Letters from Kiev [Hardcover]

Solomea Pavlychko (Author), Myrna Kostash (Author), Bohdan Krawchenko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1992 | ISBN-10: 031207588X | ISBN-13: 978-0312075880

Written by one of Ukraine's most prominent young literary figures, this book is an eyewitness account of political and cultural change during the tumultuous months of 1990-92 that led to Ukraine's declaration of independence. Solomea Pavlychko, a specialist in British and American literature whose translations include works by D.H. Lawrence and William Golding, provides a picture of the key events in this period, capturing the hopes and terrors of those involved. It also includes photographs by Ukranian photographers. The translator, Myrna Kotash, has written "All of Baba's Children", "A Long Way from Home: The Story of the Sixties Generation in Canada" and "No Kidding: Inside the World of Teenage Girls". Bohdan Drawchenko has also edited "Ukrainian Past, Ukrainian Present".

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Halfway through this tome, Pavlychko, along with the reader, wearies of her tediously detailed reports of debates in the Ukrainian Rada over the momentous issue of whether to ratify union with the U.S.S.R. Only when she turns her attention to the apathetic Kievans amidst the chaos of political polarization does this collection of her correspondence with Krawchenko, whom she met while in Canada as a visiting professor, gain interest for general readers and Pavlychko's character emerge. The period covered extends between May 12, 1990, and March 25, 1991, when future governance was still undecided. (Ukraine declared independence in November 1991.) About Pavlychko, who is a research associate at the Ukrainian Academy of Science, we learn that she has recently resigned from the Communist Party, that she no longer receives the "generous" honoraria for literary translations that provided her with income to shop in the private sector, that her father is an opposition member of Rada, that she is a budding feminist and has a toddler daughter--of her husband there is no mention, just that his mother is a harpy. Photos.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The author, who works as a literary translator at the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, witnessed the collapse of Soviet power in Ukraine and the events leading up to the republic's declaration of independence in 1990. These letters, written to a colleague in Canada, cover the period from May 12, 1990, to March 25, 1991. As the daughter of an MP, Pavlychko had access to the sessions of Parliament and to the behind-the-scenes events there. She also participated in street demonstrations, all the while trying to work and at night composing these frequent letters to the outside. Their vivid style captures the drama of a world turning upside down. Requiring too much detailed knowledge about the region to be appropriate for the general reader, this volume will be of interest to Ukrainian collections.
- Marcia L. Sprules, Council on Foreign Relations Lib., New York
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 177 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (October 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031207588X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312075880
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,851,142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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