Chamber, warm and meaningful – this was the creative evening with the famous contemporary Ukrainian writer, political figure, laureate of many literary prizes, “the father of the Ukrainian bestseller” – Vasyl Shklyar. The meeting took place on November 14 in the lobby of the People’s House named after I.Frank and brought together connoisseurs of sincere, and most importantly, truthful Ukrainian speech.
The creative event began with a moment of silence for the fallen Heroes. Afterwards, according to the sincere Galician tradition, the writer was welcomed in Drogobych region by the head of the Department of Culture and Tourism Development, Volodymyr Khanas, as well as the head of the Department of Culture and Arts, Lesya Tatarska, at whose invitation the author visited the city of Kotermaka.
Your books are open sources and pages of history. Ukrainian history is rich, but it also has white spots. Vasyl Shklyar is directly responsible for the study of archives and the return to the general public through the historical works of famous names, in particular our chieftains who fought on the territory of the Ukrainian People’s Republic. We, the readers, have the opportunity to learn about all the historical vicissitudes and heroic figures from the pages of the immortal books of our contemporary. Among the series of approved historical novels of the author, I believe that there is still room for new research. Therefore, I sincerely wish you that your creative heritage will only develop and you will find ways to forgotten names and their revival, because this is all our history, our national backbone and our foundation, – emphasized Volodymyr Khanas
Therefore, the author himself went to the revelations – he admitted that the last time he was in the city of Kotermaka was 12 years ago. Some creative plans, some health problems got in the way. The good news is that Ukrainians did not abandon books during the war, but began to read even more. Especially historical novels – emphasized Vasyl Shklyar.
After that, the author moved on to stories about his novels: “The Black Crow”, “The Key”, “The Shadow of the Owl”, “The Black Sun”, “The Song of the Godbird” and others.
Shklyar’s novel “Black Raven”, which was published in 2009 by the Kyiv publishing house “Yaroslavov Val” and at the same time with the changed name “The Leftover” in the “Family Leisure Club”, is of special interest among readers, which has been for a year in a row. The plot of the novel is based on historical documents, in particular, from the declassified archives of the KGB. The author worked on the novel for 13 years. An audio version of the novel was also released, as well as its screen adaptation.
The author admitted that every time he writes historical or war-themed works, he aches for the destinies of his heroes and follows their life events. This was the case with the characters of the novel Black Sun or Thoughts about the Azov Brothers, which was written in 2014. The work is dedicated to the soldiers of the “Azov” regiment, who bravely defend Ukraine in the Russian-Ukrainian war. The novel tells about the tragic events of the war through the eyes of a soldier of the “Azov” regiment. The main character is a twenty-eight-year-old man who loves his country, longs for a new destiny for it and tries to do everything for it, risking his own life.
The author emphasized that he repeatedly presented the novel “Black Sun” together with the “Azovians” in many cities of Ukraine even before the full-scale invasion, in particular in the theater of Mariupol, which no longer exists today.
The fate of one “Azov” fighter nicknamed “Junta” is interesting. Fighting against the occupiers since the year 14, he courageously rushed to defend the borders of our state even after a full-scale invasion in the year 22. He was captured and was in Olenivka. After the terrible events in Olenivka, there was little faith and hope that the warrior was alive. However, one evening my phone rang and I jumped up – it was a call from the Junta number. “Azovets” informed me that he is alive. Such people are the newest heroes, they are warriors of light, and our gratitude to them for their courage should live in our hearts forever, said Vasyl Shklyar.
At the end of the meeting, the author answered a number of questions from those present in the hall – about the war, about the fate of our nation and its mission in this war, the importance of language and a number of others. Therefore, there was a photo session with Vasyl Shklyar and a signing of purchased books by the artist.
