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OUR LITERARY HERITAGE Modern Ukrainian literature has been termed the literature of the common man; of his aspira tions, struggles and achievements against monumental odds in the forms of foreign and domestic op pression. For the fate of the com mon man in Ukraine has almost always beien a tragic one. Except for a brief period in the ancient history of Ukrainia, that i’s in the times of the Flourishing Ki evan period of peace and prospe rity, the masses of people have suffered under perpetually ad verse situations. And so this tra gic history is reflected -in their Gulturai development, tfheir songs, their philosophy, and theiir liter ature. Literature, as all art, is history in itself since the artist, more than other men reflects his histor ical-cultural environment. A pro duct of his time's, his works stand for, or represent the contempor ary atmosphere, be it progressive, decadent, flourishing or troubled. Moreover, the artist stands as the articulate harbinger of the hopes and dreaims of his people. Thus the Ukrainian writers have produced works which tell Uk rainian story with greater poig nancy and vividness than do the many volumes of historical works dealing with life of thlis nation. The most well loved and best known Ukrainian writer, Taras Shevchenko, was himself a serf, and his poetry has come to be a symbol for the sufferings of the common people. Writing under the influence of the Romantic movement of nineteenth century literature, he idealizes the life of the Cossacks, and dwells- on the tragedy of the destruction of rche Sit ch. He sings the praises of the bitter battles they waged for free dom and independence, and he glorifies the folk-bards who kept intact in their songs and stories the heroic legends o:f the steppe wiarriors. Thus Ukrainians have inherited the treasure of the Kobzar—the story of a wanderin^ sin°*er Pere- benda. As this minstrel roams over the land, aged and feeble, he sings of the past glories of his people, and mourns the fate which has befallen them. But the subject matter of Shev chenko’s works is far from being the only appealing aspect for his readers. The sheer artistry mani fested in his poetry has drawn the admiration of people who have no knowledge of or interest in the Ukrainian national problems. The strength and purity of his songs, the beauty and force of his crea tions have led some European critics to place Shevchenko above his famous contemporary Push kin. Thus Shevchenko's import ance lies not only in the fact that he is the father of the modern Ukrainian language ,a master of epic poetry, and a spokesman for oppressed peoples, but in that he ranks with the greatest poets of the world, and is universal in his artistic appeal. Ivan Franko, writing in the second half of the nineteenth cen- turv was not the natural eenius that Shevchenko was. His life too was verv different from that of the B'ard of Ukrainia. But these p-rounds are not sufficient to Judee his contributions to Ukrainian lit erature as le's^s worthv of our re gard and admiration. Franko .vas born of noor parents but was well educated, completing his studies at Lvo-v University, and the Uni- vprsi'tv of Vienna. He was pol'iti- г'яИ'у active most of his life fsuf- fprim.o* persecution and arrest for thl‘s in the Ь'яїї r s of the forH'en officials of O-alicia') and mufch of his writ'imp- was done for news- ря-ne.rs and journals. Fra nko wrote in manv f arm s : a prolific writer o’f short stories arid novels, he is eouallv famous fnr his noetrv and translations of Bvron. Heine. Ooethp and oth er European writers. Second im importance only to Shevchenko, his talent enabled him to formul ate for the Ukrainian people a basis for a political philosophy, and he will always be looked up on as one of the greatest scholars and teachers Ukrainiiia has known. Lesya Ukrainka, the modern Ukrainian poetess has an entirely different background than any other of our national writers. Be cause of a crippling illness she was forced to travel and live in many foreign countries of clim ates more suitable to her condi tion. Confined to a sick bed most of her life, she was widely read and very familiar wivh the litera ture of other countries. With this rich background, and an extens ive, scholarly education, she in terests herself in social problems, 'through her erudition she is able to bring to Ukrainian poetry a universalism, a consciousness of the basic identity of her nation problems with those of other civi lizations and societies. Because of strict Russian cen sorship Lesya Ukrainka couches her lessons and ideas in disguising forms. She writes of Greeks, He brews, Egyptians and Nordics, showing in alii these legends and stories a message for the Ukrain ians. She stands as a woman of great powier and faitih, for despite her miserable personal sufferings her poetry constantly calls for action and hope, and her primary interest is in freedom for Ukrai nia. Ukrainians have a literary heri tage of which they can be justly proud. Whether folk-.poets or learned literary artists all of our writers communicate messages of pride in the past and hope for the future of their country. As artists they take their place in the ranks of the great writers of western culture. We are most fortunate to be able to read and enjoy these beautiful works in Ukrainian and in English since many able schol ars have devoted much care and effort in preparing for the Amer ican readers faithful translations of Ukrainian literature. OUR LIFE—MARCH, 1952 17
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