On October 31, a well-known children's writer, laureate of the National Prize of Ukraine, died in Odessa at the age of 85. T.G. Shevchenko, author of numerous adventure stories for children and teenagers, Vladimir Rutkovsky. Several films were made based on his books, including the sensational Ukrainian blockbuster "Storozhevaya Zastava". Shortly before his death, the writer gave an exclusive interview to ElitExpert, in which he shared his experience and hopes with our readers...
— You wrote in almost all genres of literature: poetry, prose, children's literature. But which genre do you prefer? Or does it depend on the mood and situation?
— At first, I saw myself as a poet, and only a poet, but my poems did not correspond to the ideological attitudes of the former Soviet Union: the tonality is not the same, and there is not enough labor pathos, and I use the word "Ukraine" more often than "Soviet Motherland." I was labeled a "Ukrainian bourgeois nationalist". Therefore, almost half of the poems were thrown out of my collections, and the rest were forced to be rewritten in such a way that the horns and legs of the original idea remained. Therefore, I was forced to look for myself in other genres. He wrote a novel about chemists, since he once worked at a superphosphate factory. However, "authoritative" reviewers were outraged by the fact that my heroes work practically in concentration camp conditions. The second novel was also rejected, since it questioned the decisions of the CPSU aimed at creating man-made seas of the Dnieper Cascade. Therefore, children's literature remained. I wrote the short story "Anechka", but at that time, the only Ukrainian children's publishing house "Veselka" did not even look at it. In desperation, I translated "Anechka" into Russian and sent it to the "Children's Literature" publishing house, believing, not without reason, that in Moscow they do not know anything about my "nationalism". There, the story was recognized as a continuation of Gaidarov's "Blue Cup" line. At that time, this was the highest praise, so "Annushka" was published in an unheard-of circulation - 150 thousand copies, the book sold out literally in two days.
— And what is the situation with circulations today?
- What kind of woman can she be? In comparison with our 88 editions, in the USA the books of many authors are printed in millions, and in Georgia, which is not far from us, there are sixteen thousand books per XNUMX people. When we have only XNUMX? But the lack of interest in reading leads to the degradation of such concepts as honor, dignity, conscience, intelligence. Therefore, it is not surprising that we occupy the last place in Europe in terms of living standards.
— Which writers and works became teachers for you? What inspires you to create works?
— I myself am from the Shevchenkiv region, so I knew many of Taras Hryhorevich's poems from my mother-teacher, even before I could read. Tychyna's poetic fairy tale "Ivasyk-Telesyk" is still etched in my memory. And at the age of eight, I came across Mayakovsky's brochure "How to make poems". In it, I was struck by the lines: "So that Kogan would run away in a strewn mess,/ Encountered in the evening with the spikes of his mustache." I was quite shocked, because I could not imagine how this one person could run in all directions, and how could it be possible to stab the oncoming people with a mustache? And even then he concluded that poetry can be cooler than any fairy tale. And I am still guided by the appeal "Don't do according to Mayakovsky / Do according to yourself", although the poetry of this author is foreign to me.
— Researchers note your personal, own style. How did you develop it?
— It is not for nothing that they say: there would be no happiness, so misfortune helped. Publishers from the Soviet era helped me develop my style. They were the same enslaved people as the authors. Here the district committee will tell them that they need to imprison a certain Rutkovsky, and they are forced to follow the instructions, because otherwise they themselves will be out of work. But since the regional committee did not like anyone to refer to it, the publishers were forced to look for the author's shortcomings in the plot and style. And then I had to work hard to prove that their claims did not apply to me. And as a result, sometime in 1986, the publishers of Mayak, the only publishing house in Odessa, came to me with a full bag and admitted that this was the first time when the authors presented the bottle to the author rather than the author to the publishers.
— And what is the highlight of your style?
- If in a few words, then this is something similar to a phrase I read in childhood and already forget, from which I remembered only a distant essence. Here it is: "The noble knight, proudly leaning on his side, rode on the brilliant Roscinante. Suddenly, the horse stumbled, and the noble knight buried his face in the mud..." That is, I am trying to combine the high and funny in one bottle.
— How do you react to readers' feedback? Are they a prerequisite for rethinking the topic?
