Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
UNWLA 100
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2024
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Initiatives
Advocate
Educate
Cultivate
Care
News
Newsletters
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Join UNWLA
Become a Member
Volunteer With Us
Donate to UNWLA
Members Portal
Shop to Support Ukraine
Search for:
Print
Print Page
Download
Download Page
Download Right Page
Open
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
18-19
20-21
22-23
24-25
26-27
28-29
30-31
32-33
34-35
36
O U R LIFE M O NTH LY, published by Ukrainian National Women’s League of America Vol. XXIX._______________________________FEBRUARY, 1972 ____________________________________ No. 2 O L E N A Т Е LI H A 30 years have passed since the death at the hands of the Gesta po of the very promising Ukrain ian poetess, Olena Teliha. Her name has become a legend, but as with most legends, there was a real person, with real accom plishments and real feelings be hind it. Today many have heard of her and of her martyrdom, yet we still cannot quite under stand where her greatness lies. Her poetry is fiery, imaginative, and strong, yet thoroughly fem inine. It has yet to be studied and appraised fully. Undoubted ly, there were other poets in her time, who showed as much tal ent, and who wrote equally beau tiful pieces. What has caught the imagination of an entire genera tion is the fact that Olena not only wrote her poetry — she lived it. When she felt that the time had come to act — she act ed without hesitation, even though action resulted in her death. She was granted the wish expressed in one of her poems: a fiery death, rather than a cold dying. Olena Teliha (nee Showhekiv) was born in 1907, at a time when being Ukrainian was not popular and often unpleasant. Her father was a professor at the Peters burg Polytechnic Institute. Shortly before the revolution the family moved to Kiev. Olena’s father was actively engaged in the Ukrainian struggle for inde pendence and became a member of the newly-formed Ukrainian government. With the defeat of the Ukrainian Army, Prof. Showheniv found himself in a Polish POW camp, and his fam ily followed him into exile. They finally settled in Podebrady, Czechoslovakia, where Prof. Showheniv continued to teach. Olena entered the Pedagogical Institute in Prague. She soon became a member of Ukrainian students at the Insti tute who were driven out of Ukraine by the intolerable con ditions. At the Institute Olena met her future husband, there her character developed/there she began to compose her poems, her “personal letters to the world” so full of the joy of life, and an awareness of its hard ships. Her zest for work contin ued when the couple settled in Warsaw, Poland. Olena not only wrote poetry, she taught, she lectured, she contributed to mag azines. But she knew and felt, that poetry alone will never suf fice to help a nation attain its freedom. Both Telihas longed to live among their own, so when war broke out they returned, first to Lviv, and then, illegally’ to Kiev. From her own experience Ole na knew, how years of Russian rule had scarred the Ukrainian people (in her parents’ home only Russian was spoken). She knew how much work would be needed to reinstill national pride — and she felt that she and her husband could help in the task. In Kiev Olena became the editor of a literary magazine. She prob ably realized that the German regime would not look kindly at the resurgence of Ukrainian na tionalism. Still, something could be done before repression set in, and she did it with her charac teristic enthusiasm. The expect ed reaction was not long in com ing. The publishing house for which Olena worked was “reor ganized” and put into the hands Olena Teliha LIFE For Wasyl Kurilenko Ill-omened clang of days to fragments beaten, And nightly terrors, choking up the tears — Betrayed by life you loved, you feel forsaken. Feel it. Feel it deeply, and forgive — release. Is it a holiday? Has it been snowing? Did flowers bloom? Today or long ago? Oh, what’s the use. The soul, crushed and unseeing, Einks, like a wingless bird, into unknown. Don’t let her sink. Hold on. And keep ascending! Pull harder — faster, faster, swim ahead! One day — a joy, past human understanding, Will come into your life — Believe, and' live! Then snows will glisten, flowers whisper sweetly And crouch like a life-line, so very near. The life, whose depths you’ve plumbed, will change completely. Again it will be meaningful and dear. Translated by Tetiana Shevchuk 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.
Page load link
Go to Top
1 
2-3 
4-5 
6-7 
8-9 
10-11 
12-13 
14-15 
16-17 
18-19 
20-21 
22-23 
24-25 
26-27 
28-29 
30-31 
32-33 
34-35 
36 
