Antonina Aleksandrovna Kymytval (russian: Антони́на Алекса́ндровна Кымытва́ль, ckt, Кымъытвааԓ, translit=Kym"ytvaal, ) (April 22, 1938 – October 29, 2015) was a Chukchi poet and children's writer who wrote mainly in her native language.

Biography

Born in the village of Mukhomornoye, Anadyrsky District, Kymytval was the daughter of a reindeer herder, and was called "Rul-tyne" ( ckt, Руль-тынэ, translit=Rul'-tyne, ) at birth. Her parents died when she was young, as did her twin brother, whereupon she was renamed "Kymytval", Chukchi for "worm", in an attempt to ward off evil. She first attended boarding school before entering the Anadyr Pedagogical College in 1958, from which she graduated the following year; it was at this time she began to write poetry, publishing her first volume, in Chukchi, in

Magadan Magadan ( rus, Магадан, p=məɡɐˈdan) is a port town and the administrative center of Magadan Oblast, Russia, located on the Sea of Okhotsk in Nagayev Bay (within Taui Bay) and serving as a gateway to the Kolyma region. History Maga ...

in 1960. In this same year she entered the Higher Party School of

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...

, and soon thereafter she became deputy editor of the ''Sovetskaya Chukotka'' newspaper. She went to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

for further study in 1966 and 1967, and in 1968 published her first volume of verse for children. She continued to write plays and poems for children, developing a relationship with the Magadan Puppet Theater. Kymytval lived in Magadan for many years before her death. Late in life she was incapacitated by a series of strokes; she died in

Abinsk Abinsk (russian: Аби́нск) is a town and the administrative center of Abinsky District of Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located southwest of Krasnodar, the administrative center of the krai. Population: 39,058 (2020), 23,000 (1968). It was ...

, in the home of her daughter. Kymytval wrote lyric poetry, and concerned herself with descriptions of the landscape in which she lived. Some of her work has been translated into

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

. A member of the Writers' Union since 1962, she received the

Order of the Badge of Honor The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...

and the

Medal "For Labour Valour" The Medal "For Labour Valour" (russian: Медаль «За трудовую доблесть») was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union bestowed to especially deserving workers to recognise and honour dedicated and valorous labour or ...

in 1988. In 1990 she received an award for her work from the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

International Children's Book Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kymytval, Antonina 1938 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Russian women writers 20th-century Russian poets 20th-century Russian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Russian women writers 21st-century Russian poets 21st-century Russian dramatists and playwrights Chukchi people Chukchi-language writers Soviet women writers Russian women poets Women dramatists and playwrights People from Chukotka Autonomous Okrug