Helena Kolody. Curitiba. 1940s-1970s. Central State Audiovisual and Electronic Archive
Her work emphasized her spiritual connection with Ukraine, its history, people, and their desire for freedom
Oksana Borushenko, historian
Helena Kolody was a Ukrainian-Brazilian poet and translator, author of several poetry collections, and a promoter of Ukrainian culture in Brazil.
Helena was born on October 12, 1912, in Cruz Machado in the most “Ukrainian” state of Brazil, Paraná, into a family of first-wave immigrants from Galicia. Helena’s father, Mykhailo (Miguel) Kolody, co-founded the first Ukrainian society, Prosvita in Curitiba (Paraná), and the first Ukrainian newspaper in Brazil, Zorya (A star). From him, his daughter inherited a love for words and the imperative to popularize and preserve Ukrainian culture in Brazil.
At 13, she began writing poetry in Portuguese. In 1929, she debuted in the magazine Marinha with the poem “A Lágrima” (Tear). After receiving a teaching diploma in 1931, Helena Kolody taught first in Rio Negro and later in Curitiba (1937-1967).
As a translator in the 1950s, Helena Kolody edited Portuguese translations of Ukrainian poetry that were included in the book Antologia da poesia ucraniana (Anthology of Ukrainian Poetry, 1959; 1977) and translated works by Ukrainian poets, including poems by Taras Shevchenko, into Portuguese.
In her poetry (she wrote in Portuguese), Helena Kolody reflected on existential issues in human life, the search for mutual understanding and harmony in human relationships, the grandeur and beauty of nature, and so on. At the same time, her poetry reflects her love for Ukraine, her concern for the fate of its people, and her awareness of mental unity with her historical homeland. Thus, in her collection Luz infinita (Infinite Light, 1997), she called on Ukrainian youth to maintain traditions and preserve the values of their people. One of the features of her work was the creation of the genre of women’s haiku in Brazilian poetry. In total, more than 20 of her poetry collections were published during her lifetime, including Paisagem Interior (Interior landscape, 1941) and Vida Breve (Short life, 1965), Trilha Sonora (The Ringing Path, 1966), Tempo (Time, 1970), Infinito Presente (Present Infinity, 1980), Poesia Mínima (The Smallest Poem, 1986), Ontem, Agora (Yesterday, Now, 1991), and Reika (Rail, 1993). Some of her works remain unpublished.
Helena Kolody’s work is also known from films. Thus, she recites her poems in S. Back’s film A Babel da Luz (Babylon of Light, 1992). In 2006, the documentary Helena de Curitiba (Helena from Curitiba) by J. Melo was released.
Helena Kolody died on February 15, 2004, in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.
