In the New Zealand city of Auckland, a bilingual book by Ukrainian writer, journalist, and director Maria Starozhytska has been published: “Alphabet of Aotearoa – Aoatearoa Alphabet”.
The book is written in Ukrainian and English.
To introduce readers to this unusual country (New Zealand – ed.) from a Ukrainian perspective, I present the main local realities from A – Aotearoa (the Maori name of the country, literally “the land of the long white cloud”) to Y – quality, the object of national pride, K – kiwi (this is not only a bird and a fruit, but also the self-designation of the local people). Essentially, this is a creatively arranged mix of my personal impressions from more than three years living in New Zealand and vivid illustrations for each of them
– Maria Starozhytska
The author said she arrived in New Zealand in 2022. Since then, she has accumulated many impressions of this country and its peculiarities, so she decided to share them with readers.
As Starozhytska noted, the Ukrainian-English “Aotearoa Alphabet” appeared quite quickly; from concept to result it took a few months thanks to the local Ukrainian community.
The Creative Ukrainians community continually seeks opportunities to tell New Zealanders about Ukraine or, as in this case, about New Zealand itself from a Ukrainian perspective, and at the same time raise donations to help the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the wounded, and displaced people. Each of us, whom fate has thrust into this country the farthest from Ukraine – over 17,000 kilometers away – has someone close fighting, a relative wounded, whose apartment was damaged by shelling, etc. Therefore, all possible opportunities are sought to remind New Zealanders about Ukraine and its needs
– Maria Starozhytska
Thus, the proceeds from selling the book “Aotearoa Alphabet” with a print run of 100 copies will also go to supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the rehabilitation of Ukrainian soldiers.
In Starozhytska’s view, the alphabet format is suitable for both children and adults. The book’s design was created by Mark Kanarsky, and the edition was illustrated with photos from the author’s archive and landscape photographs by Roman Hubanov, a New Zealand-born photographer with Ukrainian roots, and traveler Andriy Andreev.
According to Maria Starozhytska, the first favorable responses came from newly arrived Ukrainians who simply had not yet had time to learn about New Zealand what the alphabet tells.
I must admit that I also had to search for the right information to present it concisely. The alphabet format proved incredibly convenient for presenting New Zealand’s curiosities from A – Aotearoa (the Māori name for the country) to Y – quality as a feature of local goods. Among the pages of letters, for example: B – sheep; there are seven times more of them here than residents, including tourists; G – mountains, former and active volcanoes; H – haka, a distinctive Māori dance utterance; F – films, because cinema here is very popular, and the narrative is illustrated by photos of the famous Hobbiton, the Middle-earth village that remained after filming “The Lord of the Rings”
– Maria Starozhytska
The bilingual Aotearoa Alphabet represents a creative way to acquaint readers with New Zealand through a Ukrainian lens, combining language, culture, and support for Ukrainian defenders in today’s realities.