Arka: monthly of literature, art, criticism. Part 1.Munich, July 1947

“Who delights himself with peace, tranquility, and justice should, for the time being, seek such a place on the planet where there are monkeys and bananas.”

Arka: a literary, art, and criticism journal, published monthly in collaboration with the publishing commission of the Ukrainian Artistic Movement. Year I, Issue 1 / Editorial board: V. Domontovych, Yurii Kosach, Bohdan Nyzhankovskyi, Zenon Tarnavskyi, Yurii Sherekh; artistic design by Yakiv Hnyzdovskyi.

Munich: Ukrainian Tribune Publishing House, July 1947. — [4], 32 pp.: illus. — Printed by R. Oldenbourg, Graphische Betriebe G.m.b.H., Munich. — Responsible licensee: Vasyl Pasichnyak. — Published with the permission of the military government of Bavaria. — Price on the back cover: 6 NM. Print run not stated.

Original publisher’s cover of cream paper with black-and-red printing: at the top, the inscription “Ukrainian Tribune. Supplement”; below, the title “Arka” in red handwritten lettering and a stylized arch logo, with the section titles and the number “1” underneath; on the back cover, only the price and a small graphic logo. Staple-bound. The cover has tears and partial paper loss in the upper corners of the front cover and along the left edge; the back cover has a horizontal crease in the middle; on the title page, there are tears and paper loss in the upper margin, though the text is unaffected. The paper has an even yellowing and occasional foxing; the pages are untrimmed. The text block is firm, with no missing sheets. There are no inscriptions, stamps, or ex libris. Condition: fair.

The publication has historical and cultural value and is of collecting interest; Yakiv Hnyzdovskyi’s design is of independent artistic interest.

INFORMATION

This first issue of “Arka” features Ulas Samchuk’s (1905–1987) programmatic “Our Word,” a manifesto of the young journal that proclaims artistic merit, rather than party affiliation, as the criterion. Also included are Yurii Kosach’s essay “The Theater of Existentialism,” with translations of Sartre’s plays; Yakiv Hnyzdovskyi’s article on Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović; a review of Trypillia ceramics with an illustrated insert; Inna Rohovska’s translations of Japanese and Chinese poetry; a reproduction by Henri Matisse from the 1947 Munich exhibition of French graphics; an excerpt from Ivan Kernytskyi’s dramatic novel “Salt of the Earth”; and a film review under the byline “Yuni Hor.” The illustrations of two historical figures—Hetman Pavlo Polubotok and Prince Volodymyr the Great, both in charcoal—are by Oksana Liaturynska, who here appears as both a poet and a portrait artist.

The editorial board of the first year was headed by V. Domontovych—one of the two literary pseudonyms of Viktor Petrov (1894–1969), a historian, archaeologist, and writer associated with the Neo-Classicists; he signed his philosophical and cultural studies with the other pseudonym, Viktor Ber, under which the article “The Modern Conception of the World” was published in this same issue—meaning that the same author appears twice in this issue under different names. From January 1948, with Issue 1 (7), the editorial board was headed by Yurii Sherekh (Shevelov, 1908–2002). All the journal’s artistic design—the arch logo, fonts, and inserts—is by Yakiv Hnyzdovskyi (1915–1985), who later became one of the most renowned Ukrainian graphic artists in the United States.

“Arka” was published in Munich from July 1947 to May 1948 as a supplement to the newspaper Ukrainian Tribune in collaboration with the publishing commission of the Ukrainian Artistic Movement; this issue opens the entire series—during the incomplete year, the journal managed to publish eleven issues. The print runs of camp publications were small, and preserved copies of individual issues of “Arka” are rare, with the first issue being even rarer than those that follow: it is from this issue that incomplete sets begin to break up.