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1 4 WWW.UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛЮТИЙ 2018 Our Life in Anno Domini 1958 and a Few Other “8” Years by Tamara S. Cornelison Last year around this time, I pulled together a column on past decades of Our Life , the UNWLA, and the world, an entertaining experiment that involved perusing old issues of the magazine that occupy several shelves of bookcases in my basement. And once aga in, the journey uncovered several items of interest that made me laugh, made me think, and made me reminisce about people and places from a long gone past and things that underscored the permanency and continuity of our Ukrainian heritage as well as our di- apsora culture and customs. It also gave me a trip down memory lane, reminding me of women I have met, worked with, and admired over the years, whether in the capacity of writer or editor or human being. In the February 1958 issue of Our Life , I found a c olumn entitled “Forty Years of Struggle.” Penned by the indomitable Lydia Burachynska, who served as UNWLA president from 1971 to 1974 and served as editor - in - chief (mostly without the title) of Our Life for many decades, the column reflects on the 40th an niversary of Ukraine’s 1918 proclamation of independence, the blowback from Soviet Russia, and the resistance movement that arose in response to Moscow’s rapacious might. Burachynska’s column focuses on the role of women in this decades - long movement: “In this lengthy struggle, Ukrainian women have played a conspicuous part. They had already participated in the proclamation of independence in Kiev . . . and there were 11 Ukrainian women in the first Ukrainian Parliament. . . . The downfall of Ukrainian in- de pendence shook Ukrainian womanhood deeply and drew them into the ranks of freedom fighters who have never stopped the resistance against the invader and oppressor, but will continue the struggle abreast of the men . . . they served the cause as scouts, mes sengers, or leaders of detachments . . . They [were] among those sentenced to prison or execution.” Burachynska also cites the Ukrainian woman’s role in the resistance movement against the Nazis, the hundreds of Ukrainian women in UPA, the 500 Ukrainian w omen who perished as Russian tanks rolled over them in Kingir, Kazakhstan. The column ends with a reminder that February has been designated as the month honoring “valiant Ukrainian women who gave their lives . . . for freedom.” My personal connec- tion to M rs. Burachynska was brief but poignant as it was she who wrote and published an article about a trip I took with three Ukrainian American companions through Ukrainian villages in Romania. It was a story she wrote based on my oral narration and a pile of ph otographs I provided but was published with my name as author, a magnanimous gesture I have never forgotten, and one I suspect had a subliminal influence on at least one of the professional paths I trod many years later. In the February 1968 issue of Our Life , I came across another special person who was part of my journey during the years I served as editor - in - chief of the magazine. In the bottom right hand corner of page 21, I found a small item entitled “What to read.” The boxed title, embellished by tw o small drawings (one of a book cover and one of an open book), also includes a modest by - line, an italicized by Marty . The item in question provides a brief review of a book published in 1966, which includes “excerpts of writings” by Ivan Dzyuba and Ivan Svitlychny, two members of the Ukrainian dissident movement of the 1960s, as well as a “good bibliography” of their re spective work. The brief review is not gratuitously flattering as the reviewer ends her assessment of the work by mentioning the “awkward English translation” and an “abun- dance of typographical errors” that “detract very markedly from its usefulness.” The Marty who authored this review is Marta Tarnawsky, a woman I have known most of my life, who graciously agreed to serve as a member of my editorial board and provided much useful guidance and assistance and constructive crit- icism while I learned the ropes. The February 1978 issue of Our Life has two editors, one for each language: Ulana Liubovych for Ukrainian and Marta Baczynsky for English. Among other things, it features an announcement for a Con- test for Children on the theme of “Who Are We/Whose Childr en Are We?” in correlation with the Interna- tional Year of the Child proclaimed by the United Nations for 1979. The announcement provides Rules and Regulations for submission of artwork, prose, and/or poetry for various age groups, directing interested part icipants to submit their work to a Mrs. Irene Lonchyna in Detroit, Michigan, and noting that “Winners and prizes will be announced at the XVIII UNWLA Convention to be held in New York in May 1978.” This issue also includes the second part of a column on V iews & News in Woman’s World penned by Motria Kushnir, a woman I grew up with, whom I remember as a staunch advocate for women’s rights and a champion of women’s capabilities long before it was fashionable to be either. In her article, Motria
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