Taras Shevchenko - The soul of Ukraine
Kobzar ~ Кобзар
Kobzar (Ukrainian: Кобзар, "The Bard"), is a book of poems by Ukrainian poet and painter Taras Shevchenko, first published by him in 1840 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Taras Shevchenko was nicknamed the Kobzar after the publishing of this book. From that time on this title has been applied to Shevchenko's poetry in general and acquired a symbolic meaning of the Ukrainian national and literary revival.
The first publication consisted of a collection of eight works: "Думи мої, думи мої, лихо мені з вами"(My thoughts, my thoughts, it is bad for me because of you), "Перебендя" (Perebendya), "Катерина" (Kateryna), "Тополя" (Poplar tree), "Думка" (Thought), "Нащо мені чорні брови" (Why should I have black eyebrows), "До Основ'яненка" (To Osnovyanenko), "Іван Підкова" (Ivan Pidkova), and "Тарасова ніч" (Taras's night).
The first publication of "Kobzar".
The author also published two more books under the same name in 1844 and 1860. Also, in 1844, another version of the original Kobzar, titled Chyhyrynskyi Kobzar, was republished with an addition of the poem "Гайдамаки" (Haydamaky).
Publication of the work was forbidden by the Ems Ukase, which forbade the publishing of Ukrainian-language literature. This prompted the publication of the work in non-Russia-ruled lands, such as inPrague (now in the Czech Republic) and Germany.
The complete poems of Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine's most famous son, "the kobzar" can be found here
http://oursong.narod.ru/kobzar/kobzar.html
Вірші Тараса Шевченко
http://taras-shevchenko.in.ua/virshi-shevchenka.html
http://www.poetryclub.com.ua/metrs.php?id=99&type=tvorch
Other Poetry
This web-site is the most complete internet library of Ukrainian poetry. It contains more than 15,000 pages of poetry and songs in Ukrainian (about 30 Mb).
http://poetry.uazone.net/english.html
Taras Shevchenko & Ira Aldridge
(The story of friendship between ther Ukrainian Poet and the Great Negro Tragedian)
Aldridge and Shevchenko met in the winter of 1858-9, both far from their homelands. Aldridge grew up in New York City, a free man, but still subject to the racist discrimination of the day. Shevchenko, forbidden from returning to his native Ukraine, arrived in St. Petersburg after ten long years in exile in the Urals.
One could say it was their creative genius that brought them together. By 1858, Aldridge was one of the best known actors in Europe. He debuted on the London stage in 1825 in the title role of the Shakespearian play, Othello. His portrayal required none of the black face paint actors normally applied for the role. While criticized in the press, not least due to the color of his skin, audiences received him enthusiastically. In 1852, he launched his continental European tour and became the first man of color to star in white Shakespearian roles. His performances won him praise. King Leopold I of Belgium became his patron. King Frederick William III awarded him the Prussian Gold Medal for Arts and Sciences. When he arrived in the Russian capital in 1858, he was one of the highest paid actors of his times.
Shevchenko too captivated his audience’s attention. In print, Kobzar published in 1840 was lauded for its clarity, elegance, and expression. In paint, Picturesque Ukraine captured with deliberate, realistic detail the oppressive conditions of daily Ukrainian life. However, while Shevchenko may have won public praise, he earned the political elite’s ire, and by 1858 had only just returned to St. Petersburg.
On December 6, 1858, Shevchenko wrote, “The African actor is here now; he does wonders on the stage. He shows us the living Shakespeare.” In the company of friends, and at times in conversation alone, the two great artists spent many days together in the brief span of two months. Contemporary accounts tell of their expressive exchanges as their interpreters struggled to keep pace. Shevchenko and Aldridge performed songs for one another, traditional Ukrainian folk melodies and Negro spirituals. Aldridge posed on a number of occasions in Shevchenko’s studio, the results of which hang, both in the National Museum of Taras Shevchenko in Kyiv, and in the Ira Aldridge Theater on the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC.
The story of Ira Aldridge and Taras Shevchenko is one of friendship, but also one of freedom. Both men sought freedom in the power of their words. Both drew inspiration from real human struggle, slavery and serfdom. They were men ahead of their time whose examples inspire us in our own.
https://usembassykyiv.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/an-unlikely-friendship/
http://bit.ly/2b069cl (Person from a portrait: Ira Frederick Aldridge, the first black Othello )
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