Kseniya Simonova - Seeing the Past Differently

Anyone who knows me also knows that I have a particular passion for the Russian and Central European world. And, when added to my equally powerful passion for the library and information technology sometimes my interests stretch the limits of this blog.

This is another post that tests those limits, but please bear with me.

Sometimes something just moves you - like the following video of Kseniya Simonova on Ukraine's Got Talent. A friend of mine posted this link on his facebook account and I have not been able to think about anything since.

Please take a look now, but do me a favor and watch the whole thing.



Quickly, for people not familiar with Ukrainian history, Kseniya Simonova is recounting the dramatic invasion of Ukraine by Germany in 1941 (as part of the grander Operation Barbarossa).

Besides the obvious reasons to be moved by her performance, I was enthralled in how she found a way to convey the powerful emotions of this event and, in doing so, created her own way of conveying it and connecting with her audience.

The "making it her own" - that is a phrase I use often when discussing materials with students who are stuck for a research topic. Taking the information and using it in a way that makes the reader/watcher/listener pause.

Art has power.

Now for the library themed questions:

1. How can we preserve this?
   
2. How can I foster this in others?