2015 is announced in Cherkasy region a year of Vasyl Symonenko. A famous poet would be 80, but he died when he was 29…

In the framework of the events, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Ukrainian poet-shistdesiatnyk, Maryna Pavlenko, assistant professor at Ukrainian Literature and Ukrainian Studies Chair, visited the Motherland of Vasyl Symonenko.

There was also delegation of artists, famous poets Ivan Drach and Petro Zasenko, head of the National Union of Ukrainian Writers Mykhailo Sydorzhevskyi, professor Mykhailo Nayenko, famous artists Anatoliy Ponomarenko and Victor Zhenchenko, Ukrainian Institute of National Memory Borys Ponomarenko, and others; Maryna Stepanivna has visited the village of Biyivtsi and Lubny, which are situated in Poltava region.

The first stop of the journey was Biyivtsi – a village, where the poet was born and spent his childhood. After visiting the museum, the event participators visited a monument to Vasyl Symonenko; they laid down flowers to pedestal of the monument. After this, our delegation moved to the neighbouring village of Tarandyntsi, where Vasyl Symonenko visited school when he was 5th form pupil. Nowadays, this school is named after a famous poet, there is also his memorial board, a museum.

The excursion was continued by the visit of city of Lubny. In the city palace of culture there was organized a cultural and artistic programme, during which the guests were talking about life of the Ukrainian knight of his epoch. His works were declared with a big inspiration and agitation.

Maryna Stepanivna shared her opinion that Vasyl Symonenko joined together Poltava region (where he was born and spent his childhood) and Cherkassy region (where he had been living the rest of his life and buried), she also remembered his poem “To Uman Girls” and presented her book on Vasyl Symonenko’s childhoood “Rainbow in a Sieve”. It’s a pleasure to inform that this book is well-known in general education schools, in particular, in Tarandyntsi school.

From Maryna Pavlenko’s words, her journey was very interesting and important. “On our way back we were tired and cold, but we were proud of the Poet, a great patriot of Ukraine, Vasyl Symonenko”.

It’s difficult to overestimate the significance of Symonenko’s poetry for contemporary literature. Every day, you realize more and more its deepness and urgency. And in the nowadays situation, we’d like cite the words of the poet, “My nation does exist! My nation will exist! Nobody dares to cross out my nation!” Over decades, the poet referred to Ukraine, our Mother, “America and Russia should keep silent while I’m speaking to you (Ukraine)”.

Symonenko’s heritage is unordinary and passionate, fireful and lyric, it’s a source of humanism, morality, wisdom and patriotism. It’s unfair to keep silent over the poet’s creative works, because Symonenko was and he is still national consciousness in Ukrainian literature.