Shevchenko's Unforgotten Journey

Myroslav Shkandrij is head of the Department of German and Slavic
Studies at the University of Manitoba, and editor of The Cultural
Renaissance in Ukraine: Polemical Pamphlets, 1925–1926.

This short biography of the great Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko is
written in a readable, fast-paced style, includes several illustrations,
and eschews footnotes.

The narrative is built around Shevchenko’s two trips to Ukraine, in
1843–45 and 1859. A solemn third journey occurred when his body was
returned for burial on the banks of the Dnieper. This structure allows
Luckyj to focus on the poet’s relationship with his homeland, and the
enormous symbolic importance his biography holds for Ukrainians.

Luckyj paints an engaging picture of the man, as a bon vivant in his
early adult life, in moments of despair in exile, in his friendly
contacts with Polish “dissenters,” and in his relations with women.
However, this portrait raises several puzzling questions that have never
been adequately answered. Why, for example, did Shevchenko begin to
write prose in Russian? Why do his neoclassical paintings differ so
strikingly from his romantic poetry?

Luckyj, who recently translated a biography of Shevchenko by the
scholar Zaitsev, presents a complex and credible individual, far removed
from the stiffness of any iconic portrayal. This, of course, was his
goal—to challenge some misconceptions and to throw fresh light on a
major figure. And he succeeds admirably, synthesizing key details from
the poet’s life and stimulating new interest in this remarkable
literary figure.

Aimed at the general reader, this elegant introduction to Shevchenko
could also be used in an academic setting.