Literatura Class 2

Seminar 2 was with lecturer Tamara Hundorova author of The Post-Chornobyl Library. This seminar was Ukrainian Modernism and Feminism. This focused on two writers, Lesia Ukrainka and Olha Kobylianska. A discussion of two texts in relation to modernist themes. This included relationships to Kafka, T. S. Eliot and Deleuze.

My first reading was a text by Lesia Ukrainka, Cassandra. This is a dramatic poem, a 1968 edition translated by Vera Rich. In particular I focused on a discussion on truth (p. 217).
“Does a voice never tell you in your heart:
“It shall be this, thus and no other way?”
(Ukrainka, 1968, p. 217).
Investigating intuition, truth, dialogue and physical relationships.




Extract from Cassandra by Lesia Ukrainka. Source: The Electronic Library of Ukrainian Literature.

Text two was an extract from a short story. Valse Mélancolique by Olha Kobylianska. This text is from 1897. A story of relationships between three women. This is a first person narration from one woman and her two friends and housemates, one artist, one musician. It is a story of female identity, kinship and love “like a man” (Kobylianska, 1998, p. 151). Perspectives on female identity.


Kobylianska, Olha (1998)  'Valse melancholique', trans. by Roma Franko, in But...The Lord is Silent (Language Lanterns Publications,), pp. 128-170.
Ukrainka, Lesia (1968) Cassandra [Online]. trans. by Vera Rich Toronto: University of Toronto. Available from: <http://sites.utoronto.ca/elul/English/Ukrainka/Ukrainka-Cassandra.pdf> [Accessed 30 June 2023].

Harvard: Krawciw Map Collection

Bohdan Krawciw was a poet and a collector. After he died his family donated his map collection to Harvard Map Collections. I viewed a selection of political, agriculture and geographical maps. Most of these related to Ukraine around 1930. This includes a definitive map of Chornozem soils in English and Ukrainian. Krawciw also translated poetry from Rilke into Ukrainian.



Map of soils of Ukraine: English version, 1968.
Source: Harvard Map Collection.

I viewed close to 100 maps in total. This was a focus of my visit. Harvard map collections are in Pusey Library. They include evidence of how Ukraine’s borders and boundaries have shifted and changed. It was interesting viewing a series of maps in sequence next to each other. Each with varying political borders. This included changes to Crimea, east and west Ukraine.



Map of Ukraine, 1945. Source: Harvard Map Collection.

Map of Ukraine, 1945. Source: Harvard Map Collection.




Map of Ukraine, 1910. Source: Harvard Map Collection.

I am also interested in design of these maps. Map designs include variations in colour, printing styles, typography and production. For example, paper size and folding. I viewed a huge range of materials, most of my requests were 20th century maps.

Map detail: Ethnographic Map of Ukraine,
1966. Source: Harvard Map Collection.



Ethnographic Map of Ukraine, 1955. Source:
Harvard Map Collection.

Harvard: Alexandra Exter

Archives of Ukrainian theatre designer Alexandra Exter. These include set designs. I viewed two of these in gouache from Le Cirque and Othello. I am interested in visual style, colour, use of paint and drawing.




Alexandra Exter set designs: Le Cirque




Alexandra Exter set designs Othello

Exter also created costume designs for theatre production. In particular I requested five swordsmen. Out of these five I viewed four. One in yellow, on in green, one in grey and black and another in gold. I drew each of these including analysis of line and colour.



Alexandra Exter costume design: Swordsman in yellow



Alexandra Exter costume design: Swordsman in green and coral uniform



Alexandra Exter costume design: Swordsman in grey & black uniform



Alexandra Exter costume design: Swordsman in gold uniform

Before I left I viewed three final designs. This was in a second visit to Houghton Library archives. All three of these were swordsmen. These are graphic figures using gouache and flat colour for theatre production.




Alexandra Exter Houghton Library archives notes.

HURI: Postcard Collection

Collected graphic ephemera and postcards. This is box 1 of four, focusing on people. Catalogued postcards of Ukrainian writers, poets and figures from history. A lot of raw, uncounted stock on A6 size postcards and smaller.



Postcards: Poetry and Illustrations – Ivan Kotliarevs’kyi



Postcards: Poetry and Illustrations – Ivan Kotliarevs’kyi



Postcard collection: HURI archives Harvard.

Below are responses I created to postcard collections. These are various design and one recreation of a calendar from 1992. These include postcards, layouts, typography, colour and visual styles. Digital responses.



Type designs and layouts



1992 Calendar design

Mu visit included a chance encounter with a publication by Kotliarevs’kyi, Eneida [Енеїда]. This copy is from 1968 with illustrations by Anatolii Bazylevych. I learnt of this from my first Literatura lesson studying this text with Tara Shevchenko.



Eneida by Kotliarevs’kyi. Illustrations by Bazylevych.



Eneida by Kotliarevs’kyi. Illustrations by Bazylevych.



Eneida by Kotliarevs’kyi. Illustrations by Bazylevych.

US Maps, Literatura and Holodomor Map

US Tour planning maps. I have four in total: Philadelphia, Boston (actually Cambridge), New York and an East Coast map, with a full schedule of my US trip. I have 33 hours in New York and a HURI archival visit as part of a research trip to Harvard from 5–7 June. My trip is to Philadelphia to attend MODE Motion Design Education Summit 2023 for my paper Memories and Motion Graphics: Recipes for Baking Bread.

Plans, Maps and Diagrams: US Maps




East Coast tour map.

It was my first Literatura class on Thursday. An online course organised by Ukrainian Institute London. Class one was Through Laughter and Through Tears: The Cultural Emergence of Modern Ukraine by Rory Finnin from University of Cambridge. A fantastic seminar exploring rhythm, poetic metre and poetry in translation. This is my first experience of any understanding of bilingual poetry. This was a study of two texts by Ivan Kotliarevs’kyi and Taras Shevchenko.

From The Aeneid (1798) by Ivan Kotliarevs’kyi

Anatoly Bazlevych: Venus visiting Zeus, 1989. Source: British Library.

Anatoly Bazleyvych: Aeneas and Dido 1989. Source: British Library.

I have completed work on a definitive Holodomor map. This shows regions of Ukraine and borders in 1932 and present with numbers of deaths according to area. All data is from HURI Harvard University Ukrainian Research Institute MAPA: Digital Atlas of Ukraine project. Maps are from google maps. I include Kharkiv, capital of Ukraine in 1932 and Kyiv current capital. This is a slide for my conference presentation for MODE Summit 2023 at Moore College of Art and Design.

Kerziouk, O. (2017) The Aeneid of Bazlevych – celebrating Kotlyarevsky’s masterpiece. [Online]. London: British Library. Available from: <https://blogs.bl.uk/european/2017/08/the-aeneid-of-bazylevych-celebrating-kotlyarevskys-masterpiece.html> [Accessed 2 June 2023].