V. LeGeza

Author V. LeGeza was born in Kiev, Ukraine (former USSR) in 1957. She has a Master's Degree in Architecture and also worked as an artist in a movie studio.

First poems and articles on literature appeared in Kiev's press in mid 80s. In 1998, she emigrated to the United States. Now she lives and works in Chicago.

LeGeza's short stories have become very popular and are published on a regular basis in the Russian language press in America. Short stories written by V. LeGeza under general name Emigrants' Fairy Tales and other stories had been published in 1994-1998 in almanacs Panorama and Stalker (Los Angeles), magazines Vestnik (Baltimore) and Alef (Israel), newspapers Novoe Russkoe Slovo (New York), Peace (Philadelphia), Observation Post (Chicago-Milwaukee), Vzgliad (San Francisco), New Meridian (New York-Texas), etc.

Her writing drew editors' attention in the former Soviet Union. It was highly prized by Russian writer Svetlana Vasielnko and Ukrainian critic Miron Petrovsky.

Some of the Emigrants' Fairy Tales and articles on the history of Russian literature have been published in the Ukraine (in the magazines Collegial and Rainbow) and in the book Russian in America in Russia. Some of the stories have been produced on the radio. There are about 30 stories by LeGeza which have been published in different countries.

V. LeGeza's first collection of stories, "Emigrants' Fairy Tales", v.1 was published by OKHO Publishing Company in the United States in the fall of 1999. V. LeGeza's second collection of stories, "Emigrants' Fairy Tales", v.2 was published by OKHO Publishing Company in the United States in 2000. Third book by V. LeGeza, "Tails and Wings", was published by OKHO Publishing Company in the United States in 2002.

OKHO Publishing Company (website www.Okho.com) introduce more books of collective works by V. LeGeza, containing short stories, novels and plays.

"Koshkin's Tales" by V. LeGeza (Povesti Koshkina) had been published in 2005 by Hermitage Publishers and OKHO Publishing. It includes novel "Fog on the apples blossom".

Book of translations "My Grandma Chevy" by V. LeGeza was published by OKHO Publishing Company in the United States in 2006. "My Grandma's Chevy" by V. LeGeza is the first collection of English translations of the stories by this well-known emigrant author. It contains short stories from "Emigrants' Fairy Tales."

ZHABA (THE TOAD) (Russian language. Fiction) "Emigrants' Fairytales" is the collection of short stories by V. LeGeza. Some works are reprints of favorite LeGeza stories published in Russian language magazines and newspapers.

Every nation, large, small and even the tiniest has its own fairy tales. Even regions, cities and villages have their own stories. What about the Russian- speaking emigrants scattered across the United States of America? Are we any worse? We also need our own fairy tales.

Emigrant literature is typically associated with the words "nostalgia," "exile," "dissident." There exists a certain mythology about emigration. But in the short stories of LeGeza, the reader encounters a surprising and extraordinary perspective on life in a foreign land, where new impression are colored by glimmers of magical childhood memories, imagination, curiosity and joie de vivre.

In the year 2009 the publishing house "Chaika", U.S.A. (Chayka.com) published the new novel of V. Legeza. The book "Emma2000" echoes the themes of the novel by the well-known British author, Jane Austin. This is a story of a self-confident young woman. She, like the hero of the 19th century novel "Emma", possesses talent, beauty, high social status and believes that she can manipulate events and people. She thinks that she knows how the world works. This clever and interesting plot contains unexpected twists, a compelling love story, vivid characters who find themselves in complex and unforeseen situations and keep the reader in suspense until the last page of the novel.

Also V. LeGeza collected and published short stories by women-writers who emigrated from Russia. She published three antologies: ARENA, ARENA-2 and ARENA-2. Authors are living now in various countries: USA, England, Spain, Israel, Australia, Germany, Norway, France, Finland etc. The book is published in Russian.

V. LeGeza writes in Russian, but mostly about life of Eastern European emigrants in the United States.