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OCTOBER-BOOK MONTH A book Is an ocean depth He who dives Into the deep, Although he wltl have tolled much, Will bring up unusual pearls (Ivan Franko) October has been traditionally designated "book month." Whether this distinction does much to further interest in books among our readers is hard to say, but the appellation is definitely worth some attention. When we say that a person’s relationship to books characterizes him and even when we quote the above mentioned poem, it all seems to be a banal proven point. But, when we compare this situation to reality, interesting disco veries loom before us. Let’s begin with the outward signs of interest in books. When we visit acquaintances, let’s look around and see if we find a library, or bookshelves, or any books at all, and what kind of books are they? How much can one learn about the inhabitants of a house or apartment by their books or the lack of them! Very often we would be surprised at the lack of books in homes which have pretensions to culture. Often these people criticize Ukrainian literature saying that it has no worth and that it exists at a low level, when, in reality, they did not even hold the books they criticize in their hands. An excuse against books that is often heard is that nowadays there is no time for reading, especially since we have television. But, with all the advantages of television, an it fully replace the book? The ease of watching television contributes to widespread mental laziness. Even detective programs, where there is, supposedly, a riddle which the viewer tries to unravel, even they, because of frequently repetitive plots, cease to genuinely intrigue. Television pushes books out of our lives and for some people it not only replaces reading, but also replaces an active life. Many people, instead of living full lives them selves merely observe other people’s lives on television. These lives are usually filled with exciting and unusual events. It happens, that some people, especially the young, crave to have the unusual lives they see on television. What's worse is that life as it is presented on television is only the outward life, action which does not take place in the important inner life of a human being. GOOD NEWS The Executive Committee of UNWLA recently received some good news from Mrs. Rosola of our Phoenix, Arizona Branch. Mrs. Rosola had enthusiastically described some of the activities of UNWLA to a close friend. Her friend, who is not Ukrainian, and who wishes to remain anonymous, found these activities interesting enough to contribute the sum of $500.00 yowards our work. UNWLA is grateful to its generous benefactor and for the enthusiasm and devotion of its long standing member, Mrs. Rosola. Books, especially those considerd "light reading,” also describe someone’s life, often also not everyday life but unusual situations. This is true, but they deal with the inner thoughts of the characters, the emotions, philosophy and ethics of the characters. They urge the reader to think, awaken inner thoughts, enrich the soul. Of course, this doesn’t mean that television is unnecesary. It is a great means of communication, it gives us news from different parts of the world and the moon and the sports field. It gives us the opportunity to view what we would never have seen. It’s too bad that it works as a narcotic and, instead of serving us, makes us slaves. Often television entices the viewer even though what he sees on the screen is not to his liking. Instead of writing about books, we have been writing about their competitor. But the example here is, that as easily as one can get used to television, one can also get used to reading. This habit can begin at an early age. It depends on the first books that a child encounters. Of course, it is often easier for the mother or grandmother to leave a child in front of the television. And here, the choice of program will also determine the future interests of the child. It is obvious that the Ukrainian book has difficulty competing for our attention in an American market. So, in October let us reach for books, especially Ukrainian books. Let’s transfer them from the bookstores to our own book shelves. A home with books has its own special atmosphere. A book on our bookshelf, even unread, speaks to us and speaks about us Translated by U. B. OUR COVER Once again we turn to Hutsulschyna - the five-volume work of Volodymyr Shuchevych. We had mentioned his book and quoted from it in the May 1976 issue of Our Life. We have in front of us the first volume of this work, published in 1899. In the introduction the author writes that he has spent twenty years collecting the material for this book. All of the pictures (with some minor exceptions) were taken by him. One can imagine him traveling on horseback and on foot from one village to another with his heavy camera and glass plates (there were no celluloid films in the 1890’s), recording 1 the customs of the people and collecting various artifacts, tools and clothing. All of these were preserved in the Metropolitan Sheptycky National Museum in Lviv and in the author’s own collection. Some of his pictures of clothing are included on the cover and on the pages of this issue. We chose clothing in order to tie these photographs in with the new exhibit on clothing being prepared by our own Ukrainian Museum. Ukrainian clothing is extremely multifarious. Every part of Ukraine had its own singular qualities when it came to apparel. The way you wore your scarf, the way you girdled yourself НАШ Е ЖИТТЯ, Ж ОВТЕНЬ 1977 27
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