Turning the pages back... June 10, 1976 (06/10/01)

Turning the pages back...

June 10, 1976

Twenty-five years ago, on June 10, Roman Kupchynsky, a veritable troubadour of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, a poet and a writer, a man who symbolized one of the most glorious periods in Ukraine's modern history, died after a prolonged illness that plagued him in the waning years of his life.

Born on September 24, 1894, in Rozhadiv in western Ukraine, in a priestly family, Mr. Kupchynsky acquired his secondary education in the Peremyshl Gymnasium. After graduating in 1913 he enrolled at the Lviv Theological Seminary but attended it for only one year. Talented in sports, young Kupchynsky won the discus throw and the shot put at the all-Galician track and field competition in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I.

Immediately joining the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, Kupchynsky fought with the unit in the war of Ukrainian liberation. He achieved the rank of lieutenant. After a stint in a Polish POW camp, he returned to Lviv and attended for two years the Ukrainian Secret University while writing poetry, satire, feuilletons and short stories for various Ukrainian publications. His first poem was published in 1915 in the Herald of the Association for the Liberation of Ukraine.

It was his ubiquitous talent that made him the logical choice to head the Society of Writers and Journalists in Lviv. His penname "Halaktion Chipka" became famous in subsequent years, which saw him and his family go through the wanderings of World War II and eventual settlement in the United States. Kupchynsky continued to write, contributing to many publications, including the Svoboda daily. His book "Hunting Stories" appeared in 1964, and a year later he published a satirical poem, titled "Skoropad," again on the Sich Riflemen theme.

One of the founders of Chervona Kalyna Publishers in Lviv, Kupchynsky was among the first to renew the prolific activity of this Ukrainian publishing house in the United States in 1952. He was among the co-founders of the Ukrainian Journalists Association of America and headed this organization in 1958, but failing health compelled him to limit his activity in Ukrainian community life. In 1966 the Journalists Association bestowed the distinction of honorary president upon Mr. Kupchynsky.

Source: "Roman Kupchynsky, Poet, Writer, Journalist, Dies," The Ukrainian Weekly, June 19, 1976.

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