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SUSK Holds Ukrainian Literature Day – Saturday March 9th, 2013

Ukrainian Literature Day – Saturday March 9th, 2013

  Taras Shevchenko Self Portrait

Taras Shevchenko – Self Portrait (1840)

March 9th marks the birthday of Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet, artist and literary father. Shevchenko is widely regarded as the most important contributor to the development of the Ukrainian language. He is also renowned for his impact on Ukrainian culture and the strengthening of the Ukrainian identity. With these contributions as inspiration, SUSK is pleased to announce it will be holding a Ukrainian Literature Day on Saturday, March 9th 2013.

On Ukrainian Literature Day, SUSK encourages all members of Ukrainian Students’ Organizations at post-secondary institutions across Canada, as well as Ukrainian Canadians in the community to visit their local or post-secondary libraries and engage with literature pertaining to Ukrainian culture, literature, history and other topics pertaining to their Ukrainian background. Many Canadian libraries offer a variety of books relating to Ukraine and Ukrainian subject matter, both in English and in Ukrainian. Many students are unaware of the wealth of information that is available to them. By participating in this initiative, SUSK hopes to encourage Ukrainian-Canadian students to become more active in exploring, learning and sharing their newfound knowledge.

The goals of Ukrainian Literature Day are twofold. Primarily, SUSK would like to encourage students to make use of the thousands of resources available to them. We are very fortunate to have such fine collections at our fingertips. There is a wealth of information to be discovered, and SUSK encourages all Ukrainian-Canadians to become familiar with and take advantage of these resources.

Furthermore, many libraries have policies regarding infrequently used books. In some cases, books that are not regularly checked out are either moved to remote areas, including basements or are permanently removed from library circulation. Many books with Ukrainian subject matter are in danger of falling into this category. Without knowledge of their existence, many library users overlook these valuable pieces of literature. SUSK hopes that through Ukrainian Literature Day we can encourage students across the country to check out a large number of these books to help prevent them from being moved or discarded. This will allow these resources to remain available for generations to come. When you do go to your local or post-secondary library to take a look at these books, please be sure to check them out.

SUSK strongly encourages everyone to visit their local or post-secondary libraries on March 9th and explore the books relating to Ukrainian subject matter. Enhance your knowledge and help preserve these wonderful resources for the future!

“Учітесь, читайте, чужого навчайтесь і свого не цурайтесь”
– Тарас Шевченко, 1845

“Teach, read, and learn from others, but do not forget what is your own”
– Taras Shevchenko, 1845