u/Dry-Gap-9098

Photo by J. Dutkevych. Yabluniv is located in the Kosiv District, Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Люди. У мене питання. Я заходжу на сабреддіт, присвячений класиці, і бачу там просто море Толстоєвських і Набокових. У той час як ця сама культура з її "загадковою широкою душею" спалює мільйонами наші книжки й підручники...

Я розумію, що Росія багато років вливала купу грошей у популяризацію та романтизацію всього цього. Але чому я не бачу, щоб наші так само активно розповідали про нашу культуру іноземній аудиторії???

Так, класно, що для українців з'явилося багато контенту про нашу літературу. І багато українців загалом виходять із російського контексту й починають заново відкривати своїх. Але чому немає такого самого на іноземну аудиторію???

Наші люди офігезні. Від Лесі Українки, яка подорожувала світом і писала, писала, попри постійний біль, до Софії Яблонської - першої тревел-блогерки 😆 І Юрія Будяка, який став вождем африканського племені та врятував Черчилля.

Та одні їхні життя вже на голлівудський фільм тягнуть.

Та й творчість нічим не гірша. Невже немає якихось програм? Чи проєктів?

(Так, я знаю про переклади багатьох книжок англійською. Слава Богу, хоч це почали робити. Але ж це потрібно популяризувати. А не просто видати книжку й чекати, поки її хтось прочитає... 😐)

Що думаєте???

The Poltava region holds a special place in history, as it serves as the historical heartland for the development of modern Ukrainian ethnicity, culture, and literary language. In fact, it was the Poltava dialect that foundational writers like Ivan Kotlyarevsky and Taras Shevchenko chose as the basis for the modern Ukrainian literary tongue.This heritage is beautifully reflected in her attire. She is wearing a traditional embroidered shirt (vyshyvanka) featuring distinctive Poltava-style satin stitch embroidery and wide, voluminous sleeves. Over it, she wears a kersetka (a sleeveless velvet vest with a peplum design), which is a uniquely Ukrainian piece of women's apparel. Her look is completed with traditional Ukrainian neckwear, including layered bead necklaces (namysto) and metallic coin pendants (dukach).What makes this image particularly fascinating is how it captures a moment in the 1850s when the Ukrainian urban intelligentsia and wealthy middle class masterfully blended their cultural identity with Western European trends. Instead of adopting Moscow-style fashions or Imperial court dress, this young lady chose to combine a French crinoline skirt with her native Ukrainian vyshyvanka and kersetka

This photo captures Natalia Marak, a local schoolteacher from the village of Bila near Chortkiv (Ternopil region, Western Ukraine). She was the daughter of a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest.At the time this photo was taken, Western Ukraine was under Polish rule. For the local Ukrainian intelligentsia, wearing a traditional embroidered shirt (vyshyvanka) combined with modern European fashion - like her elegant skirt and hat - was not just a style choice. It was a subtle, elegant statement of their national identity and cultural dignity.Sadly, this peaceful moment was captured just months before September 1939, when the outbreak of World War II completely changed the region forever.

The building became a symbol of the "Executed Renaissance" era: dozens of its residents were later subjected to Soviet repression and destroyed by the Stalinist regime, including Maik Yohansen himself in 1937.

*"Slovo" in English "Word"

Lesya Ukrainka… (Her real name was Larysa Petrivna Kvitka-Kosach). She was the daughter of Olena Pchilka-one of the pioneers of Ukrainian feminism, an incredibly powerful woman who deserves a whole post of her own. I absolutely adore Lesya! I collect her books, poetry collections, letters, and diaries. I even have a small figurine of her.

Lesya spoke more than 10 languages, including ancient languages like Ancient Greek and Latin, and translated world classics into Ukrainian. She traveled extensively across the globe, living and visiting places like Egypt, Georgia, Italy, Germany, and Austria, drawing inspiration from different cultures while also seeking treatment for her health. For 30 years, she fought tuberculosis of the bones, joints, and lungs, undergoing numerous surgeries while living in constant physical pain. Yet, she despised the image of a victim. Her most famous line is: “To keep from crying, I laughed.” At just 19 years old, she wrote a textbook called "The Ancient History of Eastern Peoples" for her younger sisters. Coming from an old, wealthy noble family, she used her own family's funds to organize an expedition to the Poltava region to record the songs of traditional kobzars (blind folk bards) on a phonograph. Thanks to her, ancient Ukrainian epic poems (dumy) were saved from oblivion.

Lesya and her circle constantly bypassed the strict Ems Ukaz of 1876 (which banned the Ukrainian language in print, theater, and education) by publishing books abroad, using pseudonyms, changing spelling systems, and disguising their writings. She chose this name in honor of her beloved uncle, Mykhailo Drahomanov (a famous scholar and publicist). She was his biggest fan! But the pseudonym also served as a shield, hiding her real name from the Czarist secret police to protect her noble family from repressions. The drama-fantasy "The Forest Song" (Lisova Pisnia). Lesya wrote it in just 10-12 days during a severe, painful flare-up of her illness. She wrote her best dramas lying in bed with a high fever, when her joints ached so badly she could barely hold a pen. "The only man in Ukrainian literature" - This is how writer Ivan Franko ironically described her, admiring her incredible strength of spirit that surpassed most male writers of her time. Her characters are not sufferers-they are titans, rebels, and prophets who stand up against the system even when they know they might lose.

My amateur translation:

As a child, if I happened to fall

And hurt myself along the way,

Though the pain reached deep into my heart,

I would quietly rise again.

"Does it hurt?" they used to ask,

But I never would admit it.

I was a proud little girl-

Rather than cry, I laughed.

But now, when every tragedy

Ends as someone's cruel joke,

And a sharp, malicious epigram

Is about to strike-

I fear the merciless weapon of laughter.

Forgetting all my childish pride,

I choose to cry,

Rather than laugh.

The artist is Serhii Kapran, from Kharkiv region, originally from the village of Levkivka, Ukraine.

“In the Spring Garden” - oil on canvas, 70 × 110 cm.

This photo was taken at an exhibition in the Kharkiv Metro.

This is only a part of the painting.My favorite part of the painting 🥰