Miners inaugurate literary parlor

A literary parlor was recently opened at the Oles Honchar Center of Ukrainian Language Culture in National Mining University (NHU), one of Dnipropetrovsk’s leading higher educational establishments. On the first Wednesday of each month students can socialize with members of the creative intelligentsia of Dnipropetrovsk city and oblast, and other regions of Ukraine. According to the organizers’ intentions, the parlor will provide a tribune to various generations of people who love literature — poetry and prose — and beginner writers, including students. In a certain sense the old wonderful tradition of poets and writers mixing with readers — like in the 1960s during Khrushchev’s “Thaw” — is being revived.

The creation of the literary parlor was initiated by the director of the Institute of Humanitarian Problems at NHU, Professor Viktor Pushkin, and the head of the oblast branch of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine, Lesia Stepovychka. The latter said that there is a long-standing friendship between Dnipropetrovsk writers and National Mining University, where, despite its generally technical orientation, considerable attention is paid to the humanitarian component of the higher education curriculum.

The rector of NHU, Hennadii Pivniak, signed an agreement on cooperation with the writers’ organization, according to which the university will provide support for the publication of the poetry library of the literary magazine Sicheslav.

Literary soirees and meetings with prominent writers visiting Dnipropetrovsk have been held many times at National Mining University. Local miners and writers have also established literary awards named after Valerian Pidmohylny, Dmytro Kedrin, and Ivan Sokulsky. The presentation of the Sokulsky award, named in honor of the poet, dissident, Soviet political prisoner, and one of the founders of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, took place during the opening of the literary parlor.

This year’s laureate is Dnipropetrovsk poet Yurii Kybets, who marked his creative anniversary by the publication of his book The Prophet. The star of the evening read poems from his book to students assembled in the nearly packed lecture hall. Songs composed by Kybets in collaboration with Dnipropetrovsk-based composers were also performed. One of the performers was Colonel Oleksii Khorkhota of Ukraine’s armed forces, proving that people with epaulets are not aloof from service and devotion to the Muses.