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Olena Teliha (1907-1942) E very proper nam e h as its ow n exclu sive m eanin g and connota tion . It is n ot ju st a com bination o f vow els and con sonants o f on e’s C h ristian nam e and su r nam e, b y w h ich a p erson is de signed or know n. It is also an ap- pelation o f a place, a scene, a center, an im pulse, or a certain hum an endeavor and drive. R ep resen tin g th e la st is O lena T eli ha, th e U k rain ian p oetess and p atriot. T hrough ou t th is year o f 1962 th e m em ory of O lena T elih a w ill be com m em orated b y U k rain ians h ere in A m erica and th rou gh ou t th e free w orld. F or it w as tw en ty years ago, 1942, th a t sh e su ffered a tra g ic death, b y execu tion at th e hands of th e G estapo, in K iev, an cien t cap ital o f U krain e, w h ich , for th e p ast tw o score and som e odd years, h as been en ch ained b y b ru tal S oviet R u ssian im p erialistic and com m u n istic m isrule. O lena T elih a died at an early age, ju st sh ort o f th irty fiv e years. T he fin e p oetry sh e le ft in th e w ake o f h er creative w ork w ould h ard ly fill a slim volum e. W h y th en , one m ay ask, all th is concern and th o u g h ts about her, n ot only now b u t during th e p ast years ? W h at had sh e done to m e rit it all ? W h erein lies h er g rea t n ess? W h y all th ese m em orials in h er honor? In th e follow in g b rief sk etch o f h er life and w ork lies th e answ er. O lena T elih a w as born early th is cen tu ry (Ju ly 21, 1907, in S t. P etersb u rg ). H er fa m ily w as one of th e n ot so num erous U k rain ian fa m ilies of th a t tim e _who w ere striv in g for th e sp iritual and n ational reb irth o f U kraine. H er p aren ts took p art in th e w ar for U k rain ian n ation al lib eration, b egin n in g in 1917, w h ich resulted in th e sh ort-lived U k rainian N ation al R epublic. W hen th e B olsh evik s fin a lly overran free U k rain e and crushed its n ew ly-w on independence, O lena T eliha fled abroad. T hou gh sh e had to em igrate, perforce, her h eart rem ained w ith her cou n try m en. S he fe lt proud o f th eir h e roic fig h t to regain U k rain ian n ational independence. A t th e sam e tim e sh e fe lt g rief-strick en, b ecause th e superior m ig h t o f th eir en em ies, B olsh evik s and oth ers fin a lly prevailed. T h at U k rain ian stru g g le for freed om le ft a m ark on h er h eart and m ind. A nd, as sh e grew old er, th a t stru g g le and th e p lig h t o f th e U k rain ian s follow in g it, becam e a beacon, a h ig h ideal for her, ever b eck on in g and d rivin g h er to d evote her life to th e re su rrection of U k rain ian n ational freedom . In h er endeavors to aid her en slaved m otherland, O lena T e lih a w as n ot alone. In h er com p an y w ere oth ers o f h er kind and gen eration , w ho, too, em barked upon th e sam e course as sh e did. Y et sh e w as able to p ut m ore into th e ta sk con fron tin g th em th an th ey w ere able to do. F or th is you n g w om an w as b less ed w ith m ore th an th e u sual ta l en ts. T h is becam e m a n ifest in th e 1930’s, w h en from her pen th ere flow ed, one a fter another, verses and articu les, all ex p ress in g th a t to w h ich sh e w as str iv in g, upw ards and upw ards to th a t pinnacle, w h ich , as sh e ex p ressed it, is “th e fier y co n test,” one w h ich dem ands great sacri fices. H er stirrin g verses and prose attracted th e atten tion of p oets and id eologists of her gen eration, and sh e join ed th em . B u t sh e oc cupied a unique p osition am ong th em . H er in n ate perception and un d erstand in g o f th e tend er and com p assion ate sp irit o f a w om an allow ed h er to introduce in to h er w orks certain m ovin g ton es and nuances unknow n th en in th e hard rh y th m s and m easu res pre valen t th en in cu rren t p oetry. H er zeal and en th u siasm , g ar landed b y m agical charm , also found fu ll exp ression in h er v ers es. W hen, in 1941, th e b arriers w ere fo r th e w h ile lifted , O lena T eliha, lik e a h om in g bird, flew on th e w in gs o f a n x iety and hope to h er n ative land U krain e, to do w h at sh e could for h er k insm en. W ith ou t m uch ado, sh e plunged in to ex h a u stin g ly hard w ork. On h er in itia tiv e, th e U k rain ian L iterary S ociety soon cam e in to b eing. A lso th e “L ita v ri” journ al (“lita v ri” m eans k ettled ru m s, w h ich th e Z aporozhian K ozaks u sed to rally th e H o st fo r b a t tle ). C lustered about b oth th e so ciety and th e jou rn al w ere U k rain ian in tellectu als and w rit ers w ho had rem ained in K iev th rou gh ou t th e w ar up to th a t tim e, includ ing R u ssian and G er m an occupation. In ten sive action w as b egun b y th em all to estab lish con tacts w ith U k rain ian em igre groups in oth er cou n tries. A ll o f th is, o f course, w as a m ost d ifficu lt ta sk under foreign m ilitary occupation, th a t of th e G erm ans, w ho, like th e R u ssian s, w ere very m uch opposed to U k rain ian p atriotic activ ities. N on eth eless, O lena T elih a re m ained undaunted. A ll effo rts to in tim id ate h er to force h er to stop h er p atriotic action , and even th e b an n in g of fu rth er pub 16 НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ — ЛЮТИЙ, 1962 Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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