Ukrainian Poet Shevchenko and Black-American Actor Aldridge: Unbound Prometheans who Bonded in 1858-59

A country defending its existence against the horrible invasion by Putin the Terrible is rediscovering its diverse and colorful past!

"Imagine a legendary Afro-American actor in the middle of the nineteenth century fleeing slavery and meeting on the other side of the world Ukraine’s leading poet and recent political prisoner who had earlier been freed from serfdom. Imagine, moreover, the inherent mutual understanding and solidarity between the two irrepressible artists, and the resulting cathartic and creative interaction.

Such as scenario offers rich material for a film, novel or a play.  Yet this is something that actually occurred in the winter of 1858-59 when Ukraine’s greatest poet and national icon, Taras Shevchenko, met a remarkable black actor called Ira Aldridge in the Russian imperial capital Saint Petersburg. Their encounter resulted in an imminent, brief but intense, friendship that was recorded in eye witness accounts, sketches, and even a touching portrait of the American by the Ukrainian. ..."

Shevchenko and Aldridge: Unbound Prometheans who Bonded

Left, Ira Aldridge, a portrait by Taras Shevchenko, 1858. Right, Taras Shevchenko, self-portrait, 1860.