Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ally from Boyarka, near Kyiv. Another unusual hit is the hard-rock Death Valley Scream-
ers, fronted by a Yorkshireman, Sean Carr, who is married to Evgeniya Tymoshenko,
daughter of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.
Bandura
'buskers' can often be seen strumming in Kyiv and Lviv for the tourists. In Lviv,
look outside the Grand Hotel.
Literature
Taras Shevchenko is
the
figure towering over all Ukrainian literature. Literally. Statues
of Shevchenko now stand on pedestals vacated by Lenin across the entire west of the
country. Shevchenko (1814-61) embodied and stirred the national consciousness, while
achieving literary respectability for a Ukrainian language then suppressed under tsarist
Russian rule. Born a serf and orphaned as a teenager, Shevchenko studied painting at the
Academy of Arts in St Petersburg, where in 1840 he published his first work,
Kobzar
(The Bard), a book of eight romantic poems. It was a great success and his epic poem
Haidamaky
(1841) and ballad
Hamaliia
(1844) followed soon afterwards. Later works,
such as
Son
(The Dream),
Kavkas
(Caucasus) and
Velyky Lokh
(The Great Dungeon),
were not immediately published but are now held in great affection.
Through Shevchenko's prolific work, Ukrainian was elevated from a peasant tongue to
a vehicle of eloquent and poetic expression. Combining vernacular expressions and col-
loquial dialects with Church Slavonic, he formed a unique voice. He passionately
preached social justice, in universal terms as well as to the downtrodden peasant and the
Ukrainian nation, referring to 'this land of ours that is not our own'. A staunch anti-tsar-
ist, the poet was banished to Siberia for 10 years, which led to his premature death in
1861. In 1876 Tsar Alexander II banned all Ukrainian topics and publishing, but
Shevchenko's message remained. He was, and is, a Ukrainian hero.
In addition to Shevchenko there are three other Ukrainian writers who rate a mention.
Ivan Franko (1856-1916) is another hero who promoted the Ukrainian language. His
better-known writings include
The Turnip Farmer, The Converted Sinner
and
During
Work;
he was also a prolific poet.
Equally distinguished was Larysa Kosach (1871-1913), known by her pen name,
Lesia Ukrainka. Her frail health inspired her to compose deeply moving poetry express-
ing inner strength and inspiration - symbolic beatitudes for the Ukrainian people. Her
Forest Song
inspired a ballet, an opera and a film.
Greatly influenced by Taras Shevchenko, Mikhailo Kotsyubinsky (1864-1913) was
probably the finest Ukrainian literary talent around the turn of the century. His novels are
