Lesya Ukrainka's fairy tale play The Forest Song has been released in Italian under the title "Il canto della foresta" by the publishing house Mondadori.
This was announced by the publicist and translator of the book, Yaryna Hrusha, on her Facebook page. The book was printed as part of the Oscar Classici series in the largest Italian publishing house, Mondadori.
"This will contribute to the appropriate publicity around the publication, as it is where Lesya Ukrainka's masterpiece belongs," noted Yaryna Hrusha, who also works as a lecturer in Ukrainian language and literature at state universities in Milan and Turin.
"Four years ago, I experimented and included Lesya Ukrainka's 'Forest Song' in the Ukrainian literature program at the University of Milan. There was no translation available for me to use during the lecture, so I passionately told the students about the beautiful forests in Volhynia, how Lukash's Mavka enchanted, and how Kylyna and Mother Lukasheva passionately argued with each other. It was a one-time event on my part because without the text, the students reacted very passively, although they remembered Lesya Ukrainka's biography well," said Hrusha.
However, Lesya Ukrainka's "Forest Song" had to be removed from the university program because there was no Italian translation.
"Yesterday morning, a courier brought me an envelope, I tore it open, held it, hugged my first copy of 'Il canto della foresta,' put it in my backpack, and went to lecture on the 'Forest Song' at the University of Bologna. This time, I didn't have to play the role of a one-man theater because the text speaks for itself," the translator reported.
She also noted that she would be lecturing on "The Forest Song" by Lesya Ukrainka at the University of Milan.
The publisher is Italian translator Elizabeta Risari. The translation of the fairy tale play and the afterword were proofread by Ukrainian studies lecturer Alessandro Achilli. The afterword was written by writer and literary critic Sasha Dovzhik. The preface to the book was written by Yaryna Hrusha.
Currently, the book can be purchased on the publisher's website and on Amazon.
