This memoir book by Ihor Kachurovsky (1918–2013) — the “seventh neoclassicist” and winner of the 2006 Shevchenko National Prize — fulfills a long-cherished idea the author nurtured in his later years. Written in a concise memoir form that combines essays, portrait sketches, articles, and notes, the volume reflects the most vivid episodes of Kachurovsky’s life, from his schoolboy years in Nizhyn in the early 1930s to the dramatic paths of exile and emigration.

The narrative traces the difficult journey of a family deemed “politically unreliable” by Soviet authorities: from Kursk in Russia, through a brief return to their homeland during World War II, to Austrian DP camps, and later the life — often closer to mere survival — of the Ukrainian community in Buenos Aires. The memoirs continue to Munich, where Kachurovsky ultimately achieved full creative and intellectual self-realization, and include impressions from his visits to Ukraine during the years of Independence.

A significant part of the book is devoted to remarkable figures in culture and scholarship whom the author had the fortune to meet in exile. The volume also includes his “Creative Autobiography,” a chronicle of his literary path and at the same time an aesthetic manifesto. Published to mark the 100th anniversary of Ihor Kachurovsky’s birth, this edition is intended for admirers of his work and for all readers who appreciate memoir literature.

608 pages. Hardcover.