“No other country will ever be able to make Ukraine Ukrainian. Only self-organized Ukrainians outside state structures will be able to do it. And I firmly believe that it will happen this way!” this was written by James Mace, American historian and journalist, researcher of the Ukrainian Holodomor of 1932-33 in an article for The Day. He himself was one of those “self-organized Ukrainians” who gradually changed Ukraine, though he wasn’t of Ukrainian descent. “Your dead chose me...” that’s how Mace explained his reason for moving to Ukraine, dedicating his whole life to it and wanted to be buried in Ukraine. And now the living people choose him too as a moral authority and an outlook guide.
The Apocrypha of Klara Gudzyk from The Day’s Library is a moral and spiritual testament to future generations. Numerous materials collected by Gudzyk, dedicated to the relationships between man and church, man and nature, have become indicative for modern journalism and surprise the reader with the depth of view and the author’s encyclopedic knowledge.
Anatolii Kazansky’s works are always important. He was not so much a cartoonist as a philosopher, who could skilfully and compactly incarnate his reflections and observations in visual form. Metaphorical and deep images are gathered under the cover of Anatolii Kazansky Album of Caricatures, published as a part of The Day’s Library. They can serve as answers to many questions set by today, and are a landmark in the quest for spiritual values.
These people’s names today are a synonym to real journalistism. Their experience and awareness of themselves as inheritors of traditions and principles which they relied upon are a firm support for a new generation of journalists. Stamps with portraits of James Mace, Klara Gudzyk and Anatolii Kazansky are a tribute to their memory and a manifestation of gratitude to those who put a lot of effort, talent, and soul into the development of Ukrainian journalism. This is a guide for the new generation of journalists, which teaches them to become true professionals and not to get lost in the time of diminishing morality of Ukrainian mass media space. The Day remembers and takes pride in the fact that it was created by people with firm moral principles, caring and talented, real spiritual titans of Ukrainian journalism.
