RECEPTION OF TARAS SHEVCHENKO’S PERSONALITY AND WORKS ON THE BASIS OF PUBLICATIONS OF WEB PORTAL CULTURE.PL

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the role of Taras Shevchenko and his creative heritage for Poles and Ukrainians based on the material of publications about the writer in the Polish and Ukrainian sections of Culture.pl, an online portal founded by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, which is updated daily with reviews and articles on literary, musical, cinematic and other topics related to the cultural life of Poles and their neighbours. There are several sections of the site that differ in the language of publication: in addition to Polish and Ukrainian, materials can also be read in English and Russian (although the Russian-language version has not been functioning since April 2022, as the Adam Mickiewicz Institute suspended its updates indefinitely due to Russian aggression against Ukraine).

The world of modern technology greatly simplifies the process of getting acquainted with new information: now it is no longer necessary to sign up for a library or look for a bookstore to read interesting publications, as they can almost always be found on the Internet (although for professional research, of course, you should turn to academic literature). The World Wide Web also facilitates cultural exchange, as it is now much easier to learn new things about a country by browsing a website.

For its part, the analysis allows us to identify Ukrainian-Polish ties, as well as to point out the similarities in the worldview of Taras Shevchenko and Polish artists, including anti-imperial views and the affirmation of freedom as one of the most important values. Polish futurists and avant-garde artists were directly interested in Taras Shevchenko’s work and poetics, but there is also a growing interest on the part of Polish biographers in the writer’s biography, in particular in the issues of his stay in Warsaw and his acquaintance with Polish artists. Polish art lovers pay attention to Taras Shevchenko’s paintings, namely his landscapes from exile and those depicting Ukraine. At the same time, researchers, based on the memoirs of Poles who knew the Prorok, write about his negative attitude towards the szlachta, which, of course, was primarily due to the Kobzar’s origin and the complex historical relations between the two nations.