Bohdan-Ihor Vasyliovych Antonych (5 October 1909 – 6 July 1937) was a 20th-century Ukrainian poet. In 1934 Antonych received third prize honours from the Ivan Franko Society of Writers and Journalists for his work Three Signet Rings.

Biography

Antonych was born and raised in the Lemko village of Nowica where his father, Vasyl, was a parish priest. In 1928, Antonych left Nowica to study at Lviv University, where he remained until he received his degree in Slavic studies in 1933. From 1928 to 1933, Antonych was a student at the Jan Kazimierz University in Lviv, where he studied at the Faculty of Philosophy (specializing in Polish philology). In order to help finance his chosen career of professional writer, he occasionally worked as an editor for journals such as Dazhboh and Karby. Antonych died from pneumonia on 6 July 1937. In October 2009, the National Bank of Ukraine issued a commemorative coin in his honor as a part of their "Outstanding Personalities of Ukraine" series. In his poetry, he combines the principles of imagism with a life-affirming paganism inspired by Lemko folklore. He declared himself "a pagan in love with life" and "a poet of spring intoxication".

Selected works