New culturological journal addresses issue of Ukraine's identity, then and now (05/26/96)

New culturological journal addresses issue of Ukraine's identity, then and now

by Mark Andryczyk
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

LVIV - As the five-year anniversary of Ukraine's independence approaches, the country is still in the process of defining its identity. Is Ukraine a European country? Should it look east to Russia? This ambiguity is largely due to a historical existence under a multitude of different regimes that have laid claim to and ruled over lands traditionally inhabited by Ukrainians. In examining its identity, Ukraine must look back into its history and trace the paths of influence that have intersected over its lands.

With the inception of the culturological journal Yi, a group of contemporary Ukrainian intellectuals has set out to address this issue. Yi is a collection of essays written by an international panel of writers. Most of the essays have appeared previously in other journals, and were not written specifically for inclusion in Yi. Grouped together in Yi, however, they reveal their common merit of providing glimpses into Ukraine's make-up and personality.

The goal of Yi is not so much to answer the questions of identity, but instead, to stimulate a discussion on this topic. Often the questions asked are more important and revealing than the answers found. The creators of Yi hope to provide Ukrainian readers with a tool that can expand their intellectual curiosities regarding Ukrainian matters.

Yi is the brainchild of Taras Vozniak, a deputy to the Lviv City Council and an essayist on literature and philosophy. The journal is published out of Lviv by Gerdan Publishers with a run of 1,500 copies. The plan is to publish a new issue of Yi every six months or so, for a total of four issues. Each of the four issues will concentrate on a particular influence on Ukraine: issue No. 1 is concerned with Ukraine's ties to Western Europe, issue No. 2 with Russia and the post-Byzantine world, issue No. 3 with Jewish roots and contributions to Ukraine, and issue No. 4 with Ukraine's relationship with the Islamic world, especially Turkey.

An interesting feature of Yi is that each issue will be multilingual. Although most of the journal will be in Ukrainian, Yi will also include essays written in the language corresponding on the issue's theme. For example, issue No. 1 includes an article written in English, issue No. 4 will have essays written in Turkish, etc.

This progressive approach to assembling the journal is indicative of its over-all innovative character. Another example of this is Yi's aesthetic presentation. Each page of the journal is bisected horizontally to create one page with two different essays. Each article is printed in a different font, which prevents confusion for the reader and adds to the journal's eye-catching design.

Yi is also unique in that each issue includes original graphic art works (not copies) pasted into and scattered throughout the journal. The first issue features the artwork of Lviv artist Yevhen Ravsky.

Issue No. 1 was published in September 1995. Its purple cover features the grinning face of Emperor Francis Joseph I. As one flips past the Habsburg emperor's portrait, one will find 14 articles discussing Ukraine's position as a European country. Some of the essays were written almost 100 years ago, some are contemporary.

Yi includes a fragment of Mykola Shlemkevych's essay, "Halychanstvo," which compares the emotional, spiritual striving of eastern Ukraine and Taras Shevchenko with the pragmatic realism of western Ukraine and Ivan Franko.

Anna-Halia Horbach offers a biographical sketch of the life of Lviv-born writer Leopold Sacher Masoch. Count Masoch has been immortalized in the literary world by his novel "Venus in Furs" (the fame of which has brought the term "masochism" into the English language). Few readers know, however, that he also wrote several novels that described the life and folklore of 19th century Ruthenians in his native Galicia. It is this side of Count Masoch that Ms. Horbach explores.

Yi contains an essay by Czech writer Milan Kundera on "The Tragedy of Central Europe" and two literary sketches by Austrian writer Joseph Roth titled "Mandrivka po Halychyni." Mr. Kundera reveals the irony of the diverse Eastern European nationalities living in the shadow of a centralized, singular entity such as Russia. Mr. Roth designates Lemberg (Lviv) as the last outpost on the European front before Russia.

Two fascinating essays are included by 1920s Drohobych-born prose writer and artist Bruno Schultz. "Vulytsia Krokodyliv" and "Druha Osin," are both from a recently published translation of his works from Polish into Ukrainian.

Among other contributors to issue No. 1 of Yi are Cardinal Franz Konig, Alkis Kontos and Jean-Marie Domenak.

Issue No. 2, discussing Ukraine's relation to Russia, is illustrated by Lviv avant-garde artist Vlodko Kostyrko. It has just been published and is currently available in Lviv and Kyiv.

The international selection of essayists truly raises the sophistication of the journal to a higher level. Also, the aesthetic appeal of Yi cannot be overemphasized. That a journal with such a broad, internationally respected array of writers looks as interesting as a top-notch New York art magazine is truly an important achievement; that it emanates from Ukraine is all the more noteworthy. In their search for a historical identity, the creators of Yi have simultaneously helped paint Ukraine's present-day portrait.

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