The Lost Five Years Poet: Dmytro Zahul as a Member of the Modernist Group “Muzaget”

The study delved into the epistemological specificity of Ukrainian modernism, shaped by numerous bifurcation shifts during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It focused on the creative potential of modernism as a result of poetic transgressions during the “lost five-year” period (1917–1922). The main aim was to fill historiographical gaps in understanding Ukrainian modernism and analyse the activities of literary and artistic societies. A personalised examination of poet-innovator Dmytro Zahul (1890–1944) was conducted, highlighting his early (“Bukovyna”) and symbolist (“Kyiv”) stages of work. Zahul’s involvement in a secret school club with political connections, as well as his collaboration with Bukovyna modernist V. Kobylyansky (1895–1919) and the Lviv modernist group “Young Muse” (1905–1914) were explored. His poems, such as “Spring Nights” (1907) and “Between the Borders Lively, Lively” (1913), were analysed for their influence from the “young musicians”. The study also delved into Zahul’s participation in the Kyiv symbolist society “White Studio” (1918) and his journey towards Ukrainian symbolism through works like “There is no grief in the land of dreams” and “Say, don’t be silent, secret demon...?”. His role in establishing the association of Kyiv symbolists “Muzaget” (1919) was thoroughly examined, particularly his contribution to the almanac “Muzaget” with the literary exploration “Poetry as art”, an aesthetic program by I. Maidan. Zahul’s poetic texts, such as “Untangled garlands”, “There where tiredness sinks into the darkness”, and “Raven-maned horse”, were interpreted as examples of innovative symbolist form. The study also highlighted the impact of political ideology on art, literature, and the destinies of Ukrainian modernists.