Nearly twenty years ago the translator of these poems was sent by the
Presbyterian church as a medical missionary to a newly settled district
in Manitoba. A very large proportion of the incoming settlers in this
district were Ukrainians, indeed it was largely owing to the interest
taken in these newcomers that the writer was sent there.
It was Mr. John Bodrug who first, introduced him to the study of the
poems of Shevchenko and with his help translations of three or four of
the poems were made a dozen years ago. Press of other work prevented
the following up of this study till last summer when with the help of
Mr. Sigmund Bychinsky translations were made of the other poems here
given, and considerable time spent in arriving at an understanding of
the spirit of the poems and the nature of the situations described.
Then the more formidable task was approached of trying to carry over
not only the thought but something of the style, spirit and music of
the original into the English tongue.
The spirit of Shevchenko was too independent to suffer him to be much
bound by narrow rules of metre and rhyme. The translator has found the
same attitude convenient, for when the versification may be varied as
desired it is much easier to preserve the original thoughts intact.
The writer’s thanks are due for help and advice to Messrs. Arsenych,
Woicenko, Rudachek, Ferley, Sluzar and Stechyshyn and especially to
Mrs. Bychinsky and for help with the manuscript to Miss Sara
Livingstone.