“Let <I>The Day</I> be the writ of our history”
T he Friday before last marked the day of The Day in Cherkasy, which stood out for two events associated with our newspaper, the presentation of a book, Ukraine Incognita and the opening of a photo exhibition, The New Day: Light and Shadows.
The first thing to catch the eye in the foyer of the oblast universal scientific library named for Taras Shevchenko was the stand entitled Cherkasy Oblast on the Pages of The Day. The conference room for 140 seats was packed. Teachers and students, representatives of creative circles, scholars, rank-and- file enthusiasts of Ukrainian history, as well as mass media representatives, all flocked to meet with The Day’s Editor-in-Chief Larysa Ivshyna (photo), who came for the presentation of Ukraine Incognita, the first book in a series of The Day’s Library. The meeting opened with a word of greeting from Anatoly Yuzefovych Chaban, oblast administration deputy head, who, incidentally, was one of its initiators. The official’s intention to bring to his fellow countrymen a collection of unmatched essays addressing the blank pages in our nation’s history, most of which have not appeared anywhere except on The Day’s pages, is only natural. Prof. Chaban is widely reputed among his colleagues and historians to be concerned with preserving the glorious past of his native land. During the presentation, many speakers expressed gratitude to our newspaper, which published this book under the auspices of the State Tourist Organization of Ukraine. But the quintessence comes down to the words of Hryhory Bilous, head of the regional organization of the National Writers’ Union of Ukraine: “Let The Day be the writ of our history!” At the end, Larysa Ivshyna presented a number of copies of Ukraine Incognita to Liliya Kapkayeva, the library director, and representatives of other Cherkasy libraries. In an expression of gratitude, a trio of bandura players, Verbena, performed.
The presentation was followed by the opening of the photo exhibition, The New Day: Light and Shadows, on the premises of the Cherkasy Arts Museum. Arguably, the general impression of the exhibition was best expressed by the museum director, Viktor Sobchenko, in his opening address: “We planned all of the November expositions in advance, but representatives of The Day talked us into rescheduling some of the exhibitions. We are not sorry that we agreed to do so. Our galleries are yet to see as artful and technically consummate photos as these. It gives us great pleasure to be able to present this wonderful exhibition to Cherkasy residents at our museum.” Serhiy Korepanov, head of the regional organization of the Union of Photo Artists of Ukraine, said that he has come to believe that The Day’s photo contests are truly prestigious and worth taking part in. Hopefully, these words were not only a courtesy. And when we announce the next, Fifth Photo Contest of The Day, whose details will be carried in our New Year’s issue, the Cherkasy masters of photography will show that they are good enough to compete with the regular participants of our competitions.
The official part was followed by an informal discussion over a goblet of dry wine. But it was not the wine that warmed the friendly atmosphere but the splendid music courtesy of the chamber orchestra of the Cherkasy Oblast Philharmonic.
