Profile of a Poet-Shevchenko.

So, my page views are currently: Russia-57, UK-19, US-6, Germany-2 and Ukraine-2. In the spirit of interest, I will be blogging (great word that, 'Blogging') today about a famous Ukrainian poet, because the Ukraine, in my opinion, is often forgotten about and that's not fair! Ukrainians are important too! You may not be aware of any Ukrainian poets, so please allow me to introduce... Mr Taras Shevchenko!

Name-Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko
Date of Birth-9th March 1814
Place of Birth-(now known as) Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine
Time Period-Romantic
Date of Death-10th March 1861
Occupation-Poet, writer & artist
Parents-Hryhoriy Ivanovych Shevchenko and Kateryna Yakmivna Shevchenko
Siblings-Kateryna, Mykyta, Yaryna, Maria, Yosyp
Children-


Taras was born into a family of serfs (agricultural labourers who were forced to wrok on their landlord's estate) after liberation wars and uprisings in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries were oppressed and the population was enslaved and impoverished. He was eventually freed in 1838, whilst studying at the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts.

His focus was on Ukrainian history, folklaw and achieving freedom and happiness for all the people of Ukraine. In 1847, after writing 'Haidamaks' and 'Kobzar', Taras started work as a teacher. He taught visual arts at Kyiv University and joined the secret St. Cyril and Methodius society. The society was a secret, but not a very well-kept one, for they were oppressed by Russian authorities later in 1847. Taras' poems 'Dream', 'Caucasus' and 'Epistle' got him into a lot of trouble, he was exiled and forced into the military services. These satiric poems had poked fun at the oppression of his country by Russia, and they hinted for a revolution.

Whilst in exile, Taras was not allowed to write or paint, which was very difficult for him. It was his passion, so he wrote in secret in the first few years of his punishment. In 1857, Taras was freed from exile.

Returning to Moscow in 1858, and travelling on to St. Petersburg in 1859, Taras eventually made it back to Ukraine. It was a wasted trip as he was told he would not be permitted to live there forever, so he journeyed back to St. Petersburg. His health had diminished significantly during his exile, and this contributed to his death in 1861. He was only forty-seven years old when he died.
 
Shevchenko is known for his amazing works of art, and is also considered to be a substantial founding father of the Ukrainian language. He is world-famous and his revolutionary, optimistic ideals will never be forgotten.

Helpful Shevchenko websites:
http://www.univ.kiev.ua/en/geninf/Shevchenko/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taras_Shevchenko#