On March 8-9, Ukrainians honor the memory of Taras Shevchenko. We invite you to organize events dedicated to these days in the library for your readers and the Ukrainian community.
Taras Shevchenko is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the Ukrainian state, a visionary, and an incredibly talented artist – poet, painter. Shevchenko is considered the founder of the modern Ukrainian language. This year marks the 210th anniversary of his birth.
Shevchenko’s works have been translated into all Slavic languages, as well as Georgian, Armenian, Kazakh, Uzbek, German, English, French, Danish, Modern Greek, Spanish, Hindi, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Romanian, Italian, Hungarian, Malay, Bengali.
Today, in wartime, monuments, publications, and images of Shevchenko are the target of aggressors. Russians destroy them with particular satisfaction, as Shevchenko bequeathed to Ukrainians «Battle on – and win your battle!». The monument of Taras Shevchenko shot by Russian troops in the town of Borodianka, near Kyiv, became one of the symbols of the 2022 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Made famous by a photo where it stands desolate with apartment blocks burnt down by Russian shelling in the background, the bust of Taras Shevchenko with a hole in his forehead resonates deeply with Ukrainians for many reasons. Standing among the devastation brought by Russia’s war, Taras Shevchenko in Borodianka epitomizes the dire price Ukraine is paying for its freedom.
Join the celebration of the birthday of the Great Ukrainian – read his poems, look at his paintings, and be inspired by his life!
For this, we suggest recording a video of reading Taras Shevchenko’s poem in your language by March 8th and uploading the video to Google Drive the edited video will be published on our web page on the poet’s birthday. Please, indicate in the video the title of the poem, your library, and your country. Additionally, we encourage you to print reproductions of Shevchenko’s paintings (find here) and organize an exhibition in your library. Send photos of your exhibition – we will also publish it on our social media. More information about Taras Shevchenko:
https://shevchenko.ca/home.cfm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
https://www.t-shevchenko.name/
