“Professional journalism is impossible without historical knowledge”

Last week the National Mining University of Dnipropetrovsk hosted a presentation of the most recent additions to The Day’s Library Series: Day and Eternity of James Mace and Klara Gudzyk’s Apocrypha. It was the first such presentation of our books after their successful debut at this year’s Publishers’ Forum in Lviv. The initiative to hold this presentation came from the university’s professors, who invited their students, as well as those of the National University of Dnipropetrovsk and the local National University of Rail Transport, to meet with The Day’s chief editor.

The publications of the American scholar James Mace, who opened the world’s eyes to the tragedy of the Ukrainian Holodomor, are well known in Dnipropetrovsk from the pages of our newspaper, much like the Friday columns of the popular religious journalist Klara Gudzyk. “In my library I have all of The Day’s books,” says Volodymyr Demchenko, dean of the Faculty of Mass Communication Systems and Means at the National University of Dnipropetrovsk, adding, “I have found a practical application for each one of them: I quote from them when holding lectures and workshops, and advise my students to read them. They frequently undergo hands-on training at other schools of higher learning. On her return from the University of Lviv one student said that they practice journalism there, whereas here such disciplines as history and literature prevail. This struck me greatly. I want them to understand that professional journalism is impossible without the knowledge of history and literature.”

Presenting the new books in The Day’s Library Series, Chief Editor Larysa Ivshyna said, “The publication of Day and Eternity of James Mace and Klara Gudzyk’s Apocrypha is a milestone event for us. The former was published with the money of the newspaper’s staff. This is our tribute to the memory of Jim. It seems to me that, influenced by the subject of the Ukrainian Holodomor, which he explored exhaustively, this American scholar became a political Ukrainian. He greatly empathized with us, cautioning us against allowing anyone to turn the Ukrainian world into a reservation. After all, the globalized world can overwhelm us unless we manage to find our own identity.” She added, “I always say that while Day and Eternity of James Mace is a tale of our wounds, Klara Gudzyk’s Apocrypha is a tale of our remedy. Klara Pylypivna [Gudzyk] is a highly educated person, who speaks several Western European and Slavic languages. For those who feel the need to discover Ukrainian philosophy and history, learn about the development of its art and literature, Klara Gudzyk’s Apocrypha is a must read.”

When it came to the discussion of the book Day and Eternity of James Mace, the words spoken by professors and students were often very personal. They spoke about the tragedies of their families, thereby adding to James Mace’s three-volume compilation of Holodomor survivors’ testimonies, entitled Oral History Project. At that instant it became clear that on November 26, the day of remembrance for Holodomor victims, they will light candles in their windows in memory of the millions of Ukrainians who died of hunger, among whom were many of their own relatives.

Read about this trip to Dnipropetrovsk and the presentation of the new books in particular in the coming issues of The Day.