Ukrainian soul: New York–Toronto, Kliuchi Publishing Housе, 1956, 63 p.

The book Ukrainian Soul, edited by Mykola Shlemkevych, is a comprehensive study of the spiritual world of Ukrainians, their mentality, and their national self-consciousness. The collection brings together essays and articles by authors of the Ukrainian diaspora, including Mykola Shlemkevych, Yevhen Onatskyi, Oleksander Kulchytskyi, and Bohdan Tsymbalistyi, as well as a bibliographical review by Volodymyr Doroshenko. These works consider the Ukrainian soul as a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by historical, cultural, and spiritual factors.

Shlemkevych analyzes the Ukrainian mentality through the musical and poetic dimensions of the soul: for him, song and folklore are not merely cultural phenomena but ways of expressing emotions, moral values, and the historical memory of the people. He interprets the Ukrainian soul as a synthesis of emotionality, spiritual depth, and a striving for freedom, while art and song help preserve national identity and transmit cultural values to future generations. Yevhen Onatskyi emphasizes the historical memory and moral values of Ukrainians, viewing them as the foundation of the inner strength of the nation, its capacity for empathy, and the preservation of cultural identity. Oleksander Kulchytskyi explores the historical and psychological contradictions of the Ukrainian soul, the combination of a striving for freedom with patience, and individualism with collective consciousness, highlighting the influence of historical events on the formation of national self-awareness. Bohdan Tsymbalistyi focuses on the cultural and aesthetic dimension of the Ukrainian soul, showing how folklore, song, and art sustain national identity, contribute to spiritual development, and cultivate a poetic perception of the world.

Taken together, the authors present a holistic vision of the Ukrainian soul as a phenomenon that unites emotionality, spiritual depth, historical consciousness, and artistic sensitivity, combining philosophical, cultural, and historical approaches to the analysis of national identity.

Contents

Preface

Yevhen Onatskyi

Ukrainian Emotionality

Oleksander Kulchytskyi

The Ukrainian Sense of the World

Bohdan Tsymbalistyi

Family and the Soul of the Nation

Mykola Shlemkevych

Soul and Song

Volodymyr Doroshenko

A Brief Bibliographical Review