The idea for this biographical sketch of Taras Shevchenko's life came to Luckyj while studying poetry in 1986. He decided to write a different story to his life, to set Shevchenko in the wider context of Ukrainian intellectual history as well as to capture his unique personality. A great deal is known about Shevchenko's life, and Luckyj's account consists of about 90 percent factual material, and 10 percent speculation. He hoped to give a new emphasis to this life story, without reproducing all the details of a full biography. Some of his poetry is offered in translation and some illustrations have been provided.