Oleksandr Oles (Oleksandr I. Kandyba) belongs to the generation of Ukrainian poets of early XX century. He was born in 1878 in Kharkiv area, studied at Kharkiv agriculture school, later at Kharkiv veterinary institute. The start of his literature activity was in 1905-1907. It was difficult for him to accept the ideas of the Revolution of 1917. So, in 1919 Oleksandr Oles found himself abroad, among emmigrants...
The first book of poetry was published in 1906. That was the book of lyric poetry "Grief Embraced With Happiness..." The famous Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko wrote music to some lyric poems from this book. As a result, the famous romances were born which are still popular.