In the Dark of the Night: Selected Short Fiction (Women's Voices in Ukrainian Literature, Vol. 2) - Softcover

Yanovska, Lyubov

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0968389910 ISBN 13: 9780968389911

Publisher: Language Lanterns Publications, 1998

Synopsis

This is the second volume of a six-volume series entitled Women's Voices in Ukrainian Literature. The purpose of the series is to make the short fiction of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century Ukrainian women writers - early feminists and social activists - accessible to readers of English. The works selected range from vignettes and sketches to novelettes, and together they constitute a compelling social history of an era during which the mortar of social mores, religious beliefs, and gender distinctions began to crumble, wreaking havoc with personal and societal relations.

What these authors had in common was an appreciation of the power of literature as a vehicle of social and political activism, and a commitment to the amelioration of the position of women. Their exploration of gender issues cuts across ethnic and social divisions, describes the often devastating consequences of social conditioning, and documents both the promise and the human cost of change. The translation of these works permits the message of these women to transcend temporal, geographical, and linguistic boundaries.

The first author, Dniprova Chayka (1861-1927), wrote her short stories under the influence of populism, and they belong to the ethnographic-realistic school of literature. Her publications aroused the ire of the authorities, m any of her manuscripts were confiscated, and some came to light only recently.

The writing of the second author, Lyubov Yanovska (1861-1933), reflects her deep understanding of and compassion for both the peasantry and the intellegentsia of her time, each caught in the debilitating mores and social structures of their separate worlds. Her works bridge the ethnographic-realistic and the newer modernistic-psychological movement.

About this title

About the Author:

The translator, Roma Franko, Ph.D. (University of Toronto), is a former faculty member of the University of Saskatchewan who opted for early retirement to undertake this project. As Head of the Department of Slavic Studies and then the Department of Modern Languages, she developed a keen appreciation of students' inability to fully understand Ukrainian literaure in the original. Their positive response to translated works persuaded her that there is a market for Ukrainian literature in translation, and one that is not confined to readers with a Ukrainian background or connection.

She uncovered women writers who had not received the attention they merited. Impressed with their social sensitivity and activism, she made a commitment to making their works accessible to a wide audience.

Language Notes:

Text: English (translation)

About this edition

• Publisher: Language Lanterns Publications
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0968389910
• ISBN 13: 9780968389911
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 465