Creative Evening of Serhiy Hakman

On January 30, 2024, the creative evening of Serhiy Hakman became a gift from the Vice President of the Public Resources and Initiatives Charity Foundation to all admirers of literary expression. Artistic sketches from life, essays and short stories about the past and the present, about those who were in the hall and those who are no longer with us. Incredible emotions and a sense that yes – we are alive. We feel this life. We value it immensely.

The evening was organized by the "Debut Reading" club at the Mykhailo Ivasyuk Chernivtsi Regional Universal Scientific Library. The “Debut” members were very lucky when Serhiy Hakman opened the club’s door quite by chance. Since then, he has attended almost every month, with rare exceptions. Gradually getting to know the fascinating and well-written stories in "Debut" – captivating, concise, vivid, sometimes with unexpected endings – they decided to organize a special literary evening for a wider audience in Chernivtsi. So everyone was invited to the event “Non-random Meetings.” This is also a project of the "Debut Reading" club, where authors can present not just one work, but a large body of their writings. Often, this is the first step towards preparing a book for publication. The audience’s reaction is the most accurate barometer of whether that step is worth taking.

A full hall, loud applause, and a sincere reaction to the stories read artistically by the author, illustrated with photographs and presented in thematic blocks, held the audience's attention for more than two hours. Deep themes from family history and intergenerational relationships were described with equal talent, as well as humorous "military sketches" from the time of mandatory service in the army and funny reflections on his own adventures during trips abroad. The audience listened and became convinced: adventures simply “pursued” the author, and he skillfully chose the right time and place to meet them. Always with kindness, which is typical of all his stories. And the heroes of these stories were present in the hall – both family members and scientific colleagues. His translations from Romanian of philosopher Octavian Paler also sounded wonderful.

Once again, we were convinced: there are no limits to perfection. Serhiy Hakman also tried himself in various roles in cinema. First as a translator and voice actor of cartoons, and last year as an actor in the film "Mihai Eminescu and Chernivtsi" (which won 2nd place at an international festival in India), and as the project manager of the documentary film "Only the Lovers Will Survive. Traian Popovici and Others", a project of the Public Resources and Initiatives Charity Foundation supported by RoAid.

The uplifting atmosphere of the "Debut" event was also due to the participation of his older brother, musician – Honored Artist of Ukraine Mykola Hakman. The virtuoso violin performance so captivated the audience that it was impossible to resist the urge to capture the magic on their gadgets. The story blocks were accompanied by Mykola Hakman's music, along with his brief comments on the pieces he gifted to his brother and the listeners.

The story "Mother" evoked admiration for the spiritual strength of the delicate woman depicted in the plot – a young teacher – and also drew parallels with today’s situation, when women are forced to leave their homes. This was reflected in the response of journalist and singer Karolina Zhytaru. She performed her own song based on the lyrics of S. Halyabarda, "Come Back, Mama."

Everyone had the impression of a cozy home gathering of a large, friendly family. This provided emotional support to the author. There was sincere laughter, applause, occasional remarks, and at the end – warm embraces.