Hanna Cherin

Truth will overcome falsehood still,
Evil tyranny will disappear,
And the Black Sea will be ours,
Crimea, the Carpathians, and Podillia.

Hanna Cherin

Hanna Cherin was a Ukrainian and American writer, poet, literary critic, and public figure.

Halyna Hrybinska (pen name Hanna Cherin) was born on April 29, 1924, in Kyiv. She studied at the philological faculty of Kyiv University, but World War II prevented her from completing her studies. She was taken to Germany for forced labor, where she later worked in the editorial office of the magazine “Voice for Workers from the East” (1944). After the war, she stayed in a DP camp in Heidenau, Germany. Her works were published in the magazine “Leisure” and in the collections of the Ukrainian Artistic Movement (MUR)—“Literary Notebook,” “Storm in MUR,” “Arch,” and others. In 1949, she published her first collection of poems, “Crescendo”, in Germany.

In 1949, she emigrated to the United States and settled in Chicago. She initially worked as a nurse in a hospital and later held a job at the university bookstore. She continued pursuing her education at the University of Chicago, earning a Master’s Degree in Linguistics (1953) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Library Science (1966).

Until 1987, she worked at the University of Chicago Library, heading the department of international exchange with foreign libraries. She was a member of the Ukrainian Library Association and served as its secretary from 1984 to 1986. She was also a member of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, the Ukrainian Writers’ Association “Slovo,” and the Association of Children’s and Youth Literature Workers. She worked as an editor for “Independent Ukraine” (1974–1986) and the children’s page in the magazine “Our Life” (1972–1974).

After retiring in 1988, she settled in Port Charlotte, Florida, where she continued her active social and artistic endeavors, working with the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America and the local Ukrainian St. Andrew’s Center in North Port. In 1993, she visited Kyiv and became a member of the National Writers’ Union of Ukraine.

Among Hanna Cherin’s major poetic works are the collections “Black Soil” (1962), “Wagons” (1969), and the verse novel “Words” (1980). Travel essays occupy a significant place in her oeuvre, including the books “Come with Me” (1965) and “Come with Me Again!” (1990), in which the author shares her impressions of traveling to various countries around the world. The writer also wrote children’s books, including “Brothers and Sisters” (1960), “Correspondence” (1966), “The Adventures of a Ukrainian Book” (1972), and “The Diary of Schoolgirl Milochka” (1979).

Many of Hanna Cherin’s poems have been set to music by Ukrainian composers, including I. Bilohrud, V. Bezkorovainyi, H. Kytasty, T. Nahirniak, A. Rudnytskyi, V. Shut, S. Yaremenko, and others. A separate collection, “10 Children’s Songs to Words by Hanna Cherin” (1973), was published in Chicago, as well as a two-act operetta, “The Train of Happiness” (1974), with music by V. Shut. Cherin is also the author of the lyrics to the anthem of the Ukrainian Golden Cross organization (music by M. Fedorova).

Hanna Cherin died on July 19, 2016. She is buried at the Venice Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Venice, Florida.