DEVELOPMENT OF UKRAINIAN LITERATURE IN ARGENTINA IN THE 20th CENTURY

Authors

  • Iryna Nakashydze

Keywords:

waves of emigration, Ukrainian-language literature, society “Prosvita”

Abstract

Argentina is one of the countries that are inhabited by a large number of ethnic Ukrainians. The purpose of this article is to study the development of Ukrainian literature in Argentina. One of the tasks aimed at achieving this goal is the introduction of the names of emigrant writers into scientific circulation.
The arrival of a large number of active and educated people in Argentina in the interwar period (including writers O. Drahomanova, P. Buk, O. Devlad, etc.) led to the emergence of new forms of public life. A large number of literary and art schools, libraries, and reading rooms appeared. An important factor in the preservation of ethnic identity and the development of cultural life was the formation of the Ukrainian Cultural Society “Prosvita” in 1924.
The biggest wave of emigration took place during the postwar period. Writers such as L. Holotsvan,
Y. Prylutska-Farni, K. Buldyn, etc. arrived here. At this time Argentina became a real cultural center of Ukrainians. The Society of Artists, Writers and Scholars was formed, uniting almost all cultural figures. In the biography and works of many writers of this period Argentina appears as an “intermediate” point (for example, I. Kachurovsky, O. Kerch, V. Kulish, Yu. Krokhmalyuk-Tys, etc.). Writers from all over the world have long been united by the magazine “Porogy”.
Unfortunately, with the death of writers in Argentina (as in the rest of the world), literary life almost subsided. Among the writers of the fourth wave of emigration can be identified I. Voloshchuk.
Translation activity played a significant role. From the beginning of the resettlement, Ukrainian emigrants distributed works of T. Shevchenko, I. Franko, M. Shashkevych, and L. Ukrainka. Many of the writers translated Ukrainian works into Spanish and vice versa.
Thus, literary life in Argentina developed very actively in the 20th century. It was most striking in the postwar period, when a large number of cultural figures emigrated here. The research started in this article is promising for the future, as further detailed study of the features of works of art of Ukrainian-speaking writers in Argentina is required.

Published

2021-03-30