On November 19, the newly compiled collection of poems by Vasyl Symonenko was presented at Cherkasy Regional Library for Young People, which is named after the poet. This book is a kind of end result of the cultural, scientific, and artistic work that was done in Cherkasy region over the jubilee year of 2015 to commemorate the poet.
Early Spring of Hope, as the collection is entitled, is special thanks to illustrations that accompany every poem in it. Approximately 50 poem-themed drawings were created in various techniques by talented young residents of Cherkasy, who rethought and subtly recreated images of Symonenko’s poetry. Students of the city’s art schools, artistic departments and divisions of Cherkasy universities and colleges took part in the citywide contest “I Am Illustrator,” which resulted in publication of this colorful book, illustrated by the contestants. The contest was organized by Symonenko Regional Library for Young People in cooperation with the regional NGO Svitovyd and supported by the Department of Education and Humanities Policy of the Cherkasy City Council and the Department of Family, Youth, and Sports of the Cherkasy Oblast State Administration.
As head of the art department of the regional library for young people Maryna Cheperys told us, the poet saw just one of his poetry collections, Silence and Thunder, and fairy tale Tsar Cry-baby and Loskoton published in his lifetime. Different publishing houses all over Ukraine have published over 50 collections of his poetry by now, but almost all of them are decorated only with portraits or photos of Symonenko, while illustrations of his works are rare. Therefore, Early Spring of Hope collection is unique for now, we heard at the presentation, since it features illustrations reflecting modern worldview of young people.
