Visnyk Winter 2010
Language Lanterns Publishes Desperate Times Trilogy

TORONTO — Award-winning Language Lanterns Publications Inc. has released a new trilogy of short stories translated from Ukrainian to English. The selected 18 authors explore the human impact of the social, political and economic upheaval in Ukraine from the tumultuous opening days of the 20th century, through World War I, the 1917 Russian Revolution, and into the early 1920s under Soviet rule. They truly were desperate times, and the stories show modern readers why so many Ukrainians of that era sought a better life in Canada and other nations.

Adaptation from the series Introduction:

The stories in Brother against Brother, Between the Trenches, and Conflict and Chaos were written from about 1900-1930 and encompass the slide of the imperial Russian Empire into chaos, the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, World War I, and the subsequent upheaval in Eastern Europe fomented by the Russian Revolution. They depict revolution, war, social upheaval, and enormous human emotional and physical costs.

By these times, Ukraine had long been divided by other empires––with Russia controlling eastern Ukraine, and various European powers including Lithuania-Poland, Austria-Hungary, and the Hapsburg Empire dominating western portions. In both regions the Ukrainian language, culture, and Ukrainian forms of Orthodox and Catholic rites were severely restricted, and life for ethnic Ukrainians was harsh. Ukrainians had little opportunity for education and advancement, and the revolutionary tide that swept Europe in the 19th century, with concepts of nationalism, democracy, and freedom, found fertile ground in Ukrainian lands.

The stories depict reform and political activism, peasant uprisings, revolutionary and terrorist acts, and the flowering of the Ukrainian independence movement.

Language Lanterns achieves 20 volumes of translations: The Desperate Times trilogy brings the number of volumes translated by Roma Franko, and edited by the late Sonia Morris, to 20.

For more information, and to order books: Roma Franko, 416-840-8034, roma.franko [AT] rogers.com

Language Lanterns: http://www.languagelanterns.com/

Brother against Brother (Soft cover, 416 pp; ISBN 978-0-9735982-7-8)
Between the Trenches (Soft cover, 416 pp; ISBN 978-0-9735982-8-5)
Conflict and Chaos (Soft cover, 416 pp; ISBN 978-0-9735982-9-2)

Complete Introduction, and Tables of Contents with authors and story names can be found on the website.