Cirrus@Austlit

Wolodymyr Bilajiw grew up in the Donets Basin of the Ukraine. During World War II he was transported to Germany and at the end of the war refused to return to the Ukraine. After he emigrated to Australia, he lived in Newcastle and Sydney. He worked at the BHP steelworks and in metal fabrication workshops. At the same time he became active in the Ukrainian community and as a freelance writer contributed to various publications in Australia, Europe and the United States. Bilajiw began to write poetry after the war and in 1970 a collection was published which included his work from 1946 to 1963. This was followed by a second collection in 1972. He settled permanently in Philadelphia when he left Australia.