BOOK NOTES

Anthology introduces new voices and a century of hidden stories

"Kobzar's Children: A Century of Untold Ukrainian Stories," edited by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. Markham, Ontario: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2006. ISBN 1-55041-997-8. 336 pp., $14.95 (Canadian).

by Paulette MacQuarrie

The kobzars were the blind minstrels of Ukraine, who memorized the epic poems and stories of 100 generations. Traveling around the country, they stopped in towns and villages along the way, where they told their tales and were welcomed by all. Under Stalin's regime, the kobzars were murdered. As the storytellers of Ukraine died, so too did their stories.

"Kobzar's Children" is an anthology of short historical fiction, memoirs and poems written about the Ukrainian immigrant experience. The stories span a century of history; and they contain stories of internment, homesteading, famine, displacement, concentration camps and this new century's Orange Revolution. Edited by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, "Kobzar's Children" is more than a collection; it is a moving social document that honors the tradition of the kobzars and revives memories once deliberately forgotten.

Ms. Skrypuch is the author of many books for children and young adults, including "Silver Threads," " Enough," "The Hunger," and "Hope's War." Her novel about the Armenian Genocide, Nobody's Child, was nominated for the Red Maple Award, the Alberta Rocky Mountain Book Award, and the B. C. Stellar Award; and it was listed by Resource Links as a Best Book.

Ms. Skrypuch has been honored by the World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations as a "Canadian Ukrainian Woman of Influence." The stories and poems in "Kobzar's Children" were written by a diverse group of people who first responded to Ms. Skrypuch's publications and eventually came to share their own stories via e-mail.

The stories, by writers from across Canada, are arranged in chronological order and include:

• "A Home of Her Own": A true story set in the early 1900s by the late Olga Prychodko, about her mother's misconceptions about immigrating to the wilds of Canada's west.
  
  
• "Andriy's Break": An internment story set during World War I and inspired by true events written by well-known story collector, Danny Evanishen.
  
  
• "It's Me, Tatia": An old woman reflects on lost love and fateful decisions as she remembers a summer long past, during the Winnipeg Strike. Written by award-winning short fiction writer, Brenda Hasiuk.
  
  
• "The Rings": Inspired by true events, a story of one child's escape from the 1930s Ukrainian Famine, written by Ms. Skrypuch.
  
  
• "The Red Boots": A slice of prairie homestead life in the late 1930s and based on an incident in her own father's childhood, this is the first children's story that Ms. Skrypuch ever wrote.
  
  
• "A Song for Kataryna": How could someone just disappear? Well known storyteller Linda Mikolayenko peels back the horrific details of her immigrant aunt's disappearance layer by layer in this beautifully written story.
  
  
• "Auschwitz: Many Circles of Hell": Stefan Petelycky's memoir of his imprisonment in the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II because of his involvement in OUN.
  
  
• "A Bar of Chocolate": This humorous tale by first-time author Natalia Buchok is about how her own father's quest for a bar of chocolate in a post World War II displaced persons camp leads him to dress as a girl and go on a date with an American soldier.
  
  
• "Bargain" : A humorous story with wry character sketches, set in the mid-1950s in the Warwaruk's meat market and general store in Glenavon SK. Written by award winning author, Larry Warwaruk.
  
  
• "Candy's Revenge": Set on a prairie farm in the 1950s, this story is about a city girl visiting her country cousin and how an innocent prank had unexpected consequences. Written by first-time author, Cornelia Bilinsky.
  
  
• "Changing Graves": A story based on a real incident in the 1970s about how a bizarre old-world request that a loved one's grave be moved closer to other relatives, ends in black comedy. Written by well-known children's entertainer, writer and poet, Sonja Dunn.
  
  
• "Christmas Missed": The story of a Canadian teen who travels to Ukraine during the Orange Revolution and how missing Christmas with his own family ends up teaching them all about the real meaning of family. Written by first-time author Paulette MacQuarrie.

In addition to the above twelve stories, the anthology contains a number of poems, including one written by Kim Pawliw when she was 15. It is a tribute to her grandmother, who was interned as a child in Spirit Lake Internment Camp during World War I. Kim wrote the poem in French and translated it herself into English. Both versions are included.

There are also poems by Sonja Dunn and Linda Mikolayenko. The anthology includes photographs supplied by the contributors and by people from across the country.

Contributors reside across the country, so events introducing "Kobzar's Children" were planned on an ongoing basis in a variety of locations with various contributors. The first launch was held on June 2 in Vancouver with Ms. Skrypuch and British Columbia's three contributing authors - Mr. Evanishen, Mr. Petelycky and Ms. MacQuarrie.

The book may be ordered from the publisher by calling 800-387-9776 or online via www.fitzhenry.ca.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, August 6, 2006, No. 32, Vol. LXXIV

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