Ліда Палій
City of Residence: Toronto, ON
BIO
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress awards the Shevchenko medal to Lydia Palij as an expression of acknowledgment for promoting Ukrainian literature in Canadian literary circles and in the International PEN Club, as well as for her contribution to Ukrainian Canadian Iiterature and art.
Lydia Palij always considered an obligation to disseminate information about Ukraine. She became a member of the Canadian chapter of the International PEN Club in order to assist writers – politicaI prisoners. Through her efforts, the Canadian PEN Club took under its care Mykola Horbad and Yurii Badzo. Lydia Palij wrote articles about them, translated their works and published them in journals of the International PER Club.
ln addition, Lydia Palij popularized Ukrainian literature in such organizations as the Writers Union of Canada and the League of Canadian Poets. Of special significance are her persistent and successJul efforts to include Ukrainian writers in the International Writers’ Festival in Toronto. As a result, the Canadian public became acquainted with the works of Ivan Drach, Oksana Zabuzhko, VasyI Holoborodko, Ihor Raiynets and others. In 1995 Lydia Palij was honoured with the Pavlo Tychyna Award in Ukraine.
