"And still Kryvorivnia attracts": The Carpathians and Subcarpathia in Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky's life

Abstract

The article systemizes information on the role of the Carpathians and Subcarpathia in personal and professional life of the famous Ukrainian writer Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky. It is presented how popularization at the beginning of the XX century by the Galician intelligentsia of the Carpathian region with its ethnic and folk features, unique natural and climatic conditions caused interest in the area among Naddniprianshchyna's intellectuals. The attention is focused on the point, how the professional and personal relationship with the Galicians stimulated M. Kotsiubynsky's interest in the Carpathians. Based on the analysis of writer's epistolary heritage (correspondence) it is recreated the story of his acquaintance, cooperation in the literary field and friendship with the famous Galicia ethnographer and publisher V. Hnatiuk. Exactly he with his fascinating stories about vacations in the mountains contributed to the formation of M. Kotsiubynsky's interest in the Carpathians, and encouraged him to write a literary work about this region. In the article it is highlighted the features of writer's staying in Galicia, particularly it is described his first visit to Lviv in 1890, and his personal acquaintance with V. Hnatiuk in the spring of 1905. Considerable attention is paid to the analysis relaxation M Kotsiubynsky's in hucul village Kryvorivnia in 1910-1912. The nature of writer's mountain leisure is investigated (outdoor walks, recreation on the reservoirs, hiking and horseback riding in the surrounding villages and valleys, communication with the local population, collecting of folklore material, acquaintance with the Galician intelligentsia, who were resting in Kryvorivnia, conversations in the intellectual company, evenings in the house of a local priest O. Voliansky etc.) is investigated. Based on M. Kotsiubynsky's correspondence with his wife and O. Aplaksina it is clarified his impressions of staying in the Carpathians, of mountain landscapes and weather, of communications with the Husuls, of their customs, traditions, and mentality in general. The influence of the Carpathians vacations on M. Kotsiubynsky's literary creativity is explored.