Modern Ukrainian Literature Research Articles

ORIENTAL MOTIVES IN CONTEMPORARY UKRAINIAN LITERATURE: IDENTITY AND IDEOLOGY

The work is devoted to the study of the correlation between the motives, images, symbols, stereotypes and clichés existing in modern Ukrainian literature, which outline the Eastern philosophical tradition, and the formation and transformation of identity at different levels and types. The consideration is carried out in the context of the emergence of the latest Ukrainian myth as a basis for national ideology. The purpose of the research is to outline the paradoxical nature of the general reception and individual explications of oriental motifs in modern Ukrainian literature on the occasion of those segments that can be defined through the predications of genre or mass. The article outlines the peculiarities of the reflection of oriental motifs in modern Ukrainian literature related to the dominance of the aesthetic and philosophical influences of the paradigm of postmodernism in the national tradition during the last decades. It also notes the connection between the reception of oriental motifs in Ukrainian modern literature and the politicization of modern public discourse on the occasion of the meaning-making East-West dichotomy. Political and ideological contexts of literary discourse and speech practices acquire signs of ambivalence and function as symbolic constructions. The dual nature of the reception of the image and philosophy of the East in the Ukrainian literary tradition and mass consciousness of both the metaphysical East and the geopolitical East has been clarified. The direction of transformation of oriental motives and images in the mass consciousness and literary usus in the context of finding the identity of different types and levels of generality in Ukrainian society and culture is also recorded. The liminal type of culture correlates with a divided society, and as a result the rational-educational interpretation of the image of the East as the antithesis of the West interacts with the postmodern fusion and mutual determination of East and West.

Artistic and aesthetic features of the image of the province in modern Ukrainian literature

This study deals with the features of the description of the Province topos in modern Ukrainian prose and the problems of the development of the ideas of geopoetics in Ukrainian literary studies. The subject of the study is the poetic and stylistic parameters of the Province topos in modern Ukrainian prose. Elzhbieta Rybitska’s ideas of structuralism and geopoetics became the intellectual support of this research. The goal is a systematic analysis of the poetic and stylistic parameters of the topos of the Province in the novels “The Servant from Dobromil”, “Enchanted Musicians”, “The Tycoon”, by Halyna Pahutiak, “Voroshilovgrad” by Serhiy Zhadan, and “District D” by Artem Chekh. A combination of structural-typological analysis and conceptual analysis methods in the context of the ideas of geopoetics was chosen for this research. The scientific novelty of the study is determined by the fact that it describes three models of understanding the topos of the Province in modern Ukrainian literature, proposes and argues for an aesthetic paradigm of modeling the world and man in the prose works of modern Ukrainian writers in the context of the ideas of structuralism and geopoetics. The study’s results present three models of the topos of the Province. Within the first model, the Province is described as a geographical space in which the opposition of the Center / Province is revealed. The second model is based on myth as a sacred space in which the aggressive Center and the Arcadian and harmonious Province are opposed. The third model is based on post-colonial ideas of the contradiction between colonized cultures and regions, describing the dialogue with the colonial past and images of Own / Strangers. Such theoretical ideas of this article made it possible to analyze the novels by Halyna Pahutiak, “The Servant from Dobromil”, “Enchanted Musicians”, “The Tycoon”, Serhiy Zhadan’s “Voroshilovgrad”, Artem Chekh’s “District D” and describe the features of depicting the topos of the Province in the works of modern Ukrainian writers. Thus, in the novels by Halyna Pahutiak, the topos of the Province are reproduced as a mystical space with symbolic ambivalent images. In this place, the character gets an opportunity for self-discovery and rethinking ethical views. Instead, Serhiy Zhadan’s novel presents the topos of the Province as a space deformed by the Soviet past, a kind of semantic wasteland, abandoned and hostile to the character. In the novel by Artem Chekh, the model of the topos of the Province is embodied as an existential trap from which the character seeks to escape and simultaneously feels both his own and a stranger. The study results prove the productivity of geopoetics for modern Ukrainian literary studies, the perspective of the study of the topos of the Province in particular, and the poetic features of geographical images in artistic works in general.

ХУДОЖНІЙ ТЕКСТ ЯК ВТІЛЕННЯ ПРАВДИ ПРО МИНУЛЕ

Background. The article is devoted to the study of the problem of post-totalitarian trauma in modern Ukrainian literature, in particular in novels, which, thanks to their genre features, are able to depict not only phenomena, facts, but also broad contexts. The relevance of the research lies in the analysis of various human behavioral models caused by the activities of the totalitarian system, the so-called big changes that are finally reflected in the literary texts of modern authors as those who are ready to offer for articulation the silenced and hidden. The purpose of the study is to demonstrate the ability of trauma novels to accumulate memory about the true past, despite the influence of totalitarian practices, to show the mechanisms and approaches when encountering a traumatic experience in the novels "Museum of Abandoned Secrets" by Oksana Zabuzhko and "Amadoka" by Sofia Andruhovich. Methods. To achieve the goal, the research used a historical and cultural approach, "memory studies", and a comparative method. Results. A novel text describing traumatic events and their consequences provides the possibility of a conditional encounter with the past. Memory serves as a tool for these meetings as a mediator between what was, is and will be. The work of memory is made much more difficult when the official history is falsified. Under such conditions, individual stories are of great value. Especially those that talk about the experience of living similar events in similar circumstances. A broad background, a large number of individual stories with a common denominator is needed to refute false narratives and promote a true past. Conclusions. It has been found that a literary text (as a tool and artifact) depicting trauma, the truth about it, can perform a therapeutic role, contribute to the strengthening or construction of identity, and counter falsified narratives. On the specific semantic lines of the analyzed texts, it is demonstrated how different persons in the same circumstances behave differently, and the common behavioral traits of the characters-actors who are directly confronted with the trauma of the past are traced.

ACTIONS OF THE ENGLISH-FRENCH FLEET IN THE GULF OF ODESA IN APRIL 1854: FACTS AND MYTHS OF IMPERIAL PROPAGANDA

In the article the author examines the military actions of the English-French fleet in the Gulf of Odesa during the Eastern War (1853–1856) in April 1854. The main statements and assessments regarding the specified events in Russian, Soviet and modern Ukrainian literature and electronic media are identified. It is noted that starting from the Russian press in 1854, the aforementioned actions of the English-French fleet were evaluated as insidious, cruel and unsuccessful. The Allies were accused of staging a provocation in the gulf with the aim of shelling and capturing the peaceful city. Analyzing the facts and testimonies of contemporaries, the author of the article proves that the English-French fleet did not intend to capture Odesa and bombard the city. It is claimed that the Allies' aims were to avenge the Russians' shelling of a parliamentary boat and to destroy British, French and Russian merchant ships in the Gulf of Odesa (the extradition of which had previously been demanded by the Allies). These goals were generally achieved. Therefore, according to the author of the article, the actions of the indicated fleet on April 10 (22), 1854 in the Gulf of Odesa should be considered not a defeat, but a success (albeit a minor one). It is concluded that the use of the terms «defence of Odesa» and «bombardment of Odesa», which are quite common today, is inappropriate in relation to the events of April 1854 in the Gulf of Odesa. It is noted that too much attention has been paid to these events in the historical and local lore literature, although they did not have a significant impact on the course of events of the Eastern War (1853–1856). In the article the author also provides recommendations regarding transferring and changing inscriptions on monuments related to the events of April 1854 in Odesa (a trophy cannon and a monument to Archbishop Innocent), which should be done within the framework of decolonization.

ФОЛЬКЛОРНІ МОТИВИ ІСТОРИЧНИХ РОМАНІВ ІВАНА КОРСАКА

The article examines the folklore elements from creative work of the modern Ukrainian writer Ivan Korsak, namely the historical novels «The Conqueror of Europe», «The Crown of Yurij II», «The Finger-ring of Hanna Barvinok». The tradi-tional meaning of folklore symbols and their interpretation in I. Korsak’s novels are compared. The functions of excerpts of folklore texts are included in the novel «The Finger-ring of Hanna Barvinok» have been clarifi ed.Folklore, folk beliefs, and traditions have been the basis of fi ction since their inception. In modern Ukrainian literature, folklore expresses ancient national identity.The creativity of the Ukrainian writer Ivan Korsak represents the implementation of folklore elements in a fi ction with the aim of expressing the national and mental component. Ivan Korsak’s novels are used for traditional folk ideas about the animal and plant world. Ornithological images have a symbolic meaning. In Ivan Korsak’s historical novels, the bird performs the function of a mediator, that is, an intermedi-ary between heaven and earth. Defi cation of nature, spiritualization and endowment with extraordinary, sometimes mystical properties is a characteristic of the Ukrainian mentality. It is usually embodied in dreams, delusions, visions.Folk creativity is the basis of the depiction of national identity in the literary style of I. Korsak. This is important for the novel «The Finger-ring of Hanna Barvinok». This is related to the literary and folklore activity of Oleksandra Bilozerska, because it has known that her work belongs to the ethnographic and domestic school. The de-tailed depiction of Hanna Barvinok’s folkloristic activities in the novel is also testifi es to its importance for the general idea of the work.The article proves that folklore expresses national identity in Ivan Korsak’s nov-els. Author uses traditional folk symbols and beliefs, as well as world religious my-thology in creative works. Excerpts from Ukrainian folk songs and legends recorded in the novel «The Finger-ring of Hanna Barvinok» show the great importance of Oleksandra Bilozerska’s folklore activity

ДЕФОРМАЦІЯ ЖАНРУ МЕЛОДРАМИ В УКРАЇНСЬКИЙ ПОСТМОДЕРНІЙ ЛІТЕРАТУРІ: ІРЕН РОЗДОБУДЬКО ТА НАТАЛІЯ ГУРНИЦЬКА

In the conditions of postmodernism, the content and formative components of the melodrama genre (issues, portrayal, narration, plot structure, system of characters, type of protagonist) undergo certain transformations. Today, there is a lack of literary studies devoted to the specifics of the expression of postmodern melodramatism in the works of contemporary writers, namely representatives of “women’s literature” by N. Hurnytska and I. Rozdobudko. Accordingly, there is a need to understand the deformational genre shifts that took place in melodrama under the influence of postmodernist aesthetics. Thus, the relevance of the chosen topic is motivated by the need to analyze the signs of melodramatism in Ukrainian prose and the need to reveal the problem-thematic and genre-stylistic features of melodrama in the context of Ukrainian postmodern literature. The purpose of the work is to study the processes of deformation of the melodrama genre in Ukrainian postmodern literature (based on the works of Irene Rozdobudko and Natalia Hurnytska). Achieving the set goal involves solving a number of tasks, such as: determining the artistic specificity of the melodrama genre; understanding the melodramatic specificity of the works of Irene Rozdobudko (the novel “Once Upon a Time...”) and Natalia Hurnytska (the novel “The Melody of Coffee in the Tonality of Cardamom”) in the context of postmodern aesthetics; elucidation of the peculiarities of representation in both works of typically melodramatic genre features and specifically authorial ones. To achieve the goal, historical-literary, cultural-historical, comparative, hermeneutic, biographical research methods are involved. The development of melodrama at the current stage is determined by postmodern trends in the literary process, as well as the existence of “women’s writing” as an artistic and aesthetic phenomenon, within which the specified genre functions. A comparative analysis of two examples of melodrama in modern Ukrainian literature (the novel “The Melody of Coffee in the Tonality of Cardamom” by Natalia Hurnytska and the novel “Once Upon a Time...” by Irene Rozdobudko) made it possible to conclude that the indicated signs of melodramatism are clearly presented in both works. At the same time, the studied literary works are significantly different from each other, which makes it possible to consider them as certain modifications of the melodrama genre: Natalia Hurnytska’s work is immersed in the historical and cultural atmosphere of the 19th century, and the leading role in it is played by the motive of unequal love of a young girl for a much older, wealthy man; the plot of the novel unfolds around a “love triangle” and has a “happy end”, it is marked by emotional aggravation and the outburst of passions. In the novel by Irene Rozdobudko, autobiographical and confessional motifs are leading, which are written into the modern context related to the life and creative plans of the author and their implementation. At the same time, this work raises a significant range of problems related to selfrealization, achieving a set goal, success and failure, creative activity, the transience of human life, etc. Accordingly, the heroine of the novel by Irene Rozdobudko appears more diverse, while the interests of the heroine of the novel by N. Hurnytska are limited to marriage and children. Therefore, the evolutionary changes experienced by the genre of melodrama in the 21st century are characterized by the loss of established melodramatic features (excessive sharpness of the plot, bright contrast, schematic character images, the theme of the struggle between good and evil disappear); a new – postmodern – angle of understanding the traditional thematic and stylistic aspects of the melodramatic genre: immersion in private life, themes of love and marriage, sentimentality and heightened emotionality; strengthening of psychologism in understanding the images of the characters; actualization of philosophical and confessional motives. There is a shift in emphasis from dialogues to internal monologues, from plot vicissitudes to character images (there is an emphasis on character images, in particular, female rebels functioning within “formulaic” plots and situations). The melodramatic genre acquires pronounced features of postmodern aesthetics. The type of orphan heroine traditional for melodrama is transformed into the type of “absurd heroine-rebel woman” characteristic of the postmodern aesthetic paradigm, the final “happy end” gives way to the variability of the denouement traditional for postmodernism. The canonical genre structure of melodrama is destroyed as a result of the infiltration of elements of postmodern poetics – genre eclecticism (synthesis of melodrama with everyday and psychological drama), intertextual connections, intermediality (features of “musicality” and “cinematography” of the style), irony and playing with the reader.

ON THE SEARCH OF NEW AESTHETICS IN CONTEMPORARY UKRAINIAN LITERATURE (BASED ON THE NOVELS OF MAKSYM DUPESHKO)

Modern Ukrainian literature reacts to the collapse of the postmodern project and the emergence of a new cultural logic - metamodernism. This article is an attempt to prove it on the example of an analysis of the work of a modern Ukrainian writer. Maksym Dupeshko’s novels «The Story Worth an Entire Apple Orchard» [Istoriia varta tsiloho yablunevoho sadu] (2017) and «Near the Carriage under a Dead Fox» [Bilia karety pid mertvym lysom] (2021) served as the artistic material for the study. A scrupulous analysis of the novels testifies to the writer’s sensitivity to tectonic shifts in modern aesthetics. Both novels work with the phenomenon of the influence of historical memory on the present. And the strategies used by the author fully illustrate the theses of metamodernism theorists: oscillation between pre-modern, modern, and post-modern practices; fragmented «I» and attempts to integrate it into newmeaningful configurations; finding the multiplicity of human subjectivity; transition from parataxis to metaxy; a movement from melancholy to hope. Maksym Dupeshko’s texts testify listening to a new sensuality. The writer is not afraid to search for the truth, to be simple (both at the level of language and at the level of transmitted ideas), he consciously uses banality, he is deliberately pathetic, oscillates from irony to seriousness, from naivety to sincerity, always, however, without approaching cynicism. «The Story Worth an Entire Apple Orchard» is a novel-reflex on the modern Russian-Ukrainian war. The credit of the novel is that in its area there is a very important for our literature a change of modes in the artistic interpretation of reality — a transition from the obvious to the significant, after that we will no longer be ashamed to be heroes, to be from the provinces, to seek God and places of strength, we willstop confusing naivety and sincerity. «Near the Carriage under the Dead Fox» is a novel-anamorphosis - a construction that seems absurd to us if we look at it directly, but when we change the angle of view, it acquires clear and recognizable outlines. This novel engages the reader in the quest, it demonstrates a way to look into our modern existence - an endless chaos of things, events, ideas, aesthetics, fragments of sleeps, fragments of destinies, parts of dreams, hallucinations and fantasies.

Decolonial Processes in Modern Ukrainian Literature through the Disclosure of the Soviet Man Image. City Space as One of the Identity-Forming Factors

A post-colonial approach to literary studies of modern literature, in particular Ukrainian, has gained considerable popularity over the last decade. Clearly, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent attainment of independence have laid the foundation for the development of post-colonial studies in our territory. Injuries inflicted during the long period of colonisation (although not all researchers agree to use this term, noting the absence of a key characteristic of the colony — “a large body of water” is missing) have been understood and reflected both in literature and its researchers. However, currently we are at a stage, when writers are moving beyond the refl ection typical for post-colonial viewpoints, delving into the exploration of logical connections between events and their consequences, examining ways to process these traumas. Therefore, in modern research, the decolonial approach, which emerges as a branch of postcolonial thought, is more relevant. In particular, this is discussed by Agnieszka Matusiak and Tamara Hundorova.Tamara Hundorova identifies a unique form of decolonial aesthetics in Ukrainian literature — aesthesis. This is the manifestation of the unknown, even the opposite of the generally accepted modern concept of “aesthetics” — corporeality, sensuality, and mystical practices. Agnieszka Matusiak observes that modern Ukrainian science and culture have undergone a ‘decolonial turn’ (decolonial-detotalitarian, as she calls this phenomenon, a complete shift in emphasis in discussions about Donbas). Decolonisation is intrinsically linked in Ukrainian realities with de-Sovietization. While at the governmental level, this occurs through changing street names and re-evaluating Soviet political figures, people raised under this system find it challenging to shed an identity formed under vastly different values and conditions. The article aims to showcase the depiction and transformation of the Soviet man in modern Ukrainian literature, illustrating changes that signify a shift towards a decolonial perspective. Also of interest are the aspects of traumatic memory and the identity crisis of characters, invariably linked with the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

Interpretation of «Khutir’s philosophy» in the novel Liuko Dashvar «RAI. center»

At the beginning of the 21st century, a specific category of the artistic model of «peasantry», which is rooted in a peculiarly Ukrainian «philosophy of the heart» (cordocentrism), gets a new life and moves away from religious interpretation, turning towards national, spiritual, anthropological components. In the metaphilosophical sense and interpretation, Ukrainian cordocentrism is a national philosophy, which in artistic images and theoretical concepts expresses the awareness of human integrity and the understanding of the inseparable unity of man with God, spiritual reality, the transcendent. The study of changes and features of the transformation of this worldview in the work of domestic writers, in particular, Liuko Dashvar, would contribute to the continuity of artistic models traditional for Ukrainian literature. Therefore, there is a need for a thorough study of the features of the artistic interpretation of «khutir’s philosophy» as a specific worldview system in modern Ukrainian literature with taking into account its genre and style trends. Thus, in our study, through the prism of «khutir’s philosophy», an analysis of modern youth and the urban rich was carried out with emphasis on two spaces — the city and the small town. The system of characters is built according to two lines: images from the first,«people from the people» (carriers of true spiritual values), opposed to the immoral world of the city, in particular, those in power (the embodiment of social vices). Accordingly, the space of a district center, a town, a village is opposed to a metropolis as a center of decency and humanity to a space of greed and moral degradation. In the novel, the main worldview modes of the «khutir’s philosophy» are correlated with the system of character images and the organization of the artistic space. It was concluded that in Ukrainian literature, the «khutir’s philosophy» retains its significance as a holistic worldview which is manifested in the problematic of the works, the author’s principles of organization of the characters’ system and the chronotope.

