Kobzar (poetry collection)
Kobzar (Ukrainian: Кобзар, "The bard"), is a book of poems by Ukrainian poet and painter Taras Shevchenko,[1] first published by him in 1840 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Taras Shevchenko was nicknamed The Kobzar after the publishing of this book. From that time on this title has been applied to Shevchenko's poetry in general and acquired a symbolic meaning of the Ukrainian national and literary revival.[2]
The first publication consisted of eight poems: "Думи мої, думи мої, лихо мені з вами"(My thoughts, my thoughts, you are my doom), "Перебендя" (Perebendya), "Катерина" (Kateryna), "Тополя" (Poplar tree), "Думка" (Thought), "Нащо мені чорні брови" (Why should I have Black Eyebrows), "До Основ'яненка" (To Osnovyanenko), "Іван Підкова" (Ivan Pidkova), and "Тарасова ніч" (Taras's night).
There was three editions of the Kobzar during Shevchenko's lifetime: 1840, 1844 and 1860. Two last of them included Hajdamaki — another famous book (poem) by Taras Shevchenko, published in 1841. 1844 edition was entitled as Чигиринський Кобзар і Гайдамаки ("Chyhyryn's Kobzar and Hajdamaki" or "Kobzar of Chyhyryn and Hajdamaki").
Censorship in the Russian Empire prompted publication of the poetry by Taras Shevchenko in non-Russia-ruled lands, such as Prague (now in the Czech Republic) or German editions.[2]
Word definition
Literally, kobzar in Ukrainian means a bard, although not a regular one, but rather the one who along with singing plays on a musical instrument, kobza. Kobza is roughly similar to a lute.
In the contemporary Ukrainian the word is also associated with the famous Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko who was given the same nickname.
A complete collection of Ukrainian poems by Taras Shevchenko is called Kobzar too, after the title of Shevchenko's first book.
Important editions of the XIX - early XX centuries. Publications in Osnova magazine Read more: Kobzar 1861 In January-December 1861, an unordered selection of 69 poems by Taras Shevchenko was published in the magazine Osnova (Books I-XII) edited by Vasyl Bilozersky. Each of the publications was entitled "Kobzar". The text is printed in Kulishivka and has accents on words with several syllables (except for the letter "i", on which the printing house could not always mark accents for technical reasons). Book I appeared during Shevchenko's lifetime, and an obituary was published in February II.
In 1867, the Kobzar was published at the expense of the Russian publisher D. Kozhanchikov. It was at that time the most complete edition of "Kobzar", compiled by MI Kostomarov and GS Vashkevich. On June 6, 1867, IT Lysenkov filed a lawsuit with the St. Petersburg District Court, accusing D. Yu. Kozhanchikov of illegally publishing Shevchenko's works. MO Nekrasov, MI Kostomarov and OM Pippin acted as experts in court. The process, which lasted ten years, ended in favor of D. Kozhanchikov (see: Bezyazychny V. Taras Shevchenko and bookseller Ivan Lysenkov… // Book trade. - 1964. - № 3). [5]
"Kobzar", published in 1911 in St. Petersburg
More extensive (containing many previously unpublished works of the poet) was the Prague edition of "Kobzar" in 1876, commissioned by the Kiev "Community" Alexander Rusov. He brought Taras Hryhorovych's brothers Osyp and Mykyta to Kyiv from Kyrylivka. Citizens bought from them the right to publish all works. On October 24, 1874, a "merchant" was concluded in Kyiv. Under its terms, for four years Shevchenko had to receive 5 thousand rubles - a huge amount at the time. In 1875, Alexander Rusov left for Prague, where he published Kobzar (1875-1876) in two volumes. Russian imperial censorship allowed to import only the first volume into Russia. In the second volume, 18 poems (from the Big Book) appeared for the first time.
1878 - in Geneva, Mikhail Drahomanov published a pocket version of the Kobzar in reprint. The size of the book is 9 by 5 cm. The books were smuggled into Ukraine in cigarette packs.
1880 - Mikhail Drahomanov published a version of the Kobzar in Ukrainian Latin.
1889 - The Kobzar was first published in Kyiv.
In 1907, 1908 and 1910 a relatively complete edition of "Kobzar" was published, prepared by the Ukrainian scientist Vasyl Domanytsky.
A 19-volume Kobzar was published by the same scholar in 1911 at the Valentin Yakovenko publishing house in St. Petersburg, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko's death. The title page of the publication with a portrait of Shevchenko was made by Ivan Kramskaya, and the drawings were prepared by Samiylo Dudin and Mykhailo Tkachenko.
1914 - in Lviv The Taras Shevchenko Scientific Society reprinted a small number of phototypes of the first edition from 1840 (114 pages), which are also rare today. They differ from the first printing by lower quality of paper. On a separate page the initial data of this edition - the publisher, year of the reprint edition, circulation were specified. Books with this page are very rare.
See also
References
- "Kobzar." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2011.
- Encyclopedia of Ukraine
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