Lina Kostenko and her world

Most Ukrainians today learn about Lina Kostenko during their Ukrainian literature classes at school. Her deep philosophical poetry is filled with love for her country, its people and humanity in general. As a result, it rarely leaves the reader indifferent. Kostenko belongs to the era of the “sixtiers”, a young rebellious generation that shook the world with its protests.

The generation of the 1960s has for a long time been and still is a great topic of debate for researchers. And there is nothing surprising here, as this was the generation born after the Second World War. They did not know all its horrors but they heard about them from those who survived the war. This was the period when the “hippie” movement was born in the United States. They were pacifists, loved rock and roll, took soft drugs and promoted the idea of free love.