BOOK NOTES

A bilingual edition of poety by Oleksiy Koshel of Ukraine

"Kaplychka dlia Yanholiv" (Chapel for Angels), by Oleksiy Koshel. Translated into English by Olena Jennings. Lviv: Fakt, 2003. 103 pp.

The collection of poetry "Kaplychka dlia Yanholiv" (Chapel for Angels) was released in a bilingual, Ukrainian-English edition, with translations by American poet Olena Jennings.

The simplicity and depth of the poems brings to mind the poetry of William Carlos Williams. The minimalist nature of the poetry allows readers to bring their own emotions and impressions to their reading. An element of mysticism also exists.

Mr. Koshel's photographs, which are included in the book, are equally powerful. They are riddles in which entire stories can be seen: stairs that lead into darkness, a couple that embrace beneath the bright sun, and dried mushrooms that conceal pieces of a text.

This collection of poetry and photography is Mr. Koshel's creative debut, but not his first publication. He is the author of two historical studies: "Chechenskyi Presydent: Kryza Velykykh System" (The Chechen President: The Crisis of Big Systems) and "Mizh Tserkvoyu i Naukoyu: Istorychnyi Narys Dialnosti Podilskoho Tserkovno Istorychno-Arkheolohichnoho Tovarystava" (Between Church and Scholarship: A Historical Sketch of the Activity of the Religious-Historic-Archaeological Society of Podillia, 1865-1920). Mr. Koshel's website is: www.koshel.kiev.ua.

Ms. Jenning's poems may be read in Svitlana Matviienko's Ukrainian translation on the Literatura Plius website: www.aup.iatp.org.ua.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 26, 2005, No. 26, Vol. LXXIII

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