In this edition of Knyzka Corner, we will be discussing Vasyl Shkliar’s novel, Raven’s Way. Raven’s Way was first published in 2009 in Ukraine with the title Black Raven. It has recently been translated by Stephen Komarnyckyj and published in English by Kalyna Language Press. It won the Taras Shevchenko Award in 2011, the most […]
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Ukrainian Jewish Heritage—Babyn Yar: History and Memory
It was always a very scenic area of forests and ravines. A very pleasant green zone on the edge of the city. Picturesque. It was once known as the “Switzerland of Kyiv.” Innocent and bucolic. All that changed over the course of a couple of days at the end of September 1941. Babyn Yar, on the […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage – Shimon’s Returns
It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. An astonishing new film called Shimon’s Returns proves the point in a sometimes provocative but always heart-warming manner. The documentary, directed by Slawomir Grunberg and Katka Reszke, tells the story of the now-retired Israeli history professor Shimon Redlich. In the film Shimon takes some of his […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage: A chat with Oksana Lyniv, Ukrainian conductor with the Bavarian State Opera
Oksana Lyniv is an up-and-coming star on the classical music scene. She is a Ukrainian conductor currently working at the Bavarian State Opera as assistant to the General Music Director Kirill Petrenko. On September 29, 2016, she will make her debut in Ukraine, conducting a classical concert that will be held at the Kyiv Opera House, under the […]
Continue readingVictor’s Vignettes: Military translation at my school
Victor’s Vignettes … stories about life in soviet and post-soviet Ukraine. – by Victor Sergeyev Mikolayev, Ukraine All throughout my early years at school, I looked forward to studying American literature in 10th grade. How I would enjoy reading the English language works of such authors as Theodor Drizer, Mark Twain, and Jack London! I […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage: A chat with opera star Pavlo Hunka
British-Ukrainian opera star Pavlo Hunka is the Director of a classical concert to be held on September 29, 2016 at the Opera House in Kyiv. The concert is part of the 75th Anniversary commemoration of the Babyn Yar tragedy, sponsored by the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter of Toronto. In 1941, the Nazis murdered some 150,000 people, including […]
Continue readingBook Review: 2016 Kobzar Award winner Detachment by Maurice Mierau
In this edition of Knyzka Corner, we will be discussing Maurice Mierau’s award-winning memoir, Detachment: An Adoption Memoir. Readers first meet an emotionally drained Maurice in 2009 in a psychologist’s office in Winnipeg. For three years, his wife Betsy has been urging him to get help. He tells the psychologist, “I have problems in my […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage – Babyn Yar Necropolis
Memory. Manipulation. Memorials. Babyn Yar, the ravine on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, is a multi-ethnic and multi-faith necropolis. A city of the dead. In September 1941, nearly thirty-four thousand Kyivan Jews were shot over two days in one of the largest single Nazi massacres during the Second World War. More massacres followed during the […]
Continue readingKnyzhka Corner Book Review: Red Notice by Bill Browder
Bill Browder’s fascinating new book Red Notice, is a roller-coaster ride through post-Soviet Russian history. Bill Browder was one of the architects of Russia’s growing economy during the privatization era. He saw an opportunity to make a great deal of money and created the Hermitage Capital investment fund based in Moscow. Browder became the largest […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage: Preparing for Babyn Yar 75th anniversary commemorations
Plans are underway to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy. The events are being organized by the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter and will take place in Kyiv this fall. Welcome to Ukrainian Jewish Heritage on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio. I’m Peter Bejger. Memory. Commemoration. Responsibility. The seventy-fifth anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy […]
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