Vasyl Stefanyk
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Vasyl' Semenovych Stefanyk (1871 — 1936) was an important Ukrainian writer.
Vasyl Stefanyk was born May 14, 1871 in the village of Rusiv in the historical region of Pokuttya, in Western Ukraine. Stefanyk was deeply concerned with the destiny of Ukrainian immigrants to Canada and often mentioned them in his many writings. One of his stories, The Stone Cross, later made into a movie, is a stirring account of an immigrant's departure from Stefanyk's native village. The man upon whom it is based died in 1911, in Hilliard, Alberta.
A Monument to Vasyl' Stefanyk is located at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, east of Edmonton, Alberta. The statue was a gift from Ukraine to the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians. The statue was sculpted by W. Skolozdra in 1971 to mark to 100th anniversary of Stefanyk's birth.