“Conrad had done long ago what I only wait for some Ukrainian writer to do. I mean someone daring to tell the whole world something about the whole world without limiting oneself in any way because of the fact that one is Ukrainian, but without rejecting the fact that one’s worldview has a Ukrainian focus either. Conrad represents expansion in the best sense of that word, when a tree’s roots and crown are completely different, but inseparable from each other,” noted Taras Prokhasko, the first winner of the Joseph Conrad Korzeniowski Literary Prize.
One can hope that the Ukrainian writer will not have to wait for a long time. After all, the Polish Institute regularly honors Ukrainian prose writers who, besides their consistency in pursuing their creative careers and innovating with the form, are also special due to their efforts to go beyond stereotypes and send a universal message.
This year’s award ceremony was a major anniversary event, for although only the sixth winner was chosen, the decade has passed since the foundation of the Joseph Conrad Korzeniowski Literary Prize (it is awarded once every two years). Another feature of the 2017 Award is it coinciding with the 160th anniversary of Conrad’s birth.
“I AM GLAD TO SEE US GROWING TOGETHER”
The award ceremony was opened by Jan Pieklo, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to Ukraine. He congratulated the guests and nominees, wishing: “Enjoy your writing!”
The nominees of this year’s prize were Liubko Deresh, Kateryna Kalytko, and Iryna Tsilyk. Since the rules of the contest for the prize say that nominees should be proposed by cultural institutions, publishers or private individuals, they were the first to speak.
In particular, the candidacy of Deresh was proposed by Anetta Antonenko. It was her publishing house that released the novels of the writer, both the first and the tenth ones. She shared her thoughts on creative ups and downs of the author, noting: “The prose of Deresh has changed a lot during these 15 years. He targeted young people, adolescents once, and today it is serious adult prose.” This is not surprising, because Deresh wrote his first novel The Cult at 18. In turn, the writer thanked all those present and wished success to other nominees, stressing: “I am glad to see us growing together.”
“TO KEEP AN EYE ON BERDYCHIV”
As was mentioned at the ceremony, Kalytko brings to the literature three things –mistake (an understanding that we are often mistaken), reality, and solidarity. Meanwhile, the author admitted herself that Conrad was a special person for her: “When I began to write prose, I wanted to be like Conrad when I grow up. After all, opening the borders, talking about things that are supposedly distant but are in fact those that lead us forward, it all seems to me to be among the main tasks of literature.”
The candidacy of the third nominee Tsilyk was proposed by Oksana Zabuzhko, who called her the queen of the most difficult genre, meaning short stories. She drew attention to Tsilyk’s ability to write, like Valerian Pidmohylnyi put it, “about people,” stressed her talent for showing the Other without prejudice. That is why, in her opinion, there are so many children among characters of the nominee’s works, as it is precisely they who have this clear, open outlook. And it is these features that are now very much needed for the Ukrainian-Polish dialog.
Zabuzhko also mentioned her family sentiment for Conrad (her maternal ancestors had some links with Berdychiv, where the Polish author was born). The writer stressed that Berdychiv is a city that gave classical writers to three literatures: Joseph Conrad, Vasily Grossman, who is underestimated in the Russian literature, and Vsevolod Nestaiko. Thus, she called on the Polish Institute to keep an eye on Berdychiv, to which Pieklo replied: “We do.”
Tsilyk thanked her supporters for putting their trust in her and added: “Perhaps I will be accused of unjustified optimism once again, but I am terribly pleased to observe what is happening now with Ukrainian literature. I have a feeling that there is a lot of fresh air, new energy in it. We see how new publishing houses, names, authors, books, which we can be proud of, are rapidly making an impact.”
Bohdan Zadura, who is a member of the jury of the prize, Polish writer and literary critic, agreed with this opinion. It was his speech that became the culmination of the evening. The writer skillfully kept the intrigue alive, from time to time defusing the audience’s tense wait with jokes. In particular, he commented on the proposal to represent the jury of the prize as follows: “I once said that despite the fact that I am the oldest of them [he is 72 years old. – Author], they have no one else who can perform this job.”
“PEOPLE OF CULTURE WILL ALWAYS BE ABLE TO OVERCOME ANY POLITICAL MISUNDERSTANDINGS”
At last, the envelope with the winner’s name was opened. The hall exploded with applause for Kalytko. She became the sixth winner of the Joseph Conrad Korzeniowski Literary Prize. The writer thanked everyone, including other nominees, and commented: “I am very grateful for the fact that we have one literature for all that we build as we can. And it turns out, it seems to me, to be not that bad.”
She also recalled some tense moments in the Polish-Ukrainian relations that happened already during Ukraine’s independence, and the fact that some members of the public even called on the nominees to reject the prize. However, she emphasized Poland’s important role for the Ukrainian discourse and new Europe. “It seems to me that people of culture will always be able to overcome any political misunderstandings. They are able to explain what is hurting people, to say what was not spoken about enough. That is why we need literature,” Kalytko asserted.
BOOK DIPLOMACY
Indeed, literature is a powerful source of soft power. Its role is especially important for Ukraine. When Ukrainians had no state of their own, books were both a platform for the development of our culture and ambassadors of Ukrainian identity to other countries, in which these books could be translated. So the books became diplomats of sorts who conducted their own dialogue or polylogue, which was much broader than the political one.
The Joseph Conrad Korzeniowski Literary Prize supports this non-political dialogue of cultures, which can become a quality alternative in a rather difficult time for Ukraine. Most likely, it is only by emphasizing shared features and respecting differences that we will be able to develop effective communication. This is exactly what the Polish Institute and the Joseph Conrad Korzeniowski Literary Prize have been doing for 10 years.
