Magic reigns in the works of Katrusi Lebyd, and the heroes meet characters from Ukrainian demonology.
The presentation of the new book “Mystical Tales” by Katrusia Lebid, published by the publishing house “Samit-Knyga”, took place in the cozy municipal bookstore “Syaivo knygi”. The meeting was attended by friends of the author and fans of mysticism.
“The birth of new fairy tales is always an event. Few people today can write something new, unique, close to the human heart, in which there is salt of the earth. I took these fairy tales in my hands and read them, he admitted writer and poet Ihor Shestak, who wrote the foreword to the book. – Magical fairy tales, in which there is a lot of knowledge, intelligent, which teaches a person good. And there are many beliefs and traditions of our Ukrainian people. Not just fairy tales – magical! This is a very promising direction of modern fairy-tale literature.”
Katrusya Lebid is a lawyer by education, but an esotericist by vocation. Each of her tales is a story about how people interact with demonological beings.
“I wrote short prose in my youth. The idea of fairy tales arose thanks to my mother, she told “Vechirnyi Kyiv” Katrusya Lebyd, which was read by Gogol since childhood. — She created a Telegram channel on which she posted folk tales in audio format and read them herself. It was difficult to choose material for this channel, because folk tales are often cruel. And I offered to write a fairy tale, scary and mystical, but without cruelty. The first was “Mavka and cheese pies”. Everyone really liked it. And I thought it was a cool idea to write about all the characters.”
In her fairy tales, there are foresters, housekeepers and fortune-tellers. All of them are our folk beliefs about otherworldly forces. Each tale introduces readers to these mysterious creatures.
“I think that science does not contradict the magical worldview. There are laws in the country and laws of the universe, there are no contradictions. I compare magical abilities with any other – writing or artistic. If a person is interested and sees this as one of his assignments, he needs to develop them, master himself, – shared Katrusya Lebid. The girl herself is engaged in divination, using Tarot cards and runes. — She started practicing at the age of 19, initially for herself. Real magic is not a “magic bullet”, as many imagine, but a rather everyday thing. Then I talked a lot with clients, and this experience is invaluable. Many of the most common topics and problems that concern people formed the basis of fairy tales, but the action was moved to a Ukrainian village.
The heroines of Katrusi’s works are different in character, but all of them are combative. The author said that she is close to the idea: in literature, women represent the people, and men represent power. Therefore, the heroines are strong and wise, like the Ukrainian nation. And men are different, if they are dishonest – you can always go to the molfar and do something about it.
The publication was illustrated by the outstanding Ukrainian animator, artist Radna Sakhaltuev. which is well known for many animated films, including The Adventures of Captain Wrungel and Treasure Island. For the book, he created wonderful drawings depicting the life of a Ukrainian village.
“Most often in my practice, people are interested in the topics of love spells and love spells. What it is, how it works and why you can’t do it, I described it for illustrative purposes in the fairy tale “About the White Handkerchief,” said Katrusya Lebid. — We are used to the fact that a fairy tale is a children’s format. However, the topics I consider in them are quite deep. These are stories about the value of the human soul, the importance of clear rum, the temptations of dark forces and the strong will of Ukrainians. This small collection is a reflection of my magical worldview, which I am happy to share with readers of all ages.”
The presentation took place in a warm, almost family atmosphere. The host of the evening was the writer’s mother, Natalia Dovlatova, who is a teacher of rhetoric.
Guests had the opportunity to hear fairy tales performed by her, ask the writer Katrusa questions, and read Tarot cards. And also try a delicious “magic” cookie, inside of which there was a hidden prediction.
The first collection included 16 fairy tales, and the author intends to continue writing them.
“I will repeat Gogol, who wrote “Evenings on a farm near Dykanka” about the countryside, and “Myrhorod” about the city. The same with me. In this book, events take place in the village, and the next will be a collection of tales about modernity and magic in the city. The previous title is “Demons of the Big City,” Katrusya Lebyd announced.
By the way, you can listen to her fairy tales in audio format on the Telegram channel “Tales of Katrusi Lebyd“. They were read by her mother, Natalia Dovlatova. Folk tales read by her are available on the Telegram channel “Ukrainian fairy tales“.
