annual report

THE 2012KOBZAR LITERARY AWARDHonours Canadian authors in its Fourth Biennial AwardingThe Ukrainian and Canadian literary community came togetherfor the 4th biennial awarding in Toronto to celebrate Canadianauthors who immortalize Ukrainian Canadian themes in theirmeritus literary works. Held on March 1 at the Palais Royale locatedon Toronto’s Lakeshore Blvd., the Kobzar Literary Award 2012Ceremony and Dinner was sold-out. Fifty five per cent of attendeeswere returning for the fourth time, demonstrating loyal support forthe literary arts.The finalists for the 2012 Kobzar Literary Award were: LarissaAndrusyshyn (poetry), Mammoth, DC Books, Montreal, 2010;Myrna Kostash (non-fiction), Prodigal Daughter: A Journey toByzantium, University of Alberta Press, Edmonton, 2010;Shandi Mitchell (fiction novel), Under This Unbroken Sky,Penguin, Toronto, 2009; Myroslav Shkandrij (literary analysis),Jews in Ukrainian Literature: Representation and Identity, YaleUniversity Press, London, 2009; and Rhea Tregebov (fiction novel),The Knife Sharpener’s Bell, Coteau Books, Regina, 2009.Co-Masters of Ceremonies actor/producer Fred Keating and actor/director Andrey Tarasiuk together orchestrated an extraordinaryaward program, with musical interludes provided by Alexander(Sasha) Boychouk. Between dinner courses, the audience listenedto readings by the 2012 finalists from passages in their respectiveshort-listed books which continually amaze the audience withtheir authenticity.“Appealing to the listener’s imagination of the mind, the upfronttelling of one’s story made it enticing for the audience to acquireand read each author’s book from cover-to-cover.” (John Pidkowych,The New Pathway)In his greetings, Shevchenko Foundation President AndrijHladyshevsky emphasized that literature by and about Ukrainiansin Canada is in fact Canada’s own literature. Further, to everyone’sdelight, Mr. Hladyshevsky announced that the Shevchenko Boardof Directors had agreed to provide remuneration to each shortlistedfinalist with $1,000 in addition to the Kobzar Award prize of$25,000; of which $5,000 is shared with the publisher to promotethe winning work.32 || 33