Jurij Lawrynenko Papers, 1880s-1980s
Summary Information
Abstract
At a Glance
- Call No.:
- BA#0224
- Bib ID:
- 6312518 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- Lawrynenko, Jurij
- Repository:
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Physical Description:
- 48 linear feet (66 manuscript boxes, 17 boxes for audio materials, 6 card file boxes, 1 flat box)
- Language(s):
- English , Ukrainian , Russian .
- Additional Description:
- https://www1.columbia.edu/sec/cu/libraries/inside/projects/findingaids/scans/pdfs/Lawrynenko_Jurij.pdf
- Access:
- You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
-
Boxes 73-85 of this collection are located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Description
Summary
The bulk of the collection consists of Jurij Lawrynenko's professional and personal correspondence, manuscripts, research notes, and printed materials. There are also photographs, documents, diaries, notebooks, memoirs, and audio materials. Collection contains extensive files, including documents and editorial materials, from the major Ukrainian publications in Germany and the United States (Ukrains'ka Literaturna Hazeta, Literaturno-Naukovyi Zbirnyk, et al.), and from Ukrainian writers' organization "Slovo." The collection includes some unpublished and unknown original manuscripts by Lawrynenko and other prominent Ukrainian authors. Original manuscripts could be found in the following series: Series I: Correspondence; Series V: Writings; Series VII: Subject Files.
A large part of the collection consists of printed materials, including books and brochures, rare serial publications and periodicals from Ukraine and from the Ukrainian diaspora in Germany, the United States, and Canada. There are many clippings with Lawrynenko's margin notes and comments that make them a valuable resource for the study of Lawrynenko's professional activities. Printed materials are not separated from the rest of the collection, remaining in the various series where they logically belong.
For preservation purposes, fragile and deteriorating newspapers and clippings were photocopied on acid-free paper; the photocopies remain in the collection while the originals were sent to the Instytut Literatury in Kyiv, Ukraine. Issues of the newspaper Vpered were microfilmed (microfilm #2007-1010), and the originals transferred to the Shevchenko Scientific Society in New York.
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Series IX: Audio Materials, 1952-1987, undated
Reel-to-reel tapes and audiocassettes with Jurij Lawrynenko's radio broadcasts, memoirs and family records. Also included some not Lawrynenko's recordings.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in ten series.
- Series IX: Audio Materials, 1952-1987, undated
- Subseries IX.1: Lawrynenko's broadcasts for the Radio "Svoboda", 1961-1981, undated
- Subseries IX.2: Lawrynenko's memoirs, 1985-1987
- Subseries IX.3: General records on various subjects, including personal and family matters, 1957-1967, undated
- Subseries IX.4: Not Lawrynenko's records, 1967-1972, undated
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
Boxes 73-85 of this collection are located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Jurij Lawrynenko Papers, Box and Folder; Bakhmeteff Archive, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Related Materials
Jurij Lawrynenko materials (mostly correspondence) can also be found in the following Bakhmeteff Archive collections: New York Group Papers; George Y. Shevelov Papers; Research Program on the U.S.S.R.
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Source of acquisition--Maria and Laryssa Lawrynenko. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1997, 2007.
Gift of Maria and Laryssa Lawrynenko, 1997, 2007.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Processing Information
Papers processed Katia Shraga 7/2007.
Finding aid written by Katia Shraga 7/2007.
Biographical / Historical
Jurij Adrijanovych Lawrynenko (Dyvnych) born on May 3, 1905, Khyzhyntsi Zvenyhorod district, Kyiv county, was an author, editor, literary theorist and critic, historian, political and social journalist, and prominent figure in the Ukrainian community in the United States.
Jurij Lawrynenko graduated from Kharkiv University, where he studied in the Department of Literature and Linguistics from 1926 to 1930. In 1932, he completed his post-graduate education in the Kharkiv Institute on the History of Literature, part of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. From 1926 to 1930, he also worked as a manager of the art and proofreading department at the "Visti VUTsVK" newspaper.
Jurij Lawrynenko was arrested twice by the Soviet regime for political offenses and became a prisoner in Stalin's Gulag system. He was sentenced to five years in a concentration camp followed by three years of exile. He served his term in Norillag (Taymyr) and in the North Caucasus until 1942. In 1943 he ended up in Austria as a forced-laborer. He was liberated by the French army in 1945 and lived in Mittenwald DP (displaced person) camp.
In April 1950, Lawrynenko settled in the United States. He became a key figure in the cultural, literary, political, and social life of the Ukrainian community. He was a fellow of UVAN (the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences in the United States of America). He was a member of DOBRUS (the Democratic Union of Ukrainians Formerly Persecuted by the Soviet Government) and of MUR (the Ukrainian Art Movement). He was a co-founder and active member of Slovo, organization of Ukrainian writers in exile. He was editor of the Ukrains'ki Visti and, from 1959 to [1966?], of the Ukrainian broadcasts of Radio Liberty.
Jurij Lawrynenko died in New York on December 14, 1987.
The bibliography of the works of Jurij Lawrynenko contains over three hundred titles, including articles, essays, memoirs, and monographs on history, politics, literature, and philosophy. Ukrainian scholar Tetiana Shestopalova describes Lawrynenko as "a figure outstanding, brilliant, and productive in the creative life of two continents, whose life doesn't fit any simple pattern of the artist adapting himself to alien soil."
Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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