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OUR LIFE MONTHLY, published by Ukrainian National Women’s League of America VOL. XXXVIII JANUARY 1981 No 1 EDITORIAL IN SEARCH OF THE POETRY OF LIFE “From an old friend, who at all times, seeks the poetry of life.” Such was the dedication on the copy of Kotliarevsky’s “Eneida,” which I had received as a present from Hanna Victorivna Sovacheva. I enjoyed the book and rather fancied the dedication, although I could not yet grasp its fully meaning. I was in my teens and all around me was poetry. Although these were the trouble- ridden times of World War II, all the arrest, trials, demonstrations...seemed to be full of an idealistic beauty — the love for one’s country. Today, I finally see how the poetry of life helped me overcome many misfortunes and helped me end up on top of the sea of life. It would be fascinating to see which people are better able to weather the ups and downs which life has to offer: those who look only at reality, who weigh all factors carefully, who worry only about reaching materialistic goals, or those who find, besides reality, a degree of romanticism and poetry in life. One can climb a mountain and count the number of feet he’s climbed; or one can climb the same mountain, not noticing the hard trail, the heavy backpack, but drinking in the beauty of nature, the clouds above, the music of the stream flowing alongside. One must look for romanticism and poetry in all that one does; one must be able to find a value in life above that which can be precisely measured and evaluated. Looking at the poetry written by our political prisoners, those living behind prison walls, behind barbed wire, spearated from us by endless tundras, we see evidence of an earthshaking search for beauty and poetry; we see a tragic romanticism. Maybe those persons who live realistically reach higher materialistic goals, higher professional heights, lead more luxurious lives. But are not their lives somewhat poorer for the lack of romanticism, beauty, and poetry which lies just beyond their reach? Reading the poetry of the political prisoners brings to mind the sea shell which must sacrifice its “life” in order to form beautiful pearls. It is simply awful to think that we live our comfortable and safe lives and bypass the beauty and poetry which is just waiting for us, that we do not know how to find and evaluate the “poetry of life.” Translated and condensed by M. Jarymowycz from the Editorial of Jan. 1981 Books for Ukrainian Children in English: A selected bibliography by Maria Jennings How many times have we all heard of the importance that reading plays in the development of our children. We, as parents, are encouraged to read to our children and expose them to books as much and as early as possible. This is not a hard task to accomplish as far as providing reading materials in English are concerned. Any visit to a public library will reveal the wealth of excellent English language books available for children of all ages. Many parents are unaware, however, that among these books are a number that are of special interest to our Ukrainian children. These are excellent books that reflect our cultural heritage. Several of them are recom mended for inclusion in library collections by such stan dard library selection tools as the Children’s Catalog. Most of them, therefore, can be found in public libraries throughout the United States. If they are not available in your local library, a request may be made that the library purchase them. Most of these books can also be ordered at any bookstore, although regrettably, Ivanko and the Dragon, Tusya and the Pot of Gold, and Ukrainian Folk Tales are now out-of-print. The chances of finding these books in a library, however, are good. This is not to say'that our children should not be reading books in Ukrainian. By all means, let us send our children to Ukrainian language schools and encourage them in their studies as much as possible. Let us expose them to Ukrainian books as much as possible. In any lan guage, however, exploring our cultural heritage with our children will greatly enrich both our and our children’s lives. Bloch, Marie Halun. Aunt America. New York, NY: Atheneum, 1972. 149 pp. Paperback. 95Ф. An interesting glimpse of life in Ukraine is provided by this book. An Aunt from America comes to visit Lesya’s family in their small Ukrainian village close to Kiev. This creates excitement and havoc in the life of Lesya who must come to grips with her ambivalent feelings toward her Aunt and her father. The author’s in sightful treatment of Lesya’s feelings and growth in understanding make this a touching and warm story. Ages 9-12. 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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