25th annual scholarly conference honors Taras Shevchenko (03/20/05)

25th annual scholarly conference honors Taras Shevchenko

NEW YORK - The Shevchenko Scientific Society (NTSh), the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences in the U.S. (UVAN), the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI) and the Harriman Institute of Columbia University (HICU) on March 5 co-hosted the 25th annual scholarly conference honoring Taras Shevchenko.

Welcoming remarks were delivered by Dr. Larissa Onyshkevych, president of NTSh, which hosted the conference at its building. Prof. Vasyl Makhno, who chaired the program, then introduced Dr. Anna Procyk (UVAN). In her lecture, "Shevchenko in the Evaluation of the Great Polish Emigration," Dr. Procyk offered interesting and little-known aspects of the poet's relations with Polish intellectuals.

Dr. Michael Naydan (NTSh), professor at Pennsylvania State University, lectured on "Shevchenko in English Translation in the 21st Century." By analyzing various translations of Shevchenko's poems, Dr. Naydan pointed out the difficulties in trying to convey in a different language the depth of their meaning. To demonstrate the problem, Prof. Antonina Berezovenko of Columbia University read excerpts from several of Shevchenko's poems in Ukrainian, which Dr. Naydan then read in English translations, mainly his own.

Dr. George Grabowicz (HURI) spoke on the subject "Shevchenko as Poet and Painter." Analysis of Shevchenko's poetry and art enables one to delve more deeply into the poet's psyche and to understand his development as a poet, he noted. Dr. Grabowicz showed many slides of Shevchenko's paintings, suggesting new ways of looking at them and encouraging the audience to examine the philosophical concepts underlying Shevchenko's creative expression.

There was a short discussion, after which Dr. Olexa Bilaniuk, president of UVAN, offered the closing comments. Regrettably, the planned lecture by Prof. Mark von Hagen (HICU) titled "Shevchenko in the Context of 19th Century Federalism in the Russian Empire" was cancelled.

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