by Olha Onyshko (Author)
Legends of Water is a compilation of mystical legends centered on a woman and her relationship with one of the four fundamental elements of nature: water. Once flowing through the Ukrainian city of Lviv, the Poltva River was forced underground to accommodate increasing urbanization, urbanization functioning as the masculine component in the story. Despite ancestral beliefs in the healing properties of the river's streams and waters, the underground river became part of the city's sewage system. The blocking of the river resulted in chronic water shortages throughout the city in the 20th century. Now, more than 100 years later, the legends of the nurturing, healing powers of the vanished river have resurfaced, asking to be retold.