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20 WWW. UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛИПЕНЬ - СЕРПЕНЬ 2013 THE PERSONAL SIDE OF LESYA UKRAINKA by Natalia Ishchuk - Pazuniak Lesya Ukrainka departed from this world on August 1, 1913. The news of her death struck the hearts of her compatr i- ots, who ha d followed the growth of her poetic genius and watched with wo r ry as her illness progressed, bringing the poet clo s er and closer to the mythological Lethe — the river that separates the living and the dead... I recall the account given by her youngest sister Isydora, who was 25 years old at the time of Lesya's death: Klyment, Lesya's husband, sent a telegram to our mother (writer Olena Pchilka) asking her to come to Surami in the Caucasus. We knew what this telegram meant. I went with Mot h- er. We found Lesya in bed. Her husband did not leave her bedside; he whispered to us that the disease (tuberculosis) had spread to her kidneys and that the doctors did not give her much hope. Lesya was calm, but it was difficult for her to speak. She asked Mother to write do wn her words. Mother listened very closely to what was som e- times just a whisper, and she wrote. This was the continuation of Lesya's prose work, Ekbal - hanem , about the fate of an Arab woman. Lesya would pause to muster the strength to speak, and then dicta te again. It was in vain to ask her to take a break or to tell her that she was not strong enough. The imperative to write was more powerful than any health restrictions. In this atmosphere of wai t- ing for the inevitable, days passed — three, four. And then t he end came. Her heart had stopped. At that moment, did the image of a suffering Arab woman, which she had conceived and cherished in her spirit, disappear? We don't know... This account by Dora had struck a chord with me, and I so wanted to pass it on to someone. These moments before Lesya's death r e- flect the tenor of her entire creative life. In her 30 - year long struggle with tuberculosis, Lesya Ukrainka ignored the proximity of death more than on one occasion. The illness had to give way to the creativ e impulse. When in 1912 she was burning with a high fever, she worked for three days and three nights, almost without a break, on her masterpiece, The Forest Song . A parallel su g- gests itself: struggling with tubercular fever not long before his death, Frie drich Schiller kept wri t- ing as if he were in a race against his illness. In a letter to his older friend, Johann Wol f gang Goethe, he stated that he was rushing to write so that his unborn children — the works he had not yet written — would not die together wit h him... Lesya had similar thoughts, referring to literary works in her letters to Ivan Franko as children that one had to birth, rather than “twist their necks” by not writing them. Fortunately for us, the later generations, Lesya enjoyed writing letters . This fact testifies to her openness, her trusting nature, and her love for family, friends, and pe o- ple in general. Lesya Ukrainka's sister, Olha Kryvyniuk, managed to save some of the letters from the ravages of war, and they were published in 1971 by th e Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences — on the Centennial of Lesya Ukrainka's birth. Lesya's letters were also pu b- lished in Soviet editions; yet the censorship made sure that the letters critical of Moscow did not a p- pear in print. The Academy published everyt hing the family had. This publication helped establish the chronology of the poet's life and art and has been vital for the study of the real Lesya Ukrainka, rather than her distorted Soviet image. With the help of Isydora Kosach - Borysova and a scholar of Lesya Ukrainka, Oleksandr Dun, we were able to find and print other, previously unpublished letters by Lesya Ukrainka, which were stored in the a r- chives of the Hoover Institute in California. These letters reveal the poet's pro - independence and a n- ti - Russia n stance, and that is why they could never be published in the Soviet Union. Lesya Ukrainka's letters can give us much insight into the poet's character — they reveal her personal side. Lesya grew up in a warm family atmo s- phere. She and her brother Mykhail o were the ol d- est among the children. Sisters Olha, Oksana and Isydora, and brother Mykola were the younger ones. Their mother, Olha Petrivna (née Draho - maniv), had a natural talent for teaching, ably ba l- ancing two elements in the family — friendship and mut ual respect. Olha Petrivna exuded kindness, but was also demanding towards herself and ev e- ryone in the family; for this she was loved and Lesya Ukrainka departed from this ing as if he were in a race against his illness. Lesya Ukrainka departed from this ing as if he were in a race against his illness. world on August 1, 1913. The news of her In a letter to his older friend, Johann world on August 1, 1913. The news of her death struck the hearts of her compatr i- In a letter to his older friend, Johann Wol f gang Goethe, he stated that he was f gang Goethe, he stated that he was f world on August 1, 1913. The news of her In a letter to his older friend, Johann death struck the hearts of her compatr i- followed the growth of Wol f gang Goethe, he stated that he was f gang Goethe, he stated that he was f rushing to write so that his unborn followed the growth of her poetic genius and watched with rushing to write so that his unborn children followed the growth of rushing to write so that his unborn her poetic genius and watched with ry as her illness progressed, children written ry as her illness progressed, er and closer written er and closer wit the river thoughts, referring to literary that separates the living and the thoughts, referring to literary works in her letters to Ivan Franko that separates the living and the dead... I recall the account given by works in her letters to Ivan Franko as children that one had to birth, dead... I recall the account given by Isydora, who as children that one had to birth, rather than “twist their necks” by dead... I recall the account given by as children that one had to birth, Isydora, who was 25 years old at the time of rather than “twist their necks” by not writing them. was 25 years old at the time of not writing them. Klyment, Lesya's husband, generations, Lesya enjoyed writing Klyment, Lesya's husband, sent a telegram to our mother (writer generations, Lesya enjoyed writing letters sent a telegram to our mother (writer Olena Pchilka) asking her to come to letters openness, her trusting nature, and Olena Pchilka) asking her to come to Surami in the Caucasus. We knew what openness, her trusting nature, and her love for family, friends, and pe Surami in the Caucasus. We knew what her love for family, friends, and pe this telegram meant. I went with Mot h- ple in general. Lesya Ukrainka's sister, this telegram meant. I went with Mot in bed. Her husband ple in general. Lesya Ukrainka's sister, Olha Kryvyniuk, managed to save some of in bed. Her husband did not leave her bedside; he whispered to us Olha Kryvyniuk, managed to save some of the letters from the ravages of war, and they did not leave her bedside; he whispered to us that the disease (tuberculosis) had spread to her the letters from the ravages of war, and they were published in 1971 by th
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