Unwritten Family Histories

On May 27 the National Writers’ Union of Ukraine hosted a ceremony in Kyiv to award the 2005 Dmytro Nytchenko Prize to this year’s winners, among them The Day’s editor-in-chief Larysa Ivshyna; Volodymyr Panchenko, vice-president of Kyiv Mohyla Academy and one of our regular contributors; Oleksandr Afonin, president of the Association of Ukrainian Publishers and Book Distributors; Vasyl Hei, head of the Volyn regional organization of the National Writers Union of Ukraine; Viktor Kachula, editor-in-chief of the Crimean newspaper Krymska svitlytsia; Ostrih Academy rector Ihor Pasichnyk; Sofia Tiutiun, deputy editor-in-chief, literary department of the National Radio Company of Ukraine; Svitlana Yovenko, head of the poetry and criticism department of the journal Vitchyzna; Prof. Anatoliy Pohribny, Taras Shevchenko National University; Nadiya Myronets, department head, Hrushevsky Institute of Archeography and Source Studies.

This prize was founded 4 years ago by the Ukrainian Philanthropists’ League, specifically by Dmytro Nytchenko’s daughters Lesia Tkach and Halyna Kosharska. It is conferred on journalists, critics, publishers, and librarians for special achievements in promoting Ukrainian books and other publications. In his day Dmytro Nytchenko was also a promoter, in his capacity as a writer, journalist, teacher, and philanthropist. After immigrating to Australia in 1949, he taught in Ukrainian parochial schools, presided over the Vasyl Symonenko Literary and Artistic Club, and headed the Australian branch of the Slovo Association of Ukrainian Writers. He was also a member of the Shevchenko Scientific Society and organized the ethnic Ukrainian community’s educational and cultural life on that distant continent. “My father was always extremely active, teaching in the Saturday school, publishing the almanac Novyi obriy, editing his and others’ books, staging literary soirОes in various cities. If a soirОe was held in Melbourne, he would notify everyone and ask them to attend; he’d be the first to arrive and set up all the chairs in the hall. In his final years (Mr. Nytchenko passed away in 1999 — Ed.) my father was interested only in Ukraine. Even his family came second,” says Lesia Tkach, who flew to Kyiv specially to attend the author’s centennial.

In fact, the awards ceremony was a smooth segue to another creative soirОe, as the prize winners enlarged on the achievements of the noted Australian Ukrainian. “Dmytro Nytchenko’s family is a clan of selfless champions, who taught us to safeguard our Ukrainian identity in a very complex environment,” said Larysa Ivshyna, adding: “Such selflessly dedicated Ukrainians cherished genuine Ukrainian history in Australia and Canada for quite some time...This history is now being restored to us, probably in a different, more mature format. There are also a great many people here who did their utmost to preserve our history. This mostly unwritten history of such families as the Nytchenkos deserves to be studied in depth. Perhaps this will generate another truthful version of Ukrainian history, one that is rooted in such dedicated and genuine Ukrainian families. I was thrilled to read that the writer started in Australia as a quarry worker. I know that my grandfather’s brother had to earn his living pulling out tree stumps in Argentina...They earned their Diaspora money with back-breaking labor, and many people would later assume that they had earned their money the easy way. The truth that they preserved is still not accurately perceived in Ukraine. Otherwise, we would have our First National Channel cameras in this room, and more journalists. Ukrainians still cannot see themselves the way they should. We must enter Europe as Ukrainians, rather than parentless children.”

The editor-in-chief then went on to acquaint the audience with the books from The Day’s Library Series (Ukraine Incognita, Dvi Rusi, and Wars and Peace). Mykhailo Slaboshpytsky, executive director of the Ukrainian Philanthropists’ League, said that the newspaper was awarded the prize for these editions: “I’m one of hundreds of thousands of readers who have kept the clippings from The Day that dealt with our national history and culture, without knowing that we’d eventually have these books.” Larysa Ivshyna presented our trio of books to Ms. Lesia Tkach.

Volodymyr Panchenko said he considers his winner’s diploma acknowledgement of his series of articles for this newspaper’s book project. He shared his exciting impressions of the 50th International Book Fair in Warsaw, and particularly the book series entitled “This Is Actually Poland.” He explained his admiration by citing an epigraph from the books: “A poet and a young lady are pondering the question: no matter how much you travel round the world, you cannot find Poland. But there is one little cell that will help you find it: your heart. I think the books published by The Day are obviously a Ukrainian analog of the Polish series, and our title could be ‘This Is Actually Ukraine.’

All the winners can boast of certain achievements. Viktor Kachula, editor-in-chief of Krymska svitlytsia, has been publishing his newspaper under trying circumstances for the past 5 years (the edition was founded 13 years ago). He is constantly looking for funds, which are perpetually lacking; the staff has worked without pay for almost 5 months. The scholar, Nadiya Myronets, published a series of articles about writers who were destroyed during the Soviet purges. The poet and prose writer, Vasyl Hei, manages the Petro Jacyk International Ukrainian Language Competition at the oblast level. On his initiative a dilapidated ravine known as Nechymne in Volyn oblast was tidied up — it was there that Lesia Ukrainka visited her Uncle Lev, and the poetess described its charming environs in the play The Forest Song.

There is a fine old tradition of giving financial support to education, scholarship, and the arts. We know that wealthy Ukrainian families abroad, and those with more modest incomes, bequeath large sums to the church, book-publishing, monuments, schools, museums, and other worthy causes. Obviously some of this philanthropic aid is headed our way. What Natalia Kobrynska described as “laborers of the spirit” seems to apply to those who are helping us and those being helped. The resulting benefits are meant for one and all. The Dmytro Nytchenko awards ceremony can well serve as an example and an object lesson.