Two Sides of a Single Creative Work: The Inseparability of Trauma and Life in the Poetry of Iurko Kharytun

Abstract

TWO SIDES OF A SINGLE CREATIVE WORK: THE INSEPARABILITY OF TRAUMA AND LIFE IN THE POETRY OF IURKO KHARYTUN

This article offers a comprehensive interpretation of the poetry of Iurko Kharytun (1948–2024), one of the most significant figures of modern Rusyn literature. Previous readings of his work have predominantly emphasized the trauma associated with the forced resettlement of the Starina Valley during the construction of the Starina reservoir, and his works can be described as the “lament of the Rusyn nightingale.” The study, however, argues that this image represents only one dimension of his poetry. Drawing on the concepts of collective and cultural memory, trauma theory, the poetics of space, and reflections of nostalgia, it analyzes poems from the collections Мої жалї (My Sorrows) and Мої незабудкы (My Forget-me-nots). The analysis demonstrates that Kharytun’s poetry functions both as a medium of cultural memory and as an affirmation of life: it preserves the images of a lost homeland while simultaneously celebrating the beauty of simple moments and the vitality of everyday existence. Trauma and the love of daily life thus emerge as two inseparable sides of one creative work, which, in the context of Rusyn literature, serves as an act of cultural resistance and an identity-forming legacy.