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[KARPATY AS SEEN BY UKRAINIAN SYMBOLISM MASTER] Na Zelenykh Horakh [i.e. Over the Green Mountains]

Oles, O[leksandr]

Item #2609

[Kyiv], Valdhaim– Eberlie for Dniprosoiuz, [191?]. 32 p. 19,5 x 14,5. cm. Original typed publisher’s cover. In Ukrainian. Very good condition. Fragile paper cover, reinforced with tissue paper. Foxing, minor spots, minor paper loss along the spine and the back cover. Untrimmed.

Dated 14.XI.20 with a postscript “In Lodz”, in faded green pencil on the title. Comparing it with available letters, autographs and manuscripts, we can assume that the inscription is quite probably made by the author. During the early 1920s Oles was busy with diplomatic service, travelled extensively and held correspondence with numerous Ukrainian immigrants across Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland. Also (erroneously) dated “1915” in pencil on the title.

Oleksandr Oles was a pseudonym used by Oleksandr I. Kandyba (1878–1944), a Kharkiv-born poet and playwright known for his lyrical and elegiac tone of voice. Kandyba was active as a poet already in school, supported by his mother: she encouraged her son to learn Kobzar by heart even before he turned 10. As a boy, Kandyba became involved in editing handwritten magazines, but he truly accepted his creativity only after a historic 1903 acquaintance with leading figures of the Ukrainian cultural revival Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi, Borys Hrinchenko and Lesia Ukrainka. From that meeting on, Kandyba started to take his poetry seriously—and began to write in Ukrainian. Starting to publish from 1905, Kandyba chose a new name. “Oles” was an affectionate name given to Kandyba by his wife. Kandyba was a sensitive, thin-skinned person, he reacted emotionally at the turbulent times that were unfolding in front of his eyes, those which tore his beloved homeland into pieces and filled it with blood. He met the first Russian Empire revolution with an inflow of enthusiasm: in 1905–1906 he translated songs like Varshavianka and Marselieza into Ukrainian. He quickly stepped up as an active poet, by 1917 issuing at least 7 books, including 5 collected verses, some translations and literature for the youth. Shortlived Ukrainian independence led to another stream of verses, expressing love and amazement of Ukrainian nature interwoven with sacral motifs.
Later politics changed unfavourably and Kandyba left his homeland in 1919. Together with his family was struggling to integrate in traditional Central European life. The attempts were not of much success, so from 1919 prior light and spiritual intonation saw a drastic change to a depressive and dark tone. So later years were a heavy burden for Kandyba: but a gift for his poetic heritage. During those emigrant years, Kandyba published another 5 poetic books, including a reaction on Holodomor news. Suffering the inability to reconnect with homeland, he internally retreated to fairytales and created a number of folk tale adaptations in the form of middle grade stories. Disillusionment in the second revolution and loss of independence led Kandyba to write the first Ukrainian-language anti-Stalinist drama as well as pro-nationalist poems (from a note on Oles exhibition in NLoU prepared by L. Garbar, 2023).

This Na Zelenykh Horakh was written during his years in Ukraine, but published already in immigration. The title page provides no date and features only the author's pseudonym and with the poem’s name. The date 1915 mentioned on p. 30 refers to the period of the poem’s completion. The book itself is clearly printed years later. It is issued by Dniprosoiuz (short for Dniprovskyi Soiuz Spozhyvchykh Tovarystv), a union of consumer cooperatives established only in 1917. Additionally, the typography mentioned on the back cover, Waldheim-Eberle, Wien VII, was in use by Dniprosoiuz from 1919 to 1921. And as we see an inscription mentioning 1920 on the title, we can guess that the book is from 1919 or 1920. Most libraries, including WordCat and KVK entries, date the book as either 1915, 1917 or 1919: even the National Ukrainian Bibliography lists the book twice, but we are unsure whether there were indeed 2 editions of Na Zelenykh Horakh or not. Na Zelenykh Horakh is a metaphorical poem in two parts written after Kandyba’s impressions of a trip to Karpaty and his days among genuine Hutsuls. The poem opens with a symbolic representation of the author’s inspiration, invigorated by Karpaty landscapes. It follows with romantic idealisation of the simplicity and secludedness of Hutsul villages lying secludedly across Karpaty slopes. On the contrary to many contemporary Eastern European symbolists, be it Polish or Russian, Kandyba is no way decadent, but full of awe and zest. His lyrics are invigorated by the forces of nature that he saw full of mysticism and bliss. Pages 31 & 32 provide some explanations on Hutsul words used in verses. Exotic terms like daraba (fence), khuhlia (a type of caftan, a garment), khrun (a bare spot on a mountain), Chuhaister (a faun) are used to spice up the text with the local realities. Due to his openly nationalist views, Oles was a persona non grata in UkSSR, his books were banned and only during the recent years is his heritage and importance being rediscovered.

Price: $1,200.00