Sunday, April 30, 2023 AT 3PM
Book launch Ghosts in a Photograph, with the author Myrna Kostash
Moderated by Ksenya Kiebuzinski
FREE in-person event.
Join us for a discussion on Sunday, April 30, 2023, at SVI with award-winning nonfiction writer Myrna Kostash about her latest book, Ghosts in a Photograph. This book delves into the lives of Myrna Kostash’s grandparents, who moved from Galicia, now present-day Ukraine, to Alberta at the turn of the twentieth century. Discovering a packet of family mementos, Kostash begins questioning what she knows about her extended families’ pasts and whose narrative is allowed to prevail in Canada.
A question period will follow.
You can purchase Ghosts in a Photograph at the book launch or order it online.
While participation is free, DONATIONS are appreciated to support continued cultural programming at St. Volodymyr Institute.
Contact cultural.svi@gmail.com with any questions.
MYRNA KOSTASH
Myrna Kostash, an award-winning Edmonton-born writer, completed her M.A. studies at the University of Toronto. She began her writing career freelancing as a journalist, book reviewer, and columnist, before embarking on a career as a writer of literary and creative nonfiction. Kostash is the author of seven acclaimed books of literary nonfiction and two anthologies, of numerous essays and articles, of radio documentaries and playscripts.
Find out more: myrnakostash.com
Photo by Markian Lozowchuk
Ksenya Kiebuzinski
Dr. Ksenya Kiebuzinski holds a PhD in Literary Studies, co-leads the Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine at the Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, University of Toronto, and is an SVI board member.
REVIEWS
In the memoir Ghosts in a Photograph, ancestors populate vintage albums, their voices echoing across time in recorded interviews. But more salient, their efforts join in a personal, generational story about making a home on the Canadian plains ... Kostash shapes an intriguing patchwork tale in which she reconciles what she thought she knew about her family with fuller truths, examining their wider place in Canadian history.” — Karen Rigby, Foreword Reviews (full review)
“A picture says a thousand words, but for Myrna Kostash, a photograph led to an entire memoir exploring mysteries about her family’s history.” — Paula E. Kirman, Prairie Books NOW (full review)
“[a] richly detailed and well-documented familial story.” — Joseph Hnatiuk, Winnipeg Free Press (full review)
“A wonderful and meticulous work of love.” — Theresa Kishkan, author of Blue Portugal and Other Essays (full review)
"A tribute to perserverence and community, Ghosts in a Photograph works toward common ground, 'the image of the good earth and its fruits that sustain us as an icon of sharing.'" — K.B. Thors, Alberta Views
“A fascinating piece of investigative work that brings the human elements of both Ukrainian and Ukrainian Canadian history to life.” — Marco Levytsky, The New Pathway Ukrainian News (full review)
St. Volodymyr Institute gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Shevchenko Foundation Ukrainian Canadian Veterans Fund, the SUS Foundation of Canada, and Delta Bingo & Gaming.
Інститут св. Володимира висловлює подяку Фонду Українсько-Канадських Ветеранів при Фундації ім. Т. Шевченка ,Фундації СУС в Канаді i Delta Bingo & Gaming за фінансову підтримку культурних програм.