of the modern sonnet and the long narrative poem. He was closely associated with the Neoclassicist group of Ukrainian poets, who employed traditional poetic forms with rhyme and meter, wrote in a clear and accessible contemporary idiom, and often referenced Ancient Greek and Roman mythology as well as numerous other authors from world literature in their poetry. During the wartime period he wrote two masterful long poems that deviated from socialist realism—"Thirst" (1942) and "Journey to Youth" (1941-4), for which he was again publicly chastised. In 1942 he became Director of the Institute of Fine Arts, Folklore and Ethnography in Kyiv, a post that he held until his death in 1964. The Institute now bears his name. He published some 30 collections of original poetry during his lifetime as well as numerous translations and scholarly works. By 1974 almost five million copies of his works in the original or in translation had appeared in the USSR. Rylsky joined the Communist Party in 1943 and was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1946. Language skills and translation Rylsky was a prolific translator. He had excellent knowledge of 13 languages and all in all could translate from 30 languages of the world. Above all, however, he focused on translating from French, Polish and Russian. Awards Prizes Lenin Prize, 1960 – for his collections of poems "Daleki neboskhyly" (1959) and "Troyandy j vynohrad" (1957) Stalin Prize, 1943 – for his collections of poems "Slovo pro ridnu matir", "Svitova zorya", "Svitla zbroya", "Mandrivka v molodist" Stalin Prize, 1950 – translation into Ukrainian of the poem "Pan Tadeusz" by Adam Mickiewicz See also Rylsky Institute of Art Studies, Folklore and Ethnology Maxym Rylsky Museum References External links Rylsky's works in Ukrainian Koshelivets, I. Maksym Rylsky. Encyclopedia of Ukraine Solovei, E. Maksym Rylsky (РИЛЬСЬКИЙ МАКСИМ ТАДЕЙОВИЧ). Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. Hlibchuk, V. His secret Rylsky took to the grave as he could not last to Ukraine (Свою таємницю Рильський забрав у могилу, бо так і не дочекався України). Halychyna. 21 January 2016 1895 births 1964 deaths Poets from Kyiv Ukrainian people of Polish descent Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Second convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Third convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Fourth convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Fifth convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Sixth convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities