The Kobzar of Ukraine, Selected Poems of Taras Shevchenko

The Kobzar of Ukraine is a collection of poems by Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, arguably the most well-known and beloved poet of Ukraine. His life story — told in biographical sketches throughout the book — is almost analogous to the story of Ukraine itself: a struggle for freedom. Shevchenko was a talented artist and poet, descended from Cossacks but born the son of a serf in 1814 during the reign of  Tsar Alexander I. He was orphaned at the age of 11. After years of brutish treatment by his masters, he eventually found himself in St. Petersburg, where he became an accomplished artist and eventually made enough money to buy his freedom at the age of 24. He became a political prisoner of Tsar Nicolas I in 1847 and suffered imprisonment and exile for most of the rest of his life until his death in 1861. Shevchenko's poetry expresses both the heartbreak and the resiliance of the Ukrainian people.

This is the 100th Anniversary edition of the original, which contains selected poems by Shevchenko that were translated into English by the Rev. A. J. Hunter of Manitoba, Canada with the help of a Mr. Sigmund Bychinsky. The original was published in 1922 as The Kobzar of the Ukraine. Dr. Hunter was a medical missionary serving the Ukrainian immigrants in the area. The hospital in Teulon still bears his name and the house he lived in during that time is maintained as a museum. Dr. Hunter died in 1940. This anniversary edition was prepared and published by Dr. Hunter's granddaughter, R.E. Donald, of Lone Butte, BC, Canada.

All profits from the sale of The Kobzar of Ukraine will be donated by the publisher to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation to help support displaced Ukrainians arriving in Canada through the Displaced Ukrainians Appeal.