About a descendant, person who lived in sixties, honored citizen of Zhytomyr Yevhen Kontsevych reminds a memorial board on the front of gymnasium № 23, where he was studying. “It’s an incredible person, who always inspired everyone, it seemed he didn’t need any support – he supported and encouraged everyone and shared energy with all people” – remembered friends about Kontsevich. Everyone, who was happy to meet Yevhen, was impressed by his strength of soul, incredible optimism, love to life and people. It’s not surprising, but people came to him in hard times to encourage or just to hear warm words…to someone, who was bedbound for more than fifty years.

One sunny summer day, a year before graduation party, 17 year old blue-eyed youngster, who made hearts of lots of girls beat faster, together with his friends went to have a rest near the river.
Cheerful company as usual was having fun and happy to live and creating plans for future, not even expecting anything bad to happen. “Everyone has his own destiny…” The guy jumped into Teteriv and the he was taken off by his friends. Due to unsuccessful jump, the boy broke his spine and after a difficult trauma will never move himself again. Every person overcomes pain differently: some look for support, others support people themselves…
Later the writer recalled, that if he had known about further life, about the absence of possibility to move forever, he could have not be got into this sadness and moaning. There were different thoughts. However, hope is always there until the last moment: he truly believed that time will help him recover and he’ll stand and live full life. Yevhen wrote: “I’ve never been jealous, really. The only thing I wanted was stand on my feet as it used to be, at least for some days…” However, medicine was emasculate.
Probably, if this accident hadn’t happened, the world wouldn’t have known about the name of talented word master. There were altruistic ideas in small Yevhen’s plans – it’s treating animals. He hasn’t been thinking about writer’s career. Watershed meeting with Borys Ten’s son, Valerii and Anatolii Shevchuk brothers defined future of writer and Ukrainian journalism enriched with deep and talented works of him. His works “Iduchy vulytseiu” (1985) (“Walking down the street”); “Vona ishla usmikhnena…” (2002) (“She was walking and smiling…”), “Holubka moia syza” (2003) (“My lovely rock dove”); memoirs “Tuteshnia kava” (200) (“Local coffee”) and other compositions teach to see the beauty of the world, think critically and fight for life. Enormous braveness of a human appears in small and usual things: live, when there’s no hope, create, when you lose power and fight…Fight for every breath and line. Persecution by Committee of State Security, elimination from writers’ community, impossibility of publication could break anyone. However, the power of person’s spirit is really limitless!
Yevhen Kontsevych had an incredible amount of friends and intellectuals were inspired near him. In 12, second Shevchenkiv’s alley, where writer lived it used to be always crowded. It was like a community of Zhytomyr intellectuals: teachers, artists, doctors, musicians, scientists, poets, prosaic, dramatists and publicists. Accommodation of the man from sixties was jokingly called “multi-profile university”: curious Yevhen Vasyliovych listened to stories of all his visitors and shared with other guests then.
Poignant wit, sophisticated humor, affection and limitless strive to live – that is the thing which impressed and took breath! Ability to make jokes from yourself and everybody around separated Yevhen Kontsevych from all others. Irony in art and life: “…they made a fuss over me, especially women. What kind of man wouldn’t like women to put him on pedestal? I’m not against it…” Impressions and thoughts of meeting were collected into deep and remarkable compositions. Analogy “Vecheria na 12 person: Zhytomyrska prozova shcola” was rewarded with All-Ukrainian prize in the field of literature and art named after Ivan Ohienko.
Kontsevych has left unique family halidom for inheritors  – original towel with ornaments, showing the master’s individual style, embroidered phrases and wishes for those, who was in the Kontsevych’s house. More than 500 people signed the towel of various age and status: Mykhailyna Kotsiubynska, Borys Ten, Viacheslav Chornovil and many others.
Everyday act of heroism of Yevhen Kontsevych in 2006 was rewarded with important prize – order “For gallantry” III level. “What makes you cool, bro?” – famous phrase from movie. Kontsevych answered this question: the main power of a person is his spirit, faith in truth and disobedience towards life troubles.
Photos are taken from personal archive of Zhytomyr writer Hryhorii Tsymbaliuk
Translated by Aliona Matushevich