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[BELARUS] Nad rikoiu Oresoiu [i.e. Over the Oressa River]

Kupala, Ya.

Item #2148

Kyiv: Derzhavne Literaturne
Vydavnytstvo, 1936. 62, [2] pp. 14х10,5 cm. In original cloth with pattern and printed dust jacket. Pale water stain on the chipped dust jacket,
otherwise very good.
First separate edition. One of 7450 copies. Signed in Ukrainian by translator Teren’ Masenko on the half title:
“To Natali / all my works (even smallest) forever / Kharkov - 22.2-936”.

The earliest Ukrainian edition of Yanka Kupala,
the pen name of Belarusian poet Ivan Lutsevich
(1882–1942). He made his debut in propaganda
poetry during the First Russian revolution, but
in the 1920s he was blamed for being an anti-
Soviet oriented nationalist. Critics attacked his
poetry for almost a decade. The poem “Over
the Oressa River” appeared in 1933, soon after
his public letter of apology. This work became
the first large Belarusian poetry dedicated to
socialist reformation of Belarus. He described
Polesie, a backward part of the country, and,
through the poetic reportage, presented all the
changes that occurred in this area during socialist
construction. In the mid-1930s, this work brought
success to Yanka Kupala.
The early Soviet Ukrainian literary history marks
notable literary translations by a writer Teren’
Masenko (1903–1970). He was close enough
to playwrights of “Shot Rebirth”, the Ukrainian
authors of the 1920s–early 1930s who lately
became victims of Stalin’s purges. As the writer,
Masenko is well-known for his memories about
them. His best-known contribution as a translator
is adaptation of Kupala’s works. For the first time
this version of “Over the Oressa River” appeared
in the magazine “Chervona shliakh” (Red Way)
in the early 1930s. This book edition introduced
Yanka Kupala’s works to Ukrainian readers.

WorldCat locates no copies.

Price: $950.00