Every language needs poets and novelists

Upon his recent return from Toronto, where he held a research scholarship from the Carpatho-Rusyn Research Center, the Lemko-Rusyn poet from Poland, Petro Trochanovskij (Murjanka), wrote to the Reverend František Krajnjak of Mezilaborce, Czechoslovakia, explaining his work on an anthology of Lemko-Rusyn literature.  Trochanovskij asked for examples of present day younger writers who used the Rusyn language.  "I must admit," responded Krajnjak in the Voice of Rusyns column of the newspaper Nove žyttja (May 11, 1990), "that I am ashamed.  Ashamed of whom? Of those who for 46 years worked only in Ukrainian so that our literary field produced nothing.  We have no Rusyn poetry nor prose among present-day writers... If we want to raise up our people, we must create new literary works in the Rusyn language!"
Among the Rusyn-language literary works sent by the Reverend Krajnjak to Petro Trochanovskij for his literary anthology, the most recent was written nearly four decades ago, in 1954, by Anna Vladŷkova.

Mamko moja, ne bijsja
Jak ja bŷla iši mala
moja mamja povidala:
'Divko moja, ljub tŷ svoje,
ne zabŷvaj slovo moje.
Chran' rusyns'kŷj narod smilo,
to je moje, tvoje dilo.'
....
Ne bijtesja, mamko moja,
ne zrečus' vašoho slova,
svojich predkiv, ljuba, ljublju,
inakšov ne bŷla-m, ne budu!
Rokŷ u nas tjažkŷ bŷly,
ukrajins'kŷ slova vsjadŷ 'byly'
Tŷm slovam mŷ ne rozumily,
lem naspamjať jich učily.
Oj, probuďtesja rusynŷ,
štobŷ na vas bŷly pŷšnŷ - divkŷ, sŷnŷ.
Štobŷ plodŷ nasŷch otciv ne propaly,
štobŷ hrobŷ nasŷch predkiv ne plakaly.


Mother, Don't Worry
When I was still young
My mother told me:
'Daughter, love what is yours,
And don't forget my words.
Defend with courage our Rusyn people,
That is both your task and mine.'
....
Don't worry mother,
I will not betray your language,
I love my ancestors,
I have not and will not act otherwise!
These years have been hard on us,
Everywhere the Ukrainian language was forced on us,
Even though we did not understand that language,
Which we have learned only by rote.
Oh, wake up Rusyns,
So that you - our sons and daughters - will have pride,
So that the efforts of our fore-fathers will not be forgotten,
So that the graves of our ancestors will not weep.


MLA Citation: Michaels, Philip trans. "Every Language Needs Poets and Novelists." Carpatho-Rusyn American XIII, no. 3 (1990): 10