June 20, 2018In late May – early June, the winners’ names of the Literary Prize of the Writers Union of Ukraine named after Maximilian Kiriyenko-Voloshin for 2018 were announced. 40 books (published in Ukraine) were nominated for the contest by 37 Ukrainian authors writing in Russian. Among them the book of Alexander Korotko’s prose, “The Lunar Boy,” published at the Kiev’s publishing house “SUMMIT-BOOK” was submitted.Alexander Korotko became the Laureate of the Voloshinsky Prize in the Prose nomination, and, according to the jury members, “Lunar Boy” and his author were honored with high awards as a result of heated debate by professional literary experts. On May 29, the final meeting of the jury was held, and on June 4 its decision was approved by the Secretariat of the NUUW (National union of Ukrainian writers).Prizes are awarded in two nominations – “Poetry” and “Prose”, however, the name Voloshin itself implies a democratic attitude to creativity, therefore, the works of several participants were awarded with diplomas and special awards.
On June 20, in the capital’s House of Ukraine’s Writers, the ceremony of the Laureates awarding was held.
“The Lunar Boy” was written at the very beginning of the new century, but did not lose at all neither its relevance nor literary merits after almost two decades.
In his speech at the award ceremony, the new laureate thanked the jury and publishers and expressed his attitude to the peculiarities of prose written by poets.
For Alexander Korotko, the name of Maximilian Voloshin has long been a symbol of the Silver Age – a symbol that has absorbed and combined the poetic word, the artist’s skill, artistry, and much more related to art.
Almost ten years ago, the poem “VOLOSHIN” was written, by reading which the author completed his response.