Ukrainian Books

[Robert De Lossa]

Dorohi SEELANZhivtsi (ta AAUS'iany),

To respond to the previous post, I would like to note that the reason why
Ukrainian- or English-language books and journals from Ukraine often appear
in the U.S. and Canada  with "Western" prices is that the publishers work
with specific individuals in the West trying to recoup costs through
Western sales. Because of a predatory tax situation (book and journal
publishing  are taxed at a very high rate in Ukraine, while books published
in Russia in Russian are allowed into the country tax free through a series
of trade deals between the two countries...) as well as the economic
situation in the country, few Ukrainian belles lettres or scholarly
publishers can break even on domestic sales. The only options are subsidies
of various kinds: grants from foundations, personal subsidies, or the
subsidy received from getting Western sales at the rates they would charge
domestically if the economy could support it. It is a perverse situation
that has led to a several-magnitude decrease in this type of publishing in
Ukraine. So, sure, the books can be had for pennies if bought on the street
and shipped over, but usually that's not the point of such offers,
especially if they come from scholars in the field (like this one from
Prof. Michael Naydan). At the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, we've
been fighting a running defensive action over this with regard to the
journal Krytyka (published in Kyiv, with HURI's cooperation; and with a
significant Western subscriber base that helps keep it going). If every
copy of the journal sold at the Ukrainian street price without any type of
outside subvention, the journal would fold pretty quickly. If the
publishers charged a realistic rate based on the cost of editorial and
technical production, then very few on the street in Ukraine could afford
it.

There are fewer and fewer such golden eggs in Ukraine these days. It is
better not to kill the geese that remain simply to get those golden eggs
cheaper.

Respectfully,

Rob De Lossa


>>From: Adrian Wanner <ajw3 at PSU.EDU>
>>Dear SEELANGers:
>>I have copies of the Tychyna and Vynnychuk books listed below on hand
>>and can ship them out immediately. I can also take orders for the
>>bilingual poetry anthology described below and should be able to ship
>>in early to mid-January as soon as they arrive. I only have two
>>copies of that on hand. I've enclosed a mail order form below. The
>>books will be sold in January at a slightly higher price via
>>Webster's Bookstore in State College, which has their own website.
>...........
>
>Oh dear,
>
>I could send you a bunch of books of that sort from Ukraine much cheaper!
>
>Regards
>
>Alexander Stratienko

____________________________________________________
Robert De Lossa
Director of Publications
Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University
1583 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138
617-496-8768; fax. 617-495-8097
reply to: rdelossa at fas.harvard.edu
http://www.huri.harvard.edu

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