THE UNA FORUM

Dmytriw's pioneering 1897 short story set in Canada now available in English

EDMONTON - The oldest work of Ukrainian prose fiction written and set in Canada is now available in an English translation by Jars Balan of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. Titled "Ruthenian Easter - and a French Catholic Priest," the short story was authored on May 8, 1897, by the Rev. Nestor Dmytriw, editor of Svoboda, during his historic tour of Ukrainian pioneer settlements in western Canada.

Published 12 days later at Mount Carmel, Pa., in the newspaper Svoboda, the story depicts an attempt by immigrants to celebrate a traditional Easter in Calgary while making their way to homesteads in the Kalyna Country region of east central Alberta. Probably inspired by an actual event, "Ruthenian Easter" ends on a comic note of linguistic and cultural misunderstanding, with the Ukrainians struggling unsuccessfully to communicate to a Roman Catholic priest that they wanted him to bless their pasky and baskets.

The translation can be found in the March-April issue of Alberta Views, a Calgary-based magazine devoted to provincial affairs and the arts. The magazine is available at better bookstores and newsstands in Alberta, while a summary of the issue's contents can be accessed online at www.albertaviews.ab.ca.

The Rev. Dmytriw (1863-1925) was a Greek-Catholic priest who was the first Ukrainian clergyman to travel to Canada. According to "Ukrainian American Citadel: The First 100 Years of the Ukrainian National Association," by Dr. Myron B. Kuropas, the Rev. Dmytriw celebrated the first Ukrainian liturgy in Canada in Terebowla, now Valley Spring, Manitoba. Dr. Kuropas notes also that the priest was a pioneer of Ukrainian Canadian literature.

In addition to writing a detailed account of his spring 1897 fact-finding trip to Ukrainian settlements in Manitoba and Alberta, he also wrote several short stories and anecdotal sketches that appeared in an irregular series called "Scenes from Canada," of which "Ruthenian Easter" was the first installment.

Svoboda published the Rev. Dmytriw's reports from Canada in a volume titled "Kanadiyska Rus': Podorozhni Spomyny (Canadian Rus': Memoirs Along the Road).

The Rev. Dmytriw was also an officer of the Ukrainian National Association, known until 1914 as the Rusyn National Association. He served as secretary of the fraternal benefit society in 1895-1896 and was editor of Svoboda in 1895-1897.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, April 11, 2004, No. 15, Vol. LXXII

| Home Page |