TITLES OF CONTEMPORARY UKRAINIAN WORKS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH: STRUCTURAL AND SEMANTIC DIMENSION

The article is devoted to the study of the structural and semantic features of the titles of works of modern Ukrainian literature for children and youth. It was found that the analyzed titles are usually multi-meaningful, they are characterized by a high level of generalization. In the projection on figurative and semiotic characteristics, three types of titles are distinguished: titles-indicators, titles-images, titles-symbols. In modern literature for children and young, titles-images and titles-symbols prevail, because it is their use that realizes the ambiguity of the title, and therefore of the work in general. Typical structural models of the titles of works for children and youth were revealed: titles-word forms, titles-phrases and titles-sentences. The selected actual material proves that the largest group is the titles-subordinate phrases. Within this group, we trace the quantitative unevenness of various types of phrases. The most frequent in terms of usage are titles expressed by a substantive phrase. Instead, verb and adverbial phrases occur occasionally. Single-component titles, expressed by nouns in the nominative case, and titles-simple sentences are also common. Titles-complex sentences are less productive. The titles expressed by the nominative case of representation and models of doublet headings are described and analyzed. We see the prospect for further scientific research in the study of the pragmatic potential of titles of works of modern Ukrainian literature for children and youth.

Vasyl Kozhelyankо’s Dramaturgy as a phenomenon of modern Ukrainian literature

The purpose of the article is to consider the originality and analyze the plays of V. Kozhelyanko in the context of modern dramaturgy and special subgenre, what is called "plays for reading". The novelty of the study is that the dramaturgical heritage of V. Kozhelyanko (in co-authorship with V. Serdyuk) became the object of a comparative study for the first time and has not yet been systematically introduced into the modern literary process in Ukraine. Research methods used in the article are subject to the comparative principle of presentation of the material, combine descriptive and functional-pragmatic methods of analysis. Conclusions. Architectural and genre-stylistic findings of V. Kozhelyanko in the dramatic genre of writing not only laid the foundation of his creative block, in particular the novel in the genre of alternative history and adventure postmodern and newmodern novels, but also formed a workshop of the latest creative tools used by other modern authors (for example, Neda Neshdana). The plays of V. Kozhelyanko are considered in the key of genre and style analysis. Having analyzed some aspects of dramatic texts (the image of the national hero, historical and political figures in the writer's parodic prose, historical and detective novels and the realization of the chronotope in them as a distinguishing genre marker, emphasis on the mental mistakes of the Ukrainian nation as the leitmotif of the creative intention of V. Kozhelyanko) from the point of view of structural , descriptive, receptive and comparative approaches of literary science, we have good reason to talk about the work of V. Kozhelyanko as an example of high-quality modern neomodernist work of the European level.

PLACE OF YOUTH SLANG AND BANTER IN THE LEXICAL SYSTEM OF MODERN ENGLISH AND UKRAINIAN LANGUAGES

Objective. The objective of the article is to study the features of youth slang and banter and their place in modern language systems; to investigate the specificity of the translation of youth slang and banter into Ukrainian from English and vice versa. Methods. The need to consider the formation of interactive relations between youth slang and banter in English and Ukrainian languages has led to recourse to the methods of historical and analytical approach, as well as analysis and generalization of scientific literature on the problems of youth slang and banter. Results. Youth slang is an integral part of expressive vocabulary and serves to enrich and diversify the process of communication, works of literature, reports and journalistic works. Already at the beginning of the research, it was clear that this is a special vocabulary that not everyone understands, therefore, for the sake of an effective comparative analysis in English and Ukrainian languages, the main difficulties of translating youth slang and banter were first of all solved and considered. This is a rather important stage, because in order to move on to the main ways of education, it is necessary to correctly translate this or that slang expression. Having researched and presented an analysis of various scientific works and opinions on this matter, we learned that this branch of linguistics has been and continues to be of interest to many researchers. They described slang vocabulary from different angles, trying to analyze the origin, distribution, representatives and conditions of distribution. When writing, it was found that, in addition to the ways of formation acceptable for linguistics, one should rely on the emergence of social groups, because they are the beginners who lay the foundation for the creation of jargonisms. The obtained results also have given us an understanding that jargon is gaining popularity among all strata of the population and because of this, it is often used without even understanding the meaning of what is said or written. But on the other hand, in some spheres of distribution, it acts as an effective and even necessary means of communication. The topic was not chosen by chance, a large number of examples and a wide field of distribution provided an opportunity to investigate the initial stages of the formation of jargonisms. In addition, we paid attention to neoplasms in this area. Observation shows that any lexical structure of the language is a dynamic organism. It is constantly in need of development, rejects outdated units and accepts new ones. Having characterized the examples related to the new phenomena of the world scale, we made sure that the slang vocabulary is capable of changes and transformations. Having analysed the jargon of Oxford and Kyiv-Mohyla Academy students, we can draw conclusions about vocabulary in both languages. First of all, a comparative analysis of different ways of formation in English and Ukrainian languages was carried out. We singled out the main methods and, based on examples, provided certain statistics regarding the composition of methods (in percentage) in both analysed languages. Moreover, the results showed a tendency towards the spread of one or another path in certain social groups. Another important issue was the study of the appropriateness of the use of jargon. As the study showed, when submitting certain literary works, periodicals, journalistic articles and materials for public review, it is necessary to monitor not only the quantity and quality of this vocabulary, but also the topic where it will look appropriate. After all, in pursuit of popularity and attractiveness, authors often oversaturate the text. Sometimes it causes dissatisfaction in the reader, and sometimes even disgust. Understanding that modern Ukrainian literature is filled with so much youth slang and banter gave us the opportunity to make an in-depth analysis, illustrated with samples taken from the works. Considering everything analysed above, we note that we encounter jargon in everyday life almost every day. Currently, it is used in many areas and we can now clearly define the signs of its use, formation and distribution.

