Kobzar

Masterfully fulfilled by Peter Fedynsky, Voice of America journalist and expert on Ukrainian studies, this first ever English translation of the complete Kobzar brings out Ukraine's rich cultural heritage.

As a foundational text, The Kobzar has played an important role in galvanizing the Ukrainian identity and in the development of Ukraine’s written language and Ukrainian literature. The first editions had been censored by the Russian czar, but the book still made an enduring impact on Ukrainian culture. There is no reliable count of how many editions of the book have been published, but an official estimate made in 1976 put the figure in Ukraine at 110 during the Soviet period alone. That figure does not include Kobzars released before and after both in Ukraine and abroad. A multitude of translations of Shevchenko’s verse into Slavic, Germanic and Romance languages, as well as Chinese, Japanese, Bengali, and many others attest to his impact on world culture as well. The poet is honored with more than 1250 monuments in Ukraine, and at least 125 worldwide, including such capitals as Washington, Ottawa, Buenos Aires, Warsaw, Moscow and Tashkent.

***

"Contrary to the majority of preceding translators, to the entire school of literary, or artistic, translation which is much respected and highly developed in today’s Ukrainian translation tradition, Mr. Fedynsky defies Shevchenko’s rule of vocalic quality and the overall idealistic endeavor to recreate the source text’s vocal harmony, while concurrently remaining faithful to its semantic consistency." Lada Kolomiyets, The Ukrainian Quarterly

"The unfolding drama in Ukraine makes the appearance of Peter Fedynsky's translation of Shevchenko's "Kobzar" all the more significant. This is the first English-language edition of all of Shevchenko's Kobzar poems... We owe a tremendous debt to Fedynsky, a Voice of America journalist, for making Shevchenko's "Kobzar" available in one volume."

THE MOSCOW TIMES

Roman Czajkowsky of the Ukrainian Weekly reports on the presentation of the English translation of Shevchenko’s complete Kobzar.

THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY

"The resulting volume is a staggering work of scholarship and devoted translational acumen that places Shevchenko in the realm of Slavic literary greats where he rightfully deserves to be located".

COAL HILL REVIEW

"A Slavonic Item of the Month (March 2014): This month's feature, on the University Library's earliest set of Taras Shevchenko's Kobzar, is combined with the UL's bibliographical notes for the final CamCREES seminar of the Lent term, at which Peter Fedynsky spoke about his English translation of the Kobzar. "

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY website

“President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych favored with a presentation copy of the first ever English translation of the complete Kobzar”

EMBASSY OF UKRAINE IN THE USA/PRESS CENTER

Peter Fedynsky’s interview for Voice of America (Ukrainian)

VOICE OF AMERICA

Translator Peter Fedynsky talks to Ukrainian-American weekly newspaper NOVA GAZETA about his English translation of Kobzar by Taras Shevchenko (Ukrainian)

NOVA GAZETA

Taras Shevchenko deserves an entire school of translators, especially today. He arose out of serfdom to become a groundbreaking poet and an object of the ire of Russian Tsar Nikolai I; in the process, he did nothing less than help shape modern Ukraine, the largest country within the continent of Europe. Yet Shevchenko remains a relatively poorly known figure in world literature. Fedynsky’s accessible, no-frills translation of his entire collected verse seeks to change this state of affairs. With enthusiasm and care, it sets out to showcase the breadth of the poet’s concerns and to convey the fullness of his message of freedom and justice to Ukraine, and to the world.

Rory Finnan Director,

Ukrainian Studies Program Cambridge University

I cannot help but instantiate some of the translator’s manifold contrivances and witty finds in rendering multiple national geographic and personal names with descriptive or symbolic elements, so that their pragmatic meaning or significance might “shine through” for English readers. Fedynsky has also supplied additional footnotes on important historical characters and significant geographic names, on the turning points in Ukraine’s history once forbidden to be mentioned by Moscow authorities.

Lada Kolomiyets Chair,

English Translation Department Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

“The Complete Kobzar” was a joy to read. I felt as if the poems hadn’t been translated at all and I was reading what Taras Shevchenko himself had written so long ago. The translations of the poems are beautiful and hold the same purpose and meaning that Shevchenko was trying to convey. I would certainly recommend this to anyone who wants to go on a rollercoaster of emotions with each poem, as its meaning reveals itself with passion and heart.

Myron Kuropas “The Ukrainian Weekly”

© 2013 Glagoslav (Ebook): 9781909156562

Translators: Peter Fedynsky

Release date

Ebook: 11 October 2013