Darahan, Yurii

Darahan, Yurii [Дараган, Юрій], b 1894 in Yelysavethrad, Kherson gubernia, d 17 March 1926 in Prague. (Photo: Yurii Darahan.) Poet. A captain in the Army of the Ukrainian National Republic. After his release from internment in Kalisz, Poland, Darahan lived in Prague. His single collection of poetry, Sahaidak (Quiver, 1925), was highly praised by critics. This collection, characterized by a subtle perception of nature, lyricism bound by rigid form, a philosophy of optimism and struggle, motifs of ‘bronze and metal,’ and particularly the revival of poetic images of Ukraine's Princely era in the cycle ‘Luna mynuvshyny’ (Echo of the Past), exerted considerable influence on the work of young contemporary poets in Western Ukraine and in the emigration.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 1 (1984).]