THE ARTISTIC CONCEPT OF “BOOK” IN THE CHRISTMAS STORIES FOR CHILDREN

The article explores how the concept of a book is described in the Christmas stories for children, which were included in the collection called When the show smells like tangerines”, published by The Old Lion Publishing House, and “Who creates the Christmas” published by The Black Sheep Publishing House. Ukrainian scientists’ interest in exploring concepts’ problems has been growing significantly in recent years. Despite this, the concept of “book” has not yet been widely studied, which makes this scientific investigation relevant. After all, interest in the phenomenon of books and reading in the modern world is increasing among researchers from various scientific fields – teachers, sociologists, philosophers, literary critics. In the coordinates of modern Ukrainian literature for children and youth, authors are also increasingly updating the question of the presence of books in a modern child’s life. Therefore, the work aims to analyze the use of the “book” concept in Christmas stories for children. In the course of the research, taking into account the outlined thematic guidelines, it was found that the concept of “book” is actualized within the framework of stories for children in the light of associability with the holiday of Christmas, the Christmas tradition. This positively affects the formation of the linguistic picture of the world of young readers, understanding the importance of family values and traditions. The book becomes essential to the interaction between family members, the joy of joint reading, and gift-giving. Further study of the concept of “book” in Ukrainian literature for children and youth will open new horizons for interpreting the book phenomenon in general.

Comic in modern Ukrainian revolutionary military literature: types of genre

The urgency of the topic is due to the public need to consider and analyze using the latest methods, new works of modern Ukrainian literature, in particular the military genre - one of the most popular areas of Ukrainian modern literature. The aim of the work is to study and thoroughly analyze works of 2014–2021 dedicated to the war in eastern Ukraine, study their genre nature, identify types of comic, its characteristics and create a new typology of comic discourse in modern Ukrainian literature. Among the main methods in the study of texts are historical-biographical, comparative-historical, comparative, as well as elements of hermeneutic, structural methods, textual and discourse analysis and more. A thorough analysis of humorous, ironic and satirical military works is carried out in the work and a new typology of the comic category is proposed. Research materials can be used to prepare basic and special courses in literary theory, history of Ukrainian and foreign literature, while working on textbooks and manuals, including for higher education institutions and more.

ХАОС ВІЙНИ ТА КРИЗА ІДЕНТИЧНОСТІ: ТИПОЛОГІЧНІ ДОМІНАНТИ ОПОВІДІ ПРО ТРАВМУ В СУЧАСНІЙ УКРАЇНСЬКІЙ ЛІТЕРАТУРІ

The article presents a study of the phenomenon of narratives about trauma in modern Ukrainian literature - based on works devoted to the Russian-Ukrainian war. The focus of the study is on two examples: the media project "Another Day: War Diaries" and Oleksandr Mykhed's fairy tale "Cat, Rooster, Cupboard". The purpose of the article is to analyze the attributive features of a story about traumatic events, to clarify the definition of a "trauma novel", and to analyze the genre features of a story about traumatic events that appear in modern Ukrainian literature. Research results and conclusions. Artistic practices of understanding the Russian-Ukrainian war are formed in the context of two trends. The first tendency is neorealism as a special way to reproduce the truth of trauma, the chaos of war, documentary, and impressive facts. The second tendency is to depict fundamental changes in the identity of the characters. This actualizes the trauma novel genre in modern Ukrainian literature. The genre of the trauma novel can be described as a story about the events before, during, or after traumatic events (war, migration, family destruction, violence, genocide, etc.). In such works, the story of the character as a witness or victim of traumatic events is told, and the existential conflict between life and death is described thanks to the principles of self-narrative, family history, fragmentary narrative, etc. This is a special type of understanding of a traumatic event - at the moment of the Catastrophe when the identity crisis of the characters is shown as overcoming silence and creating an individual story inscribed in the collective history. The emergence of such projects as "One more day: war diaries", and the therapeutic story-tale "Cat, Rooster, Cupboard" was influenced by extra-literary factors, in particular mass media, and this determines their typological originality: they combine the collective experience of trauma with individual stories about changing identity and overcoming the consequences of traumatic experiences, forming the language of victory.

