Anatoliy Dimarov

(b. 1922) Biographical Note

An avid student of human nature, Anatoliy Dimarov has used his talent as a writer to transform his insightful observations about urban and rural life in the former Ukrainian S.S.R. and present-day Ukraine into absorbing, psychologically astute stories that are universal and timeless in their appeal. A journalist by profession, his keen eye, his knack for spotting a good story, his pithy style, his deep understanding of the psyche of the characters he is portraying, and his warm and witty sense of humour combine to make his works eminently interesting and readable.

Dimarov was born in 1922 in Mirhorod in the Poltava region of Ukraine. After graduating from high school in 1940, he served in the Soviet Army until he was wounded in 1943. For the next few years, he worked as a full-time journalist, took correspondence courses from the Institute of Literature in Moscow, and embarked seriously on a writing career.

A prolific writer from an early age, his first book was published in 1949, the same year that he was accepted into the Writers' Union of the Ukr. S.S.R. In the more than five decades since that time, he has published an impressive number of novels, several collections of short stories, narratives based on autobiographical material, and, more recently, a two-volume autobiography. His works have also appeared regularly in anthologies, journals, and literary newspapers.

Dimarov's stories are rooted in the everyday lives of the common people, and, through the unexpected twists and turns in his plots, he unfolds before his readers a vast panorama of life in Ukraine from the Second World War to the present. Focussing on seemingly unremarkable characters drawn from ordinary urban and rural milieus, Dimarov explores the critical turning points and transitions in their lives, and, by doing so, uncovers moments of great joy and intense tragedy that, although peculiar to a particular character, are, nevertheless, profoundly revealing of the human condition.

Widely respected as one of the foremost prose writers of his era, Dimarov was awarded the coveted Taras Shevchenko Prize of the Ukr. S.S.R. in 1981. Twenty years later, he continues to pursue his writing career in Kyiv.

Note by Roma Franko; Edited by Sonia Morris

Volumes this author appears in:

Broken Wings

A Hunger Most Cruel

 

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