Ivan Dziuba on Lina Kostenko

The first print run of the long-awaited publication There Are Poets for All Epochs (so far under the national program Ukrainian Book, i.e. for libraries only) came out the other day. Neither the book’s author Ivan Dziuba nor the heroine Lina Kostenko has seen it yet. They confess they are very much afraid of advance copies, the publishers told The Day. Incidentally, the Lybid publishing house, which had the honor of working on the book, has courteously offered The Day one of the first preprints. And if Ms. Kostenko and Mr. Dziuba are reading these lines now, we can assure them: it is exactly what Lina Kostenko enthusiasts have awaited so long. It is her almost intimate sincerity against the back­ground of the incredible peripeteia that rocked our state in the late 20th century, against the background of extraordinary names, figures, and a great character. Lina Kostenko’s interviewer is her dau­ghter Oxana Pachliovska, another figure whose name always attracts the reader and perhaps the only person who could maintain the high bar of the con­ver­sa­tion.

As we have already noted, the book is not yet out on sale – it can only be found in libraries. The publishers are sure this will not last long: they will do their best to meet any public demand for this book and to systematically print the publication so that “all those who take interest in the current lite­rary process in Ukraine” can buy it. Here is what Olena Boiko, director of the Lybid publishing house, says about the work on the book and what readers can expect to see in the nearest future:

“The Lybid publishers are very proud to have a permanent team of authors. We cooperate with the leading Ukrainian academics and writers of today. Every instance of this cooperation is an event in the publishing house’s life. We highly appreciate each of our authors. But the past two years have been just a new page in our team’s work. Publishing Lina Kostenko’s oeuvres has filled the publishing house’s sails with fresh air. This author is inimitable in her creative work and book publishing. You will agree that five publications in less than two years is quite a lot. Working on these books also enabled us to look into the oeuvre of such figures as the artist Serhii Yakutovych and the actor Petro Boiko. I think the way Lina Kostenko works on her books deserves to be studied. We so much wished the readers to see what we saw when we peeked into Kostenko’s studio. We unexpectedly began to talk about this recently with Ivan Dziuba, when was writing an article on Lina Kostenko for a literary encyclopedia. We then asked him to find the time and an opportunity to make a book on Kos­ten­ko. In spite of being very busy and having a very tight schedule, Mr. Dziuba agreed to do so. This is how the idea in fact emerged. And, as Ms. Kostenko’s oeuvre has been gaining momentum in the past few years, Mr. Dziuba has always been reflecting it in his research. When the research-related part was over, another problem arose: the reader has no source to get information about their favorite poet except for very concise and reserved lines in reference publications. So we requested Mr. Dziuba to broaden the biographical part, and he in turn – as he himself writes in the book – requested Ms. Kostenko to emphasize what she considers important. These conversations turned out to be so interesting and artistically attractive that it was impossible to finish them in the course of one session. By a sheer twist of fate, Lina’s daughter Oxana Pachliovska was in Kyiv at the time and she got involved in and, la-ter, took over this work in order to help Dziuba. This resulted in the publication of a book that has no analogues: one part, by Ivan Dziuba, deals with research into Lina Kostenko’s oeuvre and the other is also about her oeuvre but it is based on Lina’s autobiogra­phical stories.

“It seems to me it is by far the first instance of a frank talk with Lina Kostenko, which the reader can appreciate. She even allowed us to peek into her family albums – this is why the publication is illustrated with the fa­mi­ly photographs that the reader will see for the first time.

“I will reveal a secret for the readers: Oxana Pachliovska was all too keen on the idea of publishing a book on her mother. And, a few years later or, maybe, earlier, the reader will see a more comprehensive book on Lina Kostenko.”

Have you planned a high-profile launching of the publication yet?

“We are looking forward to one because every meeting of Kostenko and Dziuba with their readers and appreciators is quite an event in Ukraine’s cultural life. But it is an uncommon si­tuation: two geniuses in one book, who share the same views and attitudes and shun publicity. When the work on the book came to a close, Mr. Dziuba said: ‘I don’t like this kind of book launchings.’ And Ms. Kostenko says she does not like this kind of publicity. So the next stage of our work is to help them overcome their ‘bad attitude.’ If we succeed to do so, there will undoubtedly be a book launching. In ge­neral, we would like to launch the entire oeuvre Ms. Kostenko has done in the last while – after she had said: ‘I am coming back.’ But it is too early to discuss this. All the more so that the just-printed publication There Are Poets for All Epochs is a print run under the national program Ukrainian Book (a print run for libraries only, which readers cannot buy so far). The public print run will be on sale a little later. But we promise to print it as soon as possible, for we are aware of public impatience.”

Working with such masters as Ivan Dziuba and Lina Kostenko is a very high standard for a publishing team – from grammar and lexis to the general intellectual level…

“You can’t imagine the fear with which our publishing house works on Lina Kostenko’s books! For there are no books or newspapers that make no mistakes. It is a problem for all the leading publishers of the world. But we cannot afford to omit a comma or a letter in these publications. It would be beneath our dignity to do so – all the more so that the culture of book publishing is in total decline. Luckily, there are some islets that still keep the bar high. Incidentally, the Den Library also belongs to them, but there are very few of them at the moment.

“The overall situation is not so simple. Some publishing houses do not pay salary, others have touched the rock bottom altogether. But here we can see happy eyes: ‘Lina Kostenko has phoned today!’ ‘Lina Kostenko has proof-read the text!’ This is an absolutely different dimension of existence. It seems to me it is easier for our ‘creative laboratory’ to go through the vagaries of life, for it is a higher level of being. I can feel that people have become… more intellectual if you like. If somebody communicates with Kostenko or Dziuba, they get themselves prepared for these meetings, even for telephone calls. People beam with joy – this is what a good book and true poetry means for a publishing house!”