Biblical motives in the modern Ukrainian literature

The subject of the study is the representation of Christian vision in the Ukrainian literature of independence. The problem is considered in the dichotomy of conservative Christian views against multicultural and atheistic education. The purpose of this study is to discuss theses in T. Trokhymenko’s 2022 article ‘The modern Ukrainian Literature and Christianity’, published in the journal ‘Patriarchy: the Uniate analytical periodical’. The structural elements of the work repeat the confutable source. The author uses the methods of slow reading, componential analysis, as well as typological and comparative. The novelty of the study is determined by the transformation of receptions of religious motifs in Ukrainian literature and the change of the religious space of Ukraine, which prompts us to understand the mechanisms of such transformations in the modern historical context. As a result of the study, it was established that the worldview paradigm of Christianity has undergone significant distortion due to Soviet policy and the influence of other religions - both Ukrainian and foreign. At the same time, it is ascertained that author's expressions of ideas and images promote Christian ideas, but do not portray canonical ecclesiastical texts. As a result of it the vision of Christian ideas becomes broader, but the distinctions between primary sources and author's interpretations become obliterated. Based on the analysis of modern Ukrainian literature, two trends have been traced: 1) the reception of biblical motifs in the context of the postmodern ironic tradition, which is characterized by skeptical-ironic interpretation of religious motifs and images, outrageousness and carnivalesqueness (inherent in the early works of V. Neborak and the early lyrics of S. Zhadan); 2) the reception of biblical motifs in the context of the existential-philosophical and cultural tradition, the central idea of ​​such a reception is the idea of ​​the importance of faith, humanity in the apocalyptic world of modern reality (in works by S. Zhadan, Yu. Vynnychuk, H. Marchuk). The perspective of the research can be seen in the study of the work of other Ukrainian writers (in particular, O. Zabuzhko, H. Pahutyak, M. Matios, K. Kalytko, etc.). The research is not exhausted but will be continued within the framework of other publications, which will highlight the peculiarities of Christian imagery in the creative practices of Ukrainian writers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

ЕМІГРАЦІЯ ЯК ЛІТЕРАТУРНИЙ СЮЖЕТ У НОВІТНІЙ УКРАЇНСЬКІЙ ПРОЗІ: ХУДОЖНІЙ ДОСВІД ТАНІ МАЛЯРЧУК

The article is devoted to the topic of emigration in modern Ukrainian literature. It is noted that its various variants - motives for departure, actions, deeds, psychology of migrants, their achievements and illusions were artistically interpreted in the latest Ukrainian prose, most often in the novel genre (the works of Irene Rozdobudko "Morning cleaner", 2004, "I know, what do you know, what I know", 2011, V. Eshkilieva "Paphos", 2002, Natalka Doliak "Gastarbaiterka", 2012, Natalky Snyadanko "Frau Müller is not ready to pay more", Irena Karpa "Good news from the Aral Sea", 2019, A. Chapaia "We have arrived”, 2015, Olga Slonivska "Lost in Time", 2018, as well as the British writer of Ukrainian origin, Maryna Levytska "Two vans", 2008, "A short history of tractors in Ukrainian", 2013, and others). Similar topics and issues are raised by Tanya Malyarchuk in another genre format - in the story "Frogs in the Sea" (2019), written in German and awarded the Austrian Ingeborg Bachmann Literary Prize. For this, the author chooses a "plot of external displacement" (Olena Romanenko), focusing on the fate of two lonely, abandoned people from different worlds - a Ukrainian emigrant Petro and an aristocratic Viennese Frau. In the development of the plot, the writer combines external (life without a passport in a foreign country, violation of the law, constant desire to be unnoticed, to do the dirtiest work) and internal (reflections on one's own life) conflicts, focuses on the loss of the usual coordinate system by the main character - not only in a foreign country, but also in the homeland, where no one is waiting for him - neither his mother nor his lover. Therefore, with the help of the symbol that was included in the title of the work (frogs in the sea), intertextual elements (allusions to the image of smoke in the poetry of Lesya Ukrainka, the images of Natalka and Peter from I. Kotlyarevsky's drama Natalka Poltavka) the author, starting from the theme of emigration, raises essential, common human problems: about the meaning of human life, about love as the highest measure of humanity, about the inevitability of time, about a person's right to choose and responsibility for it.

