Two events occurred simultaneously at Lesia Ukrainka Volyn State University on Feb. 8: the opening of The Day’s photography exhibit and the launch of the latest two books from our newspaper’s Library Series: Day and Eternity of James Mace and The Apocrypha of Klara Gudzyk. Attending the ceremonies were Volodymyr Karpuk, deputy chairman of the Lutsk Oblast Administration; Sviatoslav Kravchuk, deputy chairman of the city administration; Ihor Kotsan, rector of the university; lecturers and students from the faculties of history, philology and international relations, as well as pupils from the journalism studio at Lutsk High School No. 14, librarians, and local newspaper and television journalists.
“These are brilliant works,” Rector Kotsan said, opening the photography exhibit. “When you see these photos, you think they are expressing all the details of our life, which is sometimes impossible to do in words only. To be frank, I like looking at photographs even more than paintings because, obviously, they truly depict that which is very difficult to depict: time. It will be interesting to see photos taken in the early 21st century, in 50 years or so.” Ms. Ivshyna replied: “Surely, the perspective from which these talented masters of photography snapped their shots will amply illustrate the course of modern history, and although we have already blazed the trail to people through words, we do not reject another way of communicating with them — through images. Our projects are aimed at galvanizing the public, so that people will better understand our mistakes, for example, why has Ukraine’s every attempt to gain independence and build a state of its own ended in a fiasco? Maybe somebody will sense something new and begin to understand his nation and its history. We present history as an active way of thinking about the past, present, and future rather than as a set of bookish knowledge.”
It was clear from the questions and speeches of the assembled lecturers, students, and journalists that everyone had read at least one book from The Day ’s Library Series. The audience was very familiar with the first three publications: Ukraina Incognita, Dvi Rusi, and Wars and Peace. Incidentally, Ukraina Incognita was first launched at Volyn University soon after it was published in 2002. Since then interest in our work and book projects has steadily increased, as this gathering attested. Last Friday Den/The Day’s editor-in- chief Larysa Ivshyna met students of the Journalism Faculty of Ivan Franko Lviv National University.
Below are a few impressions from the publications and photographs that were displayed at the university.
Valentyna SHTANKO, editor of the National Renaissance section of the newspaper Volyn:
“I was deeply impressed by the book Day and Eternity of James Mace. It must always be exciting when a person of a different nationality and culture looks into the past of one’s people. Unfortunately, we still do not know much about the Holodomor. Still, when I look back on my childhood, I remember our neighbor, Aunt Nadia, whose family was nicknamed “Mylenki” (dears — Ed.). For a long time I could not understand why they were given this nickname. Later I learned that they were Ukrainians from southern Ukraine who had moved west, fleeing the famine. Whenever they begged for help, they would say, ‘My dears, for the love of Christ...’ In theory, we should have been seeking the truth even in those days, but it was not always possible in the system in which we lived.
“I would like as many of my compatriots as possible to read this book. I am now training future journalists at Lutsk’s High School No. 14, which has been offering an optional course on basic journalism for the last seven years, so I will do my best to make my students read this publication.”
Maya KHMELIUK, lecturer, Department of Ukrainian Literature:
“The photographs are very different, and so they stir up a lot of emotions. On the whole, the photography exhibit broadens one’s horizons and makes one look at the world differently, through the eyes of the person who is taking the photograph. Professionals do this in an expert, skillful, and unsurpassed way. The pictures ‘Many Roads’ and ‘Outside Time’ appealed to me the most, for they have a philosophical meaning and put you in a good mood. There are also photographs that show terrible moments of our reality, and in my opinion they should not necessarily be submitted to the competition — there are enough of these kinds of moments in our everyday life. Photography exhibitions are held at Lutsk’s House of Technology, but not very often and not on this scale. Thank you for coming here and livening up our routine. Have you seen the city yet? I am sure you will discover a lot of interesting nooks and crannies. I’d like you to fall in love with Polissia the way Lina Kostenko did — just read her poems ‘I Want to Go to Lake Svitiaz’ or ‘Polissia Is Carrying Mushrooms in a Basket’.”
Reports on The Day’s visit to Lutsk, including the photography exhibit and book launch, and our visit to the unique Museum of Volyn Icons and the famous Castle of Liubar, will appear in upcoming issues of The Day.
