Iurko Kharytun’s Poetry of Trauma

• In Event: National Awakeners in Carpathian Rus’

Abstract

One of the characteristics of present-day Carpatho-Rusyn literature in Slovakia is an emphasis on the theme of a return to the past, to youth and childhood, and to the native countryside and memories. This presentation will analyze the work of the Carpatho-Rusyn author Iurko Kharytun, who, due to the construction of the Stariná reservoir, lost access to his native birthplace, a topic he highlights in his poetic works. In his collection My Sorrows, Kharytun’s work may be read as traumatic utterance and (self)therapy, both of which form a moral testimony for future generations of Carpatho-Rusyn.

Author

• Michal Pavlič, U of Prešov (Slovakia)