Ukrainian Epic and Historical Song: Folklore in Context

"This volume, with its meticulous attention to detail and comprehensive coverage of a significant aspect of Ukrainian history is the product of Kononenko’s many years of dedicated research on folklore and the folk epic, and their part in shaping the Ukrainian consciousness."

Marian J. Rubchak, Valparaiso University, Slavic Review

"Kononenko weaves translations of entire poems directly into her historicizing analyses. This manner of presentation makes for an integrated and coherent reading experience that all who pick up this volume will appreciate."

Jonathan Ready, University of Michigan, Journal of Folklore Research

"Natalie Kononenko is the most qualified scholar I know to write a book on Ukrainian epic poetry. In Ukrainian Epic and Historical Song, Kononenko seeks to reach a generation of young Ukrainians unfamiliar with the historical context and meaning of dumy as well as a broader audience of folklorists and general readers interested in folk poetry. Her work thus treads the delicate boundary between a serious scholarly study and quasi‐popular book."

Linda Ivanits, professor emerita of Russian and Comparative Literature, Penn State

"Ukrainian Epic and Historical Song is extremely important and timely in a world gripped by religious and nationalist conflict where people are displaced and forced to renegotiate their national, ethnic, and religious identities. These epics were not written by a nationalist, but by a person who hates war. The genre, dumy, which is usually used for nationalistic purposes, is discussed in Ukrainian Epic and Historical Song from an anti‐war point of view."

Larisa Fialkova, professor, Department of Hebrew and Comparative Literature, University of Haifa