A Ukrainian poet who started life as a serf may very well have written the poetry that is inspiring freedom fighters in the war with Russia.
Taras Shevchenko Day was observed in Lloydminster this weekend by students at the local Ukrainian School. Parents were on hand to hear their kids recite poems and participate in games to celebrate someone who was born on March 9, 1814.
School principal, Nataliya Shcherban says Shevchenko is the most famous Ukrainian poet as his words inspire them to fight for freedom.
“He’s a symbol of our nation.”
Shcherban says there isn’t one poem in particular that provides the inspiration but rather his most famous collection, the Kobzar which is widely seen as the foundation of Ukrainian literature.
“It has all those poems which inspire people to fight for our country.”
Briullov and others had seen the potential of the young Shevchenko. His art began to blossom and so too did his writing.
The Kobzar was published 1840. It questioned social injustice and raised the desire for freedom but did not openly call for revolution.
The children at the Ukrainian School got to know some of the basics about Shevchenko a pillar of Ukrainian culture.
“We want them to know a few of his poems,” says the school principal.
A lot of Shevchenko’s work celebrates the beauty of Ukraine and the freedom to enjoy it.
In 1845, Shevchenko wrote his most famous poem Zapovit or My Testament. The poem which has been translated into many languages is a symbol of the struggle for freedom, national consciousness and Ukraine’s independence, says Shcherban.
