The International Conference “Writers of Drohobych Land” was held within the framework of the annual Polish-Ukrainian project “Dialogue of Two Cultures”

On September 7, 2017, Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University in Drohobych hosted the International Scientific Conference “The Writers of the Drohobych Land”, organized by the Ihor Meniok Polonistic Science and Information Center together with the Polish organizer – the Museum of Anna and Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz in Stawiszcze, Poland. The conference was a part of the annual Polish-Ukrainian literary-scientific project “Dialogue of Two Cultures”, which this year started on September 3rd-9th in Kremenets, Drohobych, Zhuravne and Lviv, and will end on September 17 in Stawiszcze. Co-organizer and financial guarantor of the project was the Foundation “Assistance to the Poles in the East”.

The conference was opened by the rector Professor Nadiya Scotna, the honorary patron of the conference: she congratulated the participants of the Dialogue of Two Cultures and expressed the conviction that Drohobych is a cultural and historically motivated place for the implementation of the dialogue between Ukrainian and Polish cultures. Consequently, speeches were delivered by Vice-President of the Fund “Assistance to Poles in the East” Rafael Dzieciolowski and Director of the Museum of Anna and Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz in Stawiszcze, Mariusz Olbromski.

Interesting reports by Polish scholars about the works of the Polish poet Kazimierz Vierzynski born in Drohobych (Prof. Krzysztof Dybciak, Cardinal Stefan Vyszynski University in Warsaw), about the history of the friendship of Vierzynski with Polish literary critic Maria Dluska (Dr. Stanislav Dziedzic, Jagiellonian University), about works of a little-known writer Wit Tarnawski from Kosiv (Dr. Jan Volsky, Rzeszow University). On the part of Drohobych University, reports were presented on the border character of fate and works of Bruno Schulz (Associate Professor Vira Meniok), on the history of friendship and cooperation between Ivan Franko and the Polish poet Jan Kasprovicz (Associate Professor Volodymyr Halyk) and the multicultural image of the interwar Drohobych in the memoirs of Andrzej Chciuk (Master Lesia Khomych, the report presented by the 3rd year student of Polish-Ukrainian philology Natalia Bezkorovaina). In conclusion, the attendants of the Dialogue of Two Cultures visited the Bruno Schulz Museum.

The initiator and organizer of the Dialogue of Two Cultures, Director of the Museum of Anna and Yaroslav Ivashkevych in Stavysh, Mariusz Olbromsky, talks about this remarkable scientific and cultural event:

The Dialogue of Two Cultures is one of the largest and most important Polish-Ukrainian scientific and cultural initiatives. This year the conference, the purpose of which is the formation of mutual knowledge and understanding between the cultural elites of both peoples, is already the twentieth. For many years they have gathered scholars and artists from Poland, Ukraine and many European countries in the Kremenets Literary and Memorial Museum of Juliusz Slowacki and in the Taras Shevchenko Regional Humanitarian Pedagogical Academy in Kremenets. They consist of scientific conferences of literary critics, historians, museum scientists, cultural scientists, as well as meetings and presentations of writers and artists, concerts and film shows. Often, these meetings are accompanied by plenary artists and photographers, ending with the presentation of exhibitions. Several hundred people take part in these meetings on both sides each year. They take place under the patronage of the Ministers of Culture of both states and with the assistance of regional and self-governing authorities. The greatest interest is caused primarily by the inhabitants of the cities where they are held. A special achievement of the “Dialogue of Two Cultures” is the scientific yearbooks under the same name, published each year. They contain all the texts of the delivered reports in two languages, specially prepared by Polish and Ukrainian scholars in Kremenets and other cities in September, as well as selected literary works. […].

Polonistic Scientific Information Center Igor Menk

Photos by Volodymyr Dumych