One of our outstanding compatriots who left a significant contribution to the literary heritage was the Jewish poet and writer Perets Davidovich Markish. Now in his native Polonnoye there is a small museum, where representatives of the Polonnoye community often gather. The artist's work deserves attention and popularization, so the interest in it of the young researcher Maksym Gurny caused undisguised joy.
Maksym is a second-year student at the Khmelnytsky State Humanitarian and Pedagogical Academy, where he is studying to become a primary school teacher with an additional specialty in Computer Science. The young man is an active student, not only studying well, but also participating in various events at his home school and conducting research. It was this that introduced the student to the work of Perets Markish.
Such an unconventional topic was suggested to Maksym by his scientific supervisor, Yulia Yuriivna Vilchanska. Although Perets Markish’s contribution to literature is extremely large, there are not enough sources and information about both the artist and his works. Therefore, this was a great reason to work well as a researcher and present my results at a scientific conference at the KhGPA. Maksym visited the Perets Markish Museum in Polonnoye, where he met with Berta Melnychuk, a volunteer of the KhBF “Hesed Besht”, who supervises the institution on a voluntary basis.
Maksym says that before getting acquainted with the work of this writer and poet, he had no experience with Jewish literature. But the translations of the works (or rather, the adaptation from the Yiddish language of Anna Akhmatova - author's note) by Perets Markish impressed the guy both stylistically and in content. He would really like to read the originals to understand the whole atmosphere of the works, but studying Yiddish is not an easy task.
At the conference, Maxim's work received deserved recognition. According to the student, the event was attended by a resident of Polonny, for whom the information about the existence of a museum in his city was real news. This means that the topic of Perets Markish needs deeper study and wider popularization, which already indicates its relevance in the modern information environment.
The next step for Maksym Gurnyi should be a work on the same topic, but for the Small Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Both the young researcher and the scientific supervisor are currently actively working on this. The search for such rare information about the Jewish artist led the guy from the Khmelnytskyi Regional Universal Scientific Library to the Community Center "Thia", where, in fact, our conversation took place. I am especially pleased with the young scientist's intention to edit the article about Markish Pepper in Ukrainian Wikipedia, which will allow even more users to learn about the life and work of the famous artist.
Maksym and his group of students also attended a recent commemorative event at the Thiia Cultural Center to mark the 75th anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy. We are happy to support the efforts of scholars and activists in the study of Jewish cultural heritage and are always ready to help with all the means available to us. Therefore, we hope for fruitful work and wish Maksym success in his hard work!
Information Manager, Hesed Besht Charity Foundation
V. Nagnybida
