Стаття присвячена літературно-критичному аналізу творчості
Юрія Косача в контексті українського літературного процесу другої
половини ХХ ст. Досліджуються основні ідейно-естетичні чинники,
що вплинули на формування самоідентичності письменника; аналізується амбівалентність його світоглядної позиції; окреслюється стильовий діапазон його творчості; висловлюється думка про внутрішній,
ідеологічний конфлікт письменника, міфологічну природу його художнього мислення.
The paper offers an analysis of Yurii Kosach’s literary heritage in the context of the Ukrainian
literary process of the 20th century. The main subject is biographical, ideological, aesthetic,
and ethical factors that influenced the formation of the writer’s self-identity. Special
attention is paid to the ambivalence of Kosach’s worldview, the duality of his status, which
was reflected in his literary self-representation.
The views of Yurii Kosach on the historical role, cultural and social aims of the emigrants
have been clarified. The paper discusses the history of the conflict between Yurii
Kosach and the circle of the post-war Ukrainian emigrants, the theme of Kosach’s collaboration
with Soviet totalitarian political and literary environments. Yurii Kosach’s engagement
in the Soviet literary process is considered in the context of myth about Faust and
Mephistopheles, which serves as a political metaphor covering the entire totalitarian history
of Ukrainian literature and culture. The writer’s split between various totalitarian ideologies
is considered as one of the symbolic plots of his time and interpreted psychologically.
One of the main plots in Kosach’s prose, realized in his various works, is a symbolic
meeting of Ukraine and Europe. The paper considers his understanding of Europeanism, the
crisis of Ukrainian literature, the problem of the writer’s self-sufficiency, etc. Such issues as
mythological thinking of Yurii Kosach, the influence of the neo-baroque and neo-romantic
traditions on his work, the appeal to Panteleimon Kulish’s idea of Ukrainian Europe, the
writer’s participation in the ideological discussion about the national and cultural identity
of Mykola Gogol have been outlined as well.
The author of the paper marks out Yurii Kosach’s critical heritage of the Art Ukrainian
Movement period and issues of ideological, aesthetic, and stylistic modernization of Ukrainian
literature, which have been considered in the context of ideological discussions and
philosophical searches of his contemporaries.