АВТОБІОГРАФІЧНА УТОПІЯ НАТАЛІ РОМАНОВИЧ-ТКАЧЕНКО

The article is devoted to researching the work of N. Romanovych-Tkachenko, a representative of the generation of female writers of Soviet Ukraine in the 1920s, from the perspective of gender discourse. Women's literature of Soviet Ukraine in the 1920s-1930s is an understudied and not updated phenomenon of the Ukrainian literary process of that time. Most of the texts of women writers were unnoticed by literary critics, and the problems that were raised in their texts turned out to be "uninteresting" for the then, generally male, literary critics. Instead, we note the emergence of a new generation of women writers in Ukrainian literature, formed not only by the national tradition, but also by the first wave of European feminism. They radicalize the women's issue and put forward other, unlike their predecessors, aesthetic demands on artistic texts. At the same time, it was women writers who continued the traditions of modern Ukrainian literature, in particular bright individual writing. Most of them told the reader about their biographies for the first time in the form of memories, diaries, memoirs. The peculiarity of these biographies is that they reveal a striking discrepancy between the expectations of women from the gender policy of the Bolsheviks and the revolutionary, post-revolutionary reality. We can see two biographies of the writer by comparing the artistic texts and autobiographical memories of N. Romanovych-Tkachenko. One of them is imaginary, constructed by the author on the basis of her own life project, and the second is real, as the writer lived. These two biographies in different genre forms are presented in the writer's work. Imaginary biography is described in the experience of the characters of fictional texts, while real biography is represented by the memoir genre, in particular, the diaries and memoirs of the author. The difference between these two life scenarios shaped the feminist outlook of N. Romnovich-Tkachenko and many other modern women writers.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF MODERN UKRAINIAN PROSE

Modern Ukrainian literature is diverse and interesting both for the Ukrainian readers and for those who want to learn more about the development of Ukrainian society through the literature over the last century. Along with the digitization of human life in general, reading fiction remains today one of the ways to acquire knowledge, replenish vocabulary, study history, it’s a part of meditative practice, etc. Today, reading literary works by Ukrainian authors has the following features caused by age, the nature of professional activity, gender, etc.: –– according to age features of the person (the program of preschool educational institutions, high school, professional reading in high school); –– determined by the need of each individual to read (psychological characteristics, upbringing in the family, etc.); –– professional activities (literary critics, journalists, translators, scientists and others). Often all these stages of readability are either ways to read throughout life, or the cause of spontaneous reading, which is often the result of excessive information in the world (social networks, Internet channels, etc.). The works of Ukrainian literature have changed because the world and the authors of these works have changed as well. Socio-economic development of Ukrainian nation influenced the worldview of the authors and the quality of their works. That is why Ukrainian literature is rich in its authors: world-known Lina Kostenko, philosophical and political Oksana Zabuzhko, patriotic and historical Vasyl Shkliar, universal Andrii Kokotiukha, humane and psychological Volodymyr Lys and many others who create modern Ukrainian literature. Of course, in today's works one can find elements of zealous-apocalyptic, peasantbourgeois, but all of them stem from those social phenomena that are still present in the life of Ukrainians. Reading works with such content, some are fascinated by them, and others are annoyed by putting aside the book, but everyone has a choice today.

The concept of fiction in Soroka’s «Crumbs»

In the article, we analyze the concept of fiction in the short story collection «Crumbs» (2019) by the Ukrainian writer Petro Soroka. In this book, the author directly speaks out about his vision of literature; in some tales, he makes digressions, comments on his writing practice and narration, and outlines his understanding of fiction. All these things create a balance between the author’s intentions and concrete texts. In a broad context, the book is a valuable source for researching short stories in modern Ukrainian literature, the nature of fiction in general, and the understanding of fictionality these days. Soroka considered «Crumbs» the pinnacle of his writing. But the book remains unnoticed. The relevance of the article is grounded on this.
 The aim of the article is to outline and identify the conception of fiction proposed in «Crumbs». For that, we solve two main tasks – analyzing the author’s reflections and tracing the realized and unrealized intentions in concrete works.
 The central thesis of Soroka is that literature should mirror life. He uses theological reasoning to explain the mirror reflection in fiction (because God creates human fates, he is the best artist, so the goal of literature is not to make-believe but to reflect what God intended). We interpret this thesis and conclude that the author eliminates the main components of fictionality – the make-believe and the filling with meaning. He finds some fictionality in the representation of characters, the depiction of the current time, and the mastery of retelling. But we state that all these fictional components have lost their status because, these days, they are the constituents of nonfictional genres or texts in nonfictional spheres. The only thing that remains when it comes to fiction is the genre. The author names his writings «short stories». So the fictionality of «Crumbs» is a consensus between author and reader about the genre of the book. It arises in a receptive context. Soroka’s short stories are like artifacts that occur because of rethinking subjects in an uncharacteristic, changed context. In this sense, they are contemporary art phenomena.
 These conclusions about «Crumbs» may become a basis for researching the other writings by Petro Soroka and the short stories of other Ukrainian writers.