Kobzar's Children
Edited by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Fitzhenry & Whiteside Canada, 2006
$22.95 hardcover
$14.95 softcover
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This unique anthology introduces new voices and a century of
hidden stories.
The kobzars were the blind minstrels of Ukraine, who memorized the epic
poems and stories of 100 generations. Traveling around the country,
they stopped in towns and villages along the way, where they told their
tales and were welcomed by all. Under Stalin's regime, the kobzars were
murdered. As the storytellers of Ukraine died, so too did their stories.
Kobzar's Children is an anthology of short historical fiction, memoirs,
and poems written about the Ukrainian immigrant experience. The stories
span a century of history; and they contain stories of internment,
homesteading, famine, displacement, concentration camps, and this new
century's Orange Revolution. Edited by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch,
Kobzar's Children is more than a collection; it is a moving social
document that honors the tradition of the kobzars and revives memories
once deliberately forgotten.
Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch is the author of many books for
children,
including Silver Threads, Enough, The Hunger, and Hope's War. Her novel
about the Armenian Genocide, Nobody's Child, was nominated for the Red
Maple Award, the Alberta Rocky Mountain Book Award, and the B.C.
Stellar Award. It was also listed as a Resource Links' Best Book.
Reviews
"Kobzars were blind storytellers who traveled through Ukraine, memorizing poems and family histories. Their stories kept Ukrainian culture alive throughout many generations. This book is a collection of short stories from Ukrainian families. Each contributes its own special remembrance of life in Ukraine. Together, the stories piece together a history rich in traditions but torn apart by Communist regimes. Under Stalin, the Kremlin considered Ukrainians an undesirable group in society. Many were deported to concentration camps. Some refugees escaped but suffered from starvation and discrimination. One story tells how a man was so emaciated that his wedding ring slipped off his finger. Some Ukrainians emigrated to Canada and began farms in frontier lands. Country dances, embroidered clothing, and hard work defined their lives. Another story tells how a moose was a regular visitor to one family's farm. As displaced people in a free country, many Ukrainians were still considered lower class. Life was a struggle. One story tells how a father and son reunited in Canada after the war by luck. There is a lot of heartbreak but honesty in these stories. It's clear the author wanted the truth about this people's suffering to be acknowledged, and in the process, the stories give life to a beautiful culture that most people don't know about."
Barnes & Noble
"Social injustice and the mistreatment of Ukrainian people, both in Europe and in Canada, are brought to the fore in this moving book that not only will revive some memories but will also ensure that the truth is told and the stories will not be forgotten. A fitting tribute to the resilience of the Ukrainian people, this book is long overdue. Dyakoyu, Ms. Skrypuch! Highly Recommended. (4/4)"
-- Canadian Materials
These stories and poems, written by descendants of the Ukrainian immigrants, tell stories of homesteading in a new land, of internment during World War I, of famine, displacement and concentration camps in the Ukraine, of refugee camps and of the Orange Revolution of 2004 which gave a new era of democracy to the country. This book will be a useful adjunct to the study of immigration and multiculturalism in Canadian social studies programs. It will also be of interest to the Ukrainian descendants who have never heard these stories before.
-- Victoria Pennell, Resource Links
"The anthology succeeds in providing a broad overview of a century of the Ukrainian immigrant experience." --Winnipeg Free Press
"I couldn't put the book down. I frankly had expected a charming work aimed at children, but how mistaken I was. Although this book is suitable for all ages capable of reading at this level, it is of no less interest to the adult reader as to the young reader. It never talks down to its audience. In the same way that I remember my own parents relating the many stories of our family, no punches are pulled. Harsh reality and horror and danger take their place alongside tales of humor, childhood pranks and misunderstandings."
--Amazon.com
"This collection of stories was truly a labor of love, borne of the author's lifelong hunger for stories about Ukrainian immigrants like her forebears. Here, gathered together in the pages of a single volume, are stories covering nearly a hundred years of Ukrainian immigrant history, from 1905 to 2004. The stories occur in a variety of settings, from homesteads to cities, internment camps to nursing homes, Ukraine to Canada, and more. Find out how Ukrainian immigrants were treated by Canadian officials during World War I, discover how one boy lost his entire family but somehow escaped from the 1932—1933 Famine-Genocide, and chuckle about one lad's desperate longing for a pair of red boots to wear at a community concert. Read about a farm girl's prank, walk along with a refugee during World War II, and think about the significance of the recent Orange Revolution. And it's all within the pages of this slender book. In this and earlier works, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch truly continues the tradition of the kobzars, traveling storytellers who collected and shared the stories of the Ukrainian people. Her works are always educational and informative, recounting tales and times that have been ignored and forgotten, but they are certainly never, ever dull"
Barnes & Noble