— When I sit down at the desk, I don't think about the reader at all. And only later, when I like what I wrote, I remember that he is. However, if someone doesn't like my work, I don't despair and I don't redo anything in order to satisfy the readers. After all, before I could write something, I rummaged through the archives for years, and worked on the plot and phrase until exhaustion. Therefore, at meetings I usually say: I wrote as I saw it, and it is up to you to accept it or not.
— You had to experience a lot and go through literary thorns. Both children and adults read your books with pleasure. And for whom do you like to write more?
— During 60 years of creative activity, I came to the conclusion that I should write not for children or adults, but for so-called family reading. In my opinion, nothing unites a family like family reading. This is when the family gathers at the table in the evening after a working day, and the children read and discuss some book together with their parents. In such a relaxed and warm environment, parents are more likely to come to the conclusion that children have the right to their own opinion, and children - that parents are not as stupid as they think
— What publishers do you work with? How are things with book publishing?
— My books were published by publishing houses in Kyiv, Moscow, Lviv, Odessa. Among them are the already legendary publishing house "A-BA-BA-GA-LA-MA-GA" by Ivan Malkovich, "Old Lion Publishing House" by Maryana Savka and Nikolai Sheyko, "Zeleny dog" of the Kapranov brothers... Regarding book publishing, at the beginning of independence, publishers of Ukraine mainly published works by Ukrainian authors, as if emphasizing that talented authors were not translated here either. Today, they are switching to publishing the works of foreign writers, with the aim of showing Ukrainian authors the current level of world literature. I generally agree with their position, but sometimes, reading some particularly advertised works, I think that it would be better if they didn't do this.
— The film "Storozhevaya Zastava" was sold out in cinemas. Are you planning to continue the screen adaptation of your works?
— Several of my screenplays are currently circulating in the Ukrainian film industry. Only a lazy person has not heard of the screen adaptation of "Dzhur". However, there are many expensive battle scenes, and we now have a catastrophic lack of funds even for the cheapest projects. And to create at least a decent animated film, say, based on my fairy tale "Guests on a Broom", you need to spend at least 80 million. Therefore, we only have to hope for better times.
— What are you working on now?
— I am working on a memoir. I hope that soon one of the books of memories - "Radio on Troitskaya" will be published.
— What do you wish for readers and especially beginning authors?
— To the readers — health and strength to realize their plans. And for novice authors, there is also the understanding that one story will not get you far. In literature, as in construction: a bare plot box requires only 40 percent of all costs, and the remaining 60 percent - plaster, floor, plumbing, heating, doors, windows - this is style. So perfect your ego, work on yourself - and let you be lucky.
Inna Ischuk
ElitExpert Help:
Odessa novelist, poet and journalist Vladimir Rutkovsky (1937-2021) is one of the most titled writers of Ukraine. His historical novel "Storozhevaya zastava" was awarded the prize named after Pipelines and awards of the Cabinet of Ministers named after Lesya Ukrainka; the historical epic "Blue Waters" became the "BBC Book of the Year" for 2011, the trilogy "Juri" received the National Prize of Ukraine named after T.G. Shevchenko, the story "Lost" topped the list of the best books of Ukraine of the last decade, the fairy tale "Guests on a Broomstick" was included in the list of the best works of world literature for children and was included in Andersen's Honor List. The fantasy film based on the novel "Storozhevaya Zastava" was seen by moviegoers in 32 countries. Now work is underway on the adaptation of the film series about "Dzhura".
Rutkovsky was born in the Cherkassy region, but lived in Odessa from his youth until his last days. He studied at the Odessa Polytechnic Institute, after which he worked at a superphosphate factory. It began to be published in 1959. Graduated from Higher Literary Courses at the Literary Institute named after Maxim Gorky.
Later, he began working as a journalist, in particular as a correspondent for the Odessa newspapers "Yanvarets" and "Student's Tribune" (in 1967-1968). Later he became the editor of Odesa Regional Radio (in 1968-1973), and later a full-time screenwriter of Odesa Film Studio (in 1978-1979). In 1981, he became an engineer at the Odesa factory "Mikron" and worked there until 1984. In 1991, he became the head of the Odesa regional newspaper "Odesskie Izvestia" and worked there until 2001.
Since 2013, Rutkovsky has headed the jury of the Odessa literary competition "Korneichukovsky Prize" created in 2013.
