Myrna Kostash: Here
Myrna Kostash: Here was produced in collaboration between the Alberta Local and International Education Association (ALIEA), director Kalyna Somchynsky, and filmmakers Lindisfarne Productions. The short documentary celebrates renowned creative nonfiction writer Myrna Kostash's extensive career and her dedication to exploring the complex relationships that shape our identities and the places we call home.
Kostash boasts a remarkable career as a writer firmly rooted in Edmonton, even when her research has taken her overseas to Greece, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Ukraine, and beyond. Her background as the granddaughter of Ukrainian immigrants who settled in Alberta in the early 1900s informs her writing practice beginning with her ground-breaking first monograph All of Baba’s Children to her most recent book Ghosts in a Photograph: A Chronicle. Between these bookends, Kostash has passionately explored varied topics ranging from the 60s generation both in Canada and Eastern Europe, multiculturalism, Indigenous-settler relations on the Canadian prairies, erotica and the male-hero archetype, Slavic identity in Byzantium, and Orthodoxy, all while writing from a feminist, socialist, ethnic, and Western Canadian perspective.
Kostash In Her Own Words
Access various articles authored by Kostash and listen to oral presentations on Kostash’s comprehensive website.
View the photographs described in Kostash’s most recent book Ghosts in a Photograph: A Chronicle (2022) on the book’s website.
The full interviews with Myrna Kostash, and interviewees George Melnyk, Naomi McIlwraith, and Tom Radford are available at the MacEwan University Archives in the Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre fonds.
Interviews with Kostash on the topics of Multiculturalism and Feminism can be found on Chapters 1 and 2 of this website, respectively.
Writing Ukraine with Myrna Kostash: Exploring Heritage and Identity
On December 6, 2024 URDC hosted a Writer in Conversation event featuring the acclaimed author Myrna Kostash and Dr. Jeffrey Stepnisky, the Kule Chair of Ukrainian Community and International Development. Kostash shared readings from her latest essay collection, Writing Ukraine, discussing her Ukrainian heritage and its ongoing influence on her identity.
The evening offered a thoughtful discussion on heritage, memory, and belonging. Dr. Stepnisky’s insightful questions brought out the connections between Kostash’s personal journey and broader themes of identity and history. The warmth and honesty of the exchange was felt in the audience, while also bringing to light both the challenges and beauty of tracing one’s roots.