Fifteen years ago, on March 5, 2006, the Elias artistic-historical museum in Riga, Latvia, hosted an exhibition showcasing the works of Lesia Ukrainka, on the occasion of the 135th anniversary of the poet’s birth.
The exhibition was organized by the cultural-enlightenment society, in cooperation with the Embassy of Ukraine in Latvia and a range of public organizations in Latvia under the joint project “Let’s Be Acquainted: We Are Ukrainians.”
Raul Chilchava, ambassador of Ukraine to Latvia, noted the significant contribution of Ukrainka’s works to Ukrainian and world literature, stressing the necessity to organize such events to promote friendly relations between countries. Within the framework of the exhibition, a performance of Ukrainka’s best-known drama, “Forest Song” (Lisova Pisnia) was staged by Latvia pupils.
Going back to February 27, 1971, The Ukrainian Weekly’s editorial that was dedicated to the centennial of Lesia Ukrainka’s birth stated: “…one of the fiery Ukrainian writers and a literary figure second in stature only to Taras Shevchenko. Born in Volynia in a cultured family, Laryssa Kosach-Kvitka, as she was known by her family name, wrote her first poem at the age of nine. Studious, intelligent and burning with creative genius that undermined her already frail health plagued by tuberculosis, Lesia Ukrainka left a treasury of poetic and dramatic works which established her as one of the most original writers in Europe. Prematurely dead before she had reached her 42nd birthday, Lesia Ukrainka is revered by Ukrainians the world over for her spirit, for the strength of courage, which helped her to emerge from the depths of physical suffering without falling into despair. ‘Contra Spem Spero’ – hoping against hope – was as much her own sustenance as the message she left for her suffering people. A proud Ukrainian, she scorned docile servility and forged the ‘spirit of the flame’ as a legacy for her people.
There is need today for this spirit to burn and to live by. That we would do so was perhaps Lesia’s greatest hope.”
Lesia Ukrainka continues to play an important part in Ukrainian life, including the schools of Ukrainian studies that are named in honor of Lesia Ukrainka, to Ukrainian organizations that have her as their patron, among other examples. A bust monument of Lesia Ukrainka can be found on the grounds of the Soyuzivka Heritage Center in Kerhonkson, N.Y., which is owned by the Ukrainian National Foundation, the charitable arm of the Ukrainian National Association. The monument is located in front of the Main House, near the Vorokhta building.
Source: “Latvia hosts Lesia Ukrainka exhibit,” (Ukrinform), The Ukrainian Weekly, March 5, 2006.