Ivan Malkovych

Ivan Antonovych Malkovych was born on 10 May 1961 in Nyzhnii Bereziv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. He pursued music studies as a violinist at the Music College in Ivano-Frankivsk before enrolling at Kyiv University in 1978, where he focused on Ukrainian philology. During his academic journey, he gained recognition from poet Dmytro Pavlychko, who became his mentor.

Malkovych played a significant role in the first Canadian-Ukrainian joint venture, known as Kobza, and contributed to the establishment of the Chervona Ruta festival of contemporary music, which took place in Chernivtsi in 1989.

Malkovych has authored six collections of poetry, showcasing his literary talent. His published works include: 'White Stone' ('Білий камінь', 1984), 'The Key' ('Ключ', 1988), 'Poems' ('Вірші', 1992), 'An Angel on my Shoulder' ('Із янголом на плечі', 1997), 'Winter Poems' ('Вірші на зиму', 2006), and 'All that's near' ('Все поруч', 2010).

Malkovych has received several accolades for his literary contributions, including the Order of the Smile in 2004 from Poland. In 2017, he was honored with the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine for his poetry collection 'Podorozhnyk with New Poems,' further solidifying his status in the Ukrainian literary community.