LEBANON, BEIRUT, Oct. 31 — The first complete edition of “Kobzar” by Taras Shevchenko will be published in Arabic in Beirut, reported cultural and publishing project Chytomo.

First published in 1840, “Kobzar” is a collection of poems by Taras Shevchenko, a Ukrainian poet and artist. The book is named after a Ukrainian bard who sings to his own accompaniment on the stringed instrument, the kobza.

The Dar Al-Musawwar Al-Arabi publishing house will present the first translation of the Ukrainian poet’s collection for Arabic-speaking readers.

Imadeddin Raef, a Lebanese writer and translator, said to Chytomo that publishing “Kobzar” will be the first step toward a complete presentation of Shevchenko’s work in the Arab world. 

According to him, preparing the translation required a deep study of Ukrainian history, culture, and language, since understanding Shevchenko’s poetry is impossible without knowledge of the context of his era.

The first Arabic translations of some of Shevchenko’s works appeared in the 20th century by Lebanese writer Mikhail Naimy, who studied in Poltava and considered Ukraine his “second homeland.”

Raef also said that the new translation is the first attempt to present the full text of the early “Kobzar,” taking into account all censorship cuts and comments, to present Shevchenko’s work in its true form.

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