Mike Johansen – Ukrainian poet and prose writer of the 1920s, author of “The Journey of Doctor Leonardo” and many avant-garde poems. A member of the “Executed Renaissance,” he mixed humour, experimentation, and linguistic brilliance. Executed in 1937 during Stalinist purges.
📚 Knew over ten languages – from Latin and German to Esperanto. Could translate Shakespeare and write a fishing poem the same day. 🎭 With Khvylovy and Semenko, shaped Ukrainian avant-garde, calling for “bold literature.” ✍ His “Journey of Doctor Leonardo” is a parody novel where a scientist and a horse travel through Ukraine meeting bizarre characters. 🍷 Famous in Kharkiv cafés, he improvised poems on the spot, turning evenings into performances. 🚫 Arrested in 1937 and executed at Sandarmokh alongside fellow writers of the Executed Renaissance. 😂 Funny: often composed poems on restaurant bills and read them solemnly, making everyone burst out laughing.