Tags
"samvydav" publication, "Shestydesiatnyky", cautionary verse, Encyclopedia of Ukraine, fame and infamy, hubris, Ivan Koshelivets, poetry in translation, Russia 2014, Ukraine 2014, Vasyl' Symonenko
To the Seeker after Fame, a Warning
Together with your name and vile cunning
You’ll slip into obscurity and shame.
The Fame you crave forever will elude you—
Forsooth, she scorns her suitor’s earthly reign.
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Vasyl’ Symonenko, 1935 – 1963, Ukrainian poet, journalist and dissident. He was a pioneer of the 1960s and 70s literary resistance movement (the Shestydesiatnyky) to a chauvinistic Soviet regime’s political and cultural oppression of Ukraine. His best and strongest poems were not published in his homeland, except as samvydav: single copies were typed and retyped by friends and colleagues and circulated beneath the censor’s radar. Often works of such writers were smuggled out of the country and published by the diaspora. After his untimely death, the crackdown on his samvydav poetry grew and later the suppression of his works became near total as they were deemed ‘incompatible’ with the party line. (Sadly, what did see the light of day often appeared in altered / sanitized form, as was customary: the Soviet media and publishing industry were strictly propaganda machines for the communist party.) (I cannot resist commenting here that Russia under Vladimir Putin—who seems obsessed with a messianic vision of himself as saviour of Russian civilization—is headed down this same chauvinistic path not only within its own borders, but beyond. “When will they ever learn? When will (we all) ever learn?”)
_____________
“To the Seeker of Fame, a Warning” appeared (in the Ukrainian language; I’ll provide a transliterated version in an update) in Bereh Chekan’ (The Shore of Expectations) published in New York in 1965, the poetry selected and annotated by Iwan Koszeliwec (Ivan Koshelivets).
Much of the above information comes from the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, accessible online.
The translation of the poem is my own, very free.
Here is the transliteration from the Ukrainian:
Perestoroha slavoliubtsevi
Odiyde v morok pidle i lukave,
Kholuystvo u mynuvshynu splyve,
I toy nikoly ne doskochyt’ slavy
Khto zadlia neyi na zemli zhyve.
shoreacres said:
I appreciate the link to the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, and your translation of the poem. I’ve not heard of Symonenko, nor of the samvydav, although it’s possible I’ve read right past a description.
Here on the Texas coast, we worry about people who haven’t experienced a hurricane not taking them seriously enough. It occurs to me that we have a couple of generations in this country who aren’t at all prepared to take seriously threats abroad.
Me? I’m keeping my manual typewriter.
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beeholdn said:
:) Don’t forget a few spare ribbons as well, if they’re still available.
New immigrants are likely relieved to have escaped trouble in their original countries, and believe that coming to the US / Canada has solved most of the bigger problems; they embrace at full throttle immediate opportunities for making a decent living. As for the ‘homegrown’ generations . . . who knows; we hear constantly about the violence and catastrophes but usually they don’t impact our own daily lives much. This steady flow of incoming news might well result in a tuning out of anything from beyond the immediate concern, or just a numbing of sensibilities, especially if we’ve not experienced war—or a major climate calamity—firsthand, on our own skin. I guess there’s a fine line between, on the one hand, living responsibly right now, focusing on all that needs to be done today, trusting the ‘powers that be’ to handle the rest; and, on the other, acting with a realistic view to a bigger picture, with the danger of succumbing to obsession or despair and neglect of here and now. Each of us needs to find his / her own balance . . .
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IdealisticRebel said:
Very interesting post. Well done. Hugs, Barbara
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beeholdn said:
Thanks, Barbara. Cheers!
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bearspawprint said:
Is this poet someone you knew? Your translation is truly beautiful. Thank you. Thank you very much.
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beeholdn said:
Well thanks for this. Interesting question . . . The simple answer is, No, I did not know this man personally. But maybe, coming from a certain background and having read much in the language (Ukrainian), it’s a natural thing to tune into a given wavelength and to ‘know’ a writer in a spirit way . . .
I appreciate your Likes and Follow :)
Cheers!
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