Yevhen Malaniuk as a founder of the Ukrainian literary myth of the XX century
Authors:   Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Slon'ovska Olha 
Published: December 2020

Myths are regarded as the metaphysical engines of the national progress, a specific code-program for the state development, as a vector of the individual mission of an individual nation. In general, the ideological and political myths of national states are metaphorically derived primarily from their national anthems. The anthem is a kind of vaccine against assimilation and is effectively delivered to educate the younger generation in the spirit of civic consciousness. Decadent (frustration) myths destroy the national idea, vitaistic and consolidating myths inspire, compact and unite any nation. The National Anthem, as the primary literary formulation of the national idea, gives impetus to the constant creation by the writers of the myth of the state and the nation as a specific phenomenon at the artistic level. The literary myths of stateless peoples are always preceded by the emergence of their own ideological and political myths as well. Among the most talented passionaries of every «incomplete» nation, there must be a talented philosopher or politician who will be able to verbally formulate the idea of a new ideological-political myth, which will be based on a national idea. Similarly, in the nineteenth century the ideological-political myth for Ukrainians was «Law of God (Book of Being of the Ukrainian People)» by M. Kostomarov. It is natural that this philosophical and propaganda work had a great influence on Kobzar and led to the creation of the literary myth of Ukraine by our national poet-genius, T. Shevchenko. The beginning of the twentieth century for the Ukrainians was marked by the tragic fall of the young state of the UNR. The nation had to start all over again in order to endure. There was a need for a new ideological and political myth of Ukraine of the twentieth century. It was created by Ye. Malaniuk with his own essays about the most talented Ukrainian politicians, including B. Khmelnitskyi and I. Mazepa, as well as M. Hrushevskyi and S. Petliura. In his essays on the past of Ukraine Ye. Malaniuk not only wrote about biographies of bright historical figures, but above all analyzed Ukrainian national victories and tragedies, logically argued mistakes and losses of our nation’s leaders, considered the issues of «his» and «alien», determined a peculiar «doctrine», submitted in a wide typre of «enemy face» of the Ukrainian statehood. Ye. Malaniuk also analyzed the positive and negative features of the Ukrainian mentality, aptly raised the question of passion, foresighted the stages of becoming the future of Ukraine as a sovereign nation-state at the end of the twentieth century. On the basis of his own ideological and political myth, the poet started to create the literary consolidating myth of Ukraine. His initiative was taken by contemporaries of the artist – the most talented writers-modernists of the Ukrainian diaspora of the twentieth century. The concept of the literary myth of Ukraine has been considered by the researcher Olha Slon’ovska; the significant role played by Ye. Malaniuk as a poet and essay writer in creating the literary myth has been revealed.