Kobzar's Children: A Century of Untold Ukrainian Stories [Paperback]

 

 

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Ms. Skrypuch's passion has always been "to write stories that capture real experiences that have been suppressed or lost"--and, thus, this anthology came to be born. As she states, "We are the Kobzar's Children. Our parents and grandparents suffered in silence, with their life stories and histories either suppressed or falsified. This anthology tells a century of untold stories."

Honored as a Canadian Ukrainian Woman of Influence and as an author of seven books for children and young adults, many of which have been nominated for numerous awards, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch is editor of "Kobzar's Children: A Century of Untold Ukrainian Stories ("Kobzar's Children")" and contributor of two of its stories.

"As a child, she could only find one Ukrainian book written in English, so she started to read Russian stories, Polish stories, and Jewish stories. The more she read, the more she noticed a disturbing trend: `Ukrainians were often portrayed with negative stereotypes'--they were portrayed as buffoons, bullies, drunks, and murderers."

As an adult, she heard about the kobzars--blind, wandering minstrels of Ukraine who memorized long epic poems, which had been passed down generation to generation. "Those poems captured the rich history, the folk tales, and the cultural identity of Ukraine."

During Stalin's regime, kobzars intermingled the older tales with "contemporary stories of Soviet repression, famine, and terror. In the 1930s, Stalin called the first national conference of kobzars in Ukraine. Hundreds congregated. And then Stalin had them all shot. Stalin then rounded up Ukrainian journalists, artists, novelists, and playwrights, and murdered them, too."

For the Ukrainian, the word kobzar has special meaning--Kobzar is the title of (Ukrainian bard) Taras Shevchenko's first collection of poems, which was published in 1840. Shevchenko "is popularly known as The Kobzar. During Stalin's time, Shevchenko's writings were deliberately falsified."

The publication of "Kobzar's Children" was sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Government of Canada through BPIDP, and the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko. The cover image is from the Library and Archives of Canada. Each of the twenty writings is accented by artistic design work by accomplished illustrator Fortunato Aglialoro, and photos throughout have been supplied in many cases by the authors.

Twelve Ukrainian-Canadian authors (from Quebec, Ontario, and Western Canada) collaborated on this anthology of memoirs, historical fiction, and poetry that chronicles the lives and struggles of Ukrainian immigrants to Canada during the past one hundred years (1905-2004).

"More than a collection, it is a social document that revives memories once deliberately forgotten." Events heretofore described in articles, come to life as characters take on a very personal persona. The topics are as varied as their lengths--the shortest being a poem placed prominently on one page, the longest being a story spanning twenty-two pages. The reading is engrossing, informative, and thought inducing.

"Kobzar's Children" begins in the early 1900s with a fascinating recital of a family's homesteading and concludes in 2004 with an engrossing historical fiction dealing with the very real, recent Orange Revolution in Ukraine. Although the recommended reading level is ages 9 through 12, nevertheless, the adult will also benefit from this rich reservoir of remembrances. To enhance your reading experience, each author (Kobzar's Child) is given a face by way of a photo and brief resume.

The days of Ms. Skrypuch's youthful encounters with hostile, derogatory portrayals of Ukraine and Ukrainians are slowly metamorphosizing, as the Internet exposes to the world the true beauty and culture of Ukraine.

On June 14, 2008, former Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney gave a free concert in Kyiv, Ukraine before a live audience of 350,000 fans--it was "simultaneously broadcast on giant screens in Odesa, Donetsk, Lviv, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk, and on television, with an estimated 10 million people watching." The concert ("a mammoth 33-song set") started a half hour late due to the heavy pouring rains--which didn't dampen anyone's spirits, though!

"McCartney has made mention of Ukraine in a song with the Beatles. In the well-known hit "Back in the USSR" the Beatles sing: "The Ukraine girls really knock me out." Also, several years ago during the concert in St Petersburg in Russia Sir Paul in response to a greeting of Ukrainian fans suddenly took the microphone and said: "I send all my love to you, Ukraine."

Sir Paul McCartney took Ukrainian lessons for an hour, "hoping to be able to talk to the audience." During his three-day stay in Kyiv, "Sir Paul McCartney will open a personal exhibition of his artistic works, which will include 40 of his works at the PincukArtCentre." And, he'll bike Kyiv's streets seeing what his friends told him is "a beautiful city with lots of historic places." His video is on YouTube--see it. Kobzar's Children who witnessed this concert will pass along their stories for generations to come.

"Kobzar's Children: A Century of Untold Ukrainian Stories" should be in libraries worldwide, both public and personal! This is must read/must own material. A definite five-stars plus!--Mandrivnyk, Arlington Heights, IL, USA.

P. S. Readers, you're invited to view 152 images (photos) of Ukraine taken by me and posted on Amazon.co.uk (the 2003 edition of Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine by Anna Reid). I actually took thousands of photos, but this sample will give you an idea of Ukraine and her people.

Although there are more (179 total) photos on Amazon.com, the quality of the photos is bad-many of them show specs. My photos do not have specs. There is something wrong with Amazon.com's software. The photos on Amazon.co.uk are better quality (without specs).

Kobzar's Children is a lovely volume of stories and poems that tell of hardships endured through a dreadful history. Even so, hope, love and a quiet grace are mingled with the accounts of sorrow and suffering, allowing the overall message to be one that demands respect rather than pity.

Marsha Skrypuch has done an amazing job of editing and is to be congratulated for the work and care she so obviously invested in this book.

This book is really a moving social document . I enjoyed every part of it. The stories are short and beautifully written .

J. St-Onge ( from Quebec)

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