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Get Acquainted with Aunt America Dear E ditor: It was w ith great interest th a t I read, in the June 1963 issue, of Nashe Z yttia articles by and about Marie Halun Bloch, the Ukrainian-born American w riter of books for children. My interest and amazement grew after reading several recent book reviews of Aunt America. Marie Halun Bloch’s latest book has been warmly received by The New York Times Book Re view Magazine, Commonweal, by C hristian Science Monitor, Li brary Journal described it as “authentic” and “thought provo king” ; the Horn Book Magazine called it “a story w ith unusual depth and significance.” The U krainian them e of Mrs. Bloch’s latest book has m et with the in terest and approval of American critics. My curiosity sufficiently aroused, I went henceforth to the nearest branch of the public li brary and found th at the branch owned not one, but five copies of Aunt America. (It was, by the way, the only book of Mrs. Bloch’s authorship listed in the library’s catalog). “There are so few children’s books w ritten about Ukraine,” the children’s li brarian told me, “th a t we need to have more copies of Aunt America.” — I am always pleas antly surprised when strangers — w ithout any provocation on my p art — begin to talk to me about things Ukrainian. I am much more used to their ignor ance in this m atter. On bringing the book home, I read it myself, then gave it to my 11-year-old son. I expected the book to be above average, and I was not disappointed. It did not surprise me when I learned th a t Mrs. Bloch is the author of some thirteen volumes. Aunt America could hardly have been w ritten by a literary novice. It has th a t special quality of re strain t which characterizes skill ful and experienced w riters. Mrs. Bloch w rites w ith great literary skill, w ith a profound feeling for her theme, and w ith a special kind of inside knowledge of her subject. Not only does she pre sent a plausible realistic picture of life, in the contem porary Ukraine, under the Soviets, but she succeeds in an artful manner to pinpoint the evanescent es sence of w hat constitutes true democracy. All this, however, is but a background to the central them e: a psychological develop m ent of a nine-year old girl in search of herself and of perm a nent moral values. Parents and teachers alike owe a debt of gratitude to Mrs. Bloch: Aunt America is a god send to the young generation of American Ukrainians. It should be required reading in all Uk rainian parochial schools. P ar ents, on their own initiative, and in their own and their children’s interest should see to it th at their children do not miss a chance to get acquainted with Aunt America. My 11-year-old — a devotee of R. L. Stevenson, M ark Twain, Conan Doyle and Daniel Defoe — was not too enthusiastic about the book at first encounter. He looked at the drawings, and said, “Ah, this is girl’s stu ff!” But, after the first chapter, he was ju st as captivated and fascinat ed, as I have been. Sincerely yours, M arta Tarnawsky UKRAINIANS IN AMERICA A small article under this title deals with this topic in the In ternational Women’s News organ of December, 1963 of the In ter national Alliance of Women. The author based it on news from WFUWO News No. 1, a bulletin of the World Federation of Uk rainian Women’s Organizations (W FUW O). It reads: Can the new em igrants add richness and variety to the na tional p attern? From letters re ceived from A ustralia, we learn ed th a t efforts have been made to encourage newly-arrived groups to show their crafts and music, dancing and cookery. The large groups of U krain ians scattered here and there in the Americas edit th eir own pa per, in their own language, and have vigorous associations which seem to be successfully handing down to the younger members: language and history, crafts and arts. We learn from WFUWO News, the Journal of the Federation of Ukrainian Women, th a t where- ever groups of Ukrainian refu gees have been able to settle to gether, there has been a two- way cultural exchange. The host countries such as A ustralia, Ca nada and U.S.A. have been en riched by contact with the music, dances and crafts while the Uk rainians are keeping their lan guage, literature, customs, mu sic, dances, cookery and crafts very much alive in their own communities with exhibitions and competitions. KOZAK CHAYKA IN DETROIT “W aterways of the world” was the theme of a special exhibit in the International Institute at D etroit, Mich. In the Ukrainian section a 16th century Kozak chaika (boat) was exhibited. It was constructed by Mr. Stephen Wichor, a high school teacher. A t the present tim e the Ukrainian ethnic group is repre sented at The International In stitute by: Mrs. A nastasia Volk- er and Mr. J. Gurski (board of D irectors), Mrs. M. Prowalny and Mrs. E. Zaporozets (Mem ber’s Council), and Mrs. M. Kwitkowsky, who is employed as supervisor in the casework departm ent. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR I Bind Our Life I value these magazines very much and bind them into books. M ary Burak Saskatoon 16 НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ — БЕРЕЗЕНЬ, 1964 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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