- Yuri Rytkheu
Yuri Sergeyevich Rytkheu ( _ru. Ю́рий Серге́евич Рытхэ́у;
8 March 1930 atUelen village -14 May 2008 ,Saint Petersburg ) was a Chukchi writer, writing in both his nativeChukchi language and Russian. He is considered as the founder of Chukchi literature.Born into a family of Chukchi hunters, he was given the name Rytkheu. Chukchis traditionally didn't use surnames, and when he requested his first official documents, he adopted the name and patronymic from a Russian geologist he knew, and started using Rytkheu as surname.
He started writing articles and short poems in the newspaper "Soviet Chukotka" ( _ru. Советская Чукотка) while a student at the Anadyr Technical School. In 1949 he entered the
Leningrad State University and continued his literary activity there, publishing his short stories in "Ogonyok " and "Novy Mir " magazines. His first book, a collection of short stories, "The People of Our Coast" (Люди нашего берега), was printed in 1953, and in 1954 he become a member of theUnion of Soviet Writers .After the
dissolution of the Soviet Union his works ceased to be printed in Russia for a long time, but printed instead in German (over 250,000 copies) and other European languages by a Swiss publisher [http://www.unionsverlag.com/info/ Unionsverlag] . The only work of his extensive output translated into English is "Сон в начале тумана" (1970), published by [http://www.archipelagobooks.org Archipelago Books] in 2005 as "A Dream in Polar Fog".Rytkheu lived his last years in
Anadyr .Bibliography
*English language
** "Reborn to a Full Life", (Moscow : Novosti Press Agency Pub. House, 1977).
** "From Nomad Tent to University", (Moscow : Novosti Press Agency, 1980).
** "Old Memyl Laughs Last: Short Stories", (Moscow: Foreign Languages Pub. House, no date).
** "A Dream in Polar Fog", trans. by Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse (Archipelago Books, 2006). ISBN 978-0977857616
** "The Chukchi Bible", trans. by Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse (Archipelago Books, 2009).*German language (note that in German the author's name is transliterated "Juri Rytchëu")
** Der Mondhund ISBN 3-293-00351-6
**Unna ISBN 3-293-20341-8
**Der letzte Schamane ISBN 3-293-20295-0
**Die Reise der Anna Odinzova ISBN 3-293-20230-6
**"Traum im Polarnebel" (1993) ISBN 3-293-20034-6 ("A Dream in Polar Fog")
**Die Suche nach der letzten Zahl ISBN 3-293-20095-8
**Wenn die Wale fortziehen ISBN 3-293-20049-4
**Unter dem Sternbild der Trauer ISBN 3-293-20085-0
**Im Spiegel des Vergessens ISBN 3-293-20215-2 (In the Mirror of Forgetfulness)
*Russian language
**"В зеркале забвения" ISBN 5-94214-013-8 (In the Mirror of Forgetfulness)Honours
*
Maxim Gorky RSFSR State Prize (1977), for the novel, "The end of the Permafrost" (Конец вечной мерзлоты).
*Orders:Order of the Red Banner of Labour ,Order of Friendship of Peoples ,Order of the Badge of Honor External links
* [http://www.survival-international.org/news/3315 Chukchee author Yuri Rytkheu dies]
* [http://piterbook.spb.ru/2005/04/events/ Выставка «Чукотская сага», piterbook.spb.ru] ru icon
* [http://www.rg.ru/2004/03/25/chukcha.html Юрий Рытхэу: Внук шамана и экологический шпион, Александр Карлюкевич, Российская Газета, 25.03.2004] ru icon
* [http://www.kolyma.ru/magadan/person/rithau.shtml Biography at kolyma.ru] ru icon
* [http://www.litrossia.ru/article.php?article=1253 Морж на галечной отмели, Михаил Бойко, Литературная Россия, 23.02.2007] ru icon
* [http://www.bigbook.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=1358 Юрий Рытхэу: «АНЕКДОТЫ ПРО ЧУКЧУ НЕСМЕШНЫЕ!», Ирина Молчанова, Фонтанка.ру, 22.08.2006] ru icon
* [http://www.lenta.ru/news/2008/05/14/rytkheoo/ Obituary 17.05.2008] ru icon
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