Levko Borovykovsky

Levko Borovykovsky was a Ukrainian romantic poet, writer, translator, and folklorist.
After graduating in 1830 from Kharkiv University, Borovykovsky taught in a Kursk gymnasium and from 1839 in the Poltava Institute for Daughters of the Nobility. In 1852 he became a gymnasium inspector in Poltava gubernia and retired a few years later. His works were first published in 1828, and he was one of the first poets of the Kharkiv [Romantic School].
Of his numerous poems, the most notable is the ballad Marusia, an adaptation of Gottfried [August Bürger|Gottfried August Bürger's] ballad Lenore and reminiscent of Vasilii Zhukovsky's Svetlana. Levko Borovykovsky successfully nationalised the Gothic-Romantic theme of Marusia, enriching its plot with elements of Ukrainian ethnography, including folklore.
During his lifetime only one collection of his writings was published, Baiky i Prybaiutky , which brought him recognition as a storyteller. He also translated the poetry of Horace, Aleksandr Pushkin, and Adam Mickiewicz, compiled a Ukrainian dictionary, and collected Ukrainian folklore.