Platon Nikitovich Voronko

Born Nov. 18 (Dec. 1), 1913, in the village of Chernetchina, present-day Akhtyrka Raion, Sumy Oblast. Soviet Ukrainian poet. Member of the CPSU since 1943.

Voron’ko was born into a peasant family. He studied at the M. Gorky Institute of Literature in Moscow. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, Voron’ko was a detachment commander in the large partisan unit of S. A. Kovpak. His first book of poems, Carpathian Raid (1944), reflects the heroic spirit of the partisan struggle. Voron’ko’s poems deal with the life of young people, the struggle for peace, the friendship of peoples, and socialist construction. These works are optimistic in tone and have a vivid national coloration. Many of his poems have become popular songs (such as “Forward, Komsomol Members!” and “Black Steed”). Voron’ko is also the author of narrative poems and books for children. His verse collections Good Morning andThis Wonderful World (1950) were awarded the State Prize of the USSR (1951); his collection Dear Friends (1959) won the republic’s N. Ostrovskij Prize. Voron’ko has been awarded six orders as well as medals.