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open grave took a handful of earth, threw it on the cof fin and said, ’’Let the weight of this earth rest easy on you.” This was the first and last sound of a human voice. Silently, everyone came up to the grave and threw handfuls of soil on the coffin. Just as silently, not looking at one another, people walked away. The crowd walked to the cemetary exit on a narrow, winding path. Shortly only the immediate family was left near the freshly turned mound of earth. Such was the funeral of our celebrated Olena Pchilka “in our but not our own land.” Translated by Marta Baczynsky TAMARA STADNYCHENKO BRANCH 90 OF THE UNWLA HOSTS A LITERARY EVENING HONORING OKSANA KERCH, YAROSLAVA OSTRUK AND MARIA STRUTYN’SKA Born in Western Ukraine in 1911, Oksana Kerch exhibited a talent for painting and writing at an early age. During the years of the Polish occupation, she wrote for Nova Khata (New Home) and Zhinocha Dolia (Women’s Fate), two journals which were published in Lviv in the 1930’s. In 1944 she emigrated to Austria, then France, then Argentina, where she lived for twelve years and where she first began to work as an active member of the organization “Prosvita”. In Argentina, she also organized and directed a theater group and successfully produced a variety of Ukrainian plays. Oksana Kerch arrived in Philadelphia in 1959 and remained an enthu siastic and productive member of the Ukrainian com munity in Philadelpia until her death in March 1991. She was an active member of the Organization of the Four Freedoms for Ukraine, she headed the Tselevych Foun dation under whose auspices she edited and published a book about poet Evhen Malaniuk, she campaigned diligently to have poet Vasyl’ Stus recognized and honored with a Nobel Prize for literature. Among Kerch’s best known works are Lenka and Narecheniy (The Fiance), two novels depicting the days of the Polish occupation of Western Ukraine; Albatross, which por trays the lives and creative ides of writers in pre-war Lviv; and Takiy Dovhiy Rik (Such a Long Year), a look at the Ukrainian ’’ghetto” in Philadelphia. Kerch was an expert narrator; her works are characterized by a strong element of irony and satire, as well as a spirited sense of humor. Yaroslava Ostruk was born in Bosnia where the Austro-Hungarian authorities, in their attempt to stem nationalistic tendencies by resettling members of the intelligentsia in far-flung reaches of the empire, had posted her father, a judge. In her youth, Yaroslava Ostruk was a musical enthusiast; she had a strong desire to excel as a violinist. Fate decreed that this was not to be. The death of her beloved father, war-time deprivations and an enforced emigration to America brought an end to her musical ambitions. To support herself and her family, Yaroslava Ostruk worked in the Lidia Lukianovych Melnyk reading from Y. Ostruk’s work. Seated from left: T. Melnychuk, M. Senyshyn, V. Klish. monotonous atmosphere atmosphere of an unbearably hot and uncomfortable Philadelphia factory. She fought the tedium of factory work by daydreaming, by remi niscing about places and events from another lifetime, another era. In time, these random musings gave birth to several short stories, written at night when her work day was done, and published in Ukrainian newspapers and journals. The stories were well received by readers and this gave Ostruk the confidence to embark on more complex literary works, a series of novels in which she chronicled Ukraine’s history, exploring religious, cultu ral, and political conflicts in Ukrainian society. Much of her work is imbued with autobiographical color and realism. Koly Merknut’ Zori (When Stars Dim), Те Shcho Rozyednyuye (That which Divides) and Maty і Dochka (A Mother and Daughter) have been undisputedly rec 18 “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, СІЧЕНЬ 1992 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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