The Day’s library presents a two-volume collection
On September 11-14 the Palace of Art in Lviv hosted its traditional publishers’ forum, marking the most important even in the Ukrainian book- publishing domain. This year the jubilee marked its tenth anniversary, an especially important date, considering that over the years the exhibit has ranked first among its kind in Ukraine, while in priciple rejecting any state support.
The action was held under the motto “Expanding the Boundaries...,” the three dots being a significant and optimistic implication, probably indicative of the forum’s progress in certain fields of endeavor, such as the number of participants, books sold, and enthusiastic readers. Consider some statistics: 532 participants, including 246 publishing forms, and a multitude of visitors (no one has ever known exactly how many, but usually they mention thirty to forty thousand). And nor will you be able to find out the exact number of books sold, except that there were bestsellers, with hundreds of copies sold during the exposition days. It is good statistics, of course, considering that Ukraine’s average book print run registers two or three thousand.
Another presumably significant event took place this year. For the first time The Day was directly involved in the forum, submitting a two-volume collection of historical and cultural essays titled Ukraine Incognita and the new Dvi Rusi [The Two Lands of Rus’] dealing with controversial pages in Ukrainian-Russian history with Larysa Ivshyna as editor-in-chief (See more on page 4). The event took place the Friday before last at the Great Hall of the Potocki Palace. Personae: Serhiy Makhun, The Day’s History and I columnist, regular author Volodymyr Panchenko, Vice President of the “Kyiv-Mohyla” National University, and yours truly.
The presentation attracted a number of people interested in Ukrainian history. Remarkably, some of the forum events drew perhaps as many visitors as there were representatives of projects or authors of new books.
Guests taking the floor spoke warmly of The Day’s subscribers, and accordingly, of the authors of both books. They further expressed concern about Ukrainians’ knowledge of their national history. Volodymyr Panchenko, for example, noted that the columns Ukraine Incognita and History and I “provide the reader with quality materials and, accordingly, are determined by a strategically shaped editorial policy. Many contemporary Ukrainian publications carry historical materials. However, the manner in which they are presented on The Day’s pages is essentially different. In other publications history emerges in separate interesting, sometimes breathtaking events, yet this is a museum, so to say, retrospection or restoration of the past. The Day offers ‘thinking’ history, meaning history being incorporated into today’s life, the current political process. History which is like blood running in your veins, being present in the living organism we know as Ukraine. Here lies the originality and special importance of that historical column which has reached above and beyond the newspaper pages and been used as the title of this beautifully designed two-volume collection. The grains were sown in well-tended and skillfully plowed soil. Today we are keenly aware of the problem of the damaged Ukrainian mentality; we form a nation with a difficult history, so books on history, such as this one, are extremely important; they help us the way a good therapy does, healing our wounds and forming an adequate Ukrainian mentality; they help us Ukrainians to find our identity in the ongoing historical process.”
There cannot be too many books on history. The first one, Ukraine Incognita, is an anthology of historical studies, dedicated to Ukrainian history. It already has a very nice following. The second volume, Dvi Rusi, is nonetheless important to the reader. For the most part, it is a sad account of events in Ukrainian- Russian relationships.
One of the inferences from this solid projector is that we must solve problems stemming from our defeatist philosophy.
Oleh Mykytenko, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Vsesvit and president of the publishing company of the same name, said, “I have been a reader of The Day since its inception; I respect this newspaper and have closely followed its genesis. Also, I am one of those who constantly collects clippings of the Ukraine Incognita articles. The French say that the tone makes the music; therefore, what makes these Day historical publications so precious is their true patriotic spirit, and this is precisely what makes this two-volume edition unique.”
