.
Awards and achievements
She received the Ivan FrankoIvan Franko
Ivan Yakovych Franko was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, interpreter, economist, political activist, doctor of philosophy, the author of the first detective novels and modern poetry in the Ukrainian language....
Literary award in 1957, 1979, 1982 and 1990, the Blahovist award 2000. She actively propagates Ukrainian culture and language. In 2008, Vira Vovk received Ukrainian state award named after Taras Shevchenko
Taras Shevchenko
Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko -Life:Born into a serf family of Hryhoriy Ivanovych Shevchenko and Kateryna Yakymivna Shevchenko in the village of Moryntsi, of Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire Shevchenko was orphaned at the age of eleven...
.
Vira Vovk has created 10 collections of poetry, 10 novels, and 11 plays and has made numerous translations of Western writers into Ukrainian and Ukrainian writers into Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
.
Sources
- "Віра Вовк: Читачі в Бразилії і Португалії мають одне джерело, то є мої видання", Ukraina Moloda Newspaper, April 2008, in Ukrainian.
- Літературні вечори в Українському Інституті Модерного Мистецтва Чикаго, 1973—2006 // Укладачі: Віра Боднарук, Володимир Білецький. — Донецьк: Український культурологічний центр, 2006. — 140 с.
- Virtual library of Ukrainian poetry by the New York group.
- Людмила Таран, Українка з Бразилії, ДеньDen (newspaper)Den is a Kiev-based, centrist daily boardsheet newspaper. Founded in 1996, the paper has a circulation of about 60,000. It is linked to former prime minister Yevhen Marchuk - his wife Larysa Ivshyna is the paper's editor-in-chief...
, 13.06.2001