Genre-style Transformations in the Artistic Work of Tetyana Stus

Abstract

This article examines the evolution of Tetyana Stus (Shcherbachenko) body of work as a cohesive ecosystem for supporting children. The author explores the writer’s artistic world through the metaphor of a “living membrane” that bridges the worlds of adulthood and childhood, and the physical and spiritual. It is revealed that the author’s style is underpinned by modern cordocentrism and the idea of “self-fulfilment”.

An analysis of educational literature (Pannochka, Pysmonautyka) demonstrates a transition from the role of a “navigator” who structures society to that of a facilitator of creativity. Particular attention is paid to the transformation of the child’s image: from the “project girl” to the lively, egocentric Darynka (the “Reading Room” cycle), where mischief is legitimised as a stage of self-discovery. It is demonstrated that the emergence of philosophical picture books (Wilhelm the Hedgehog, Where is Oira?) marks a transition to intellectual prose. The author transforms complex categories (otherness, introversion) into visual-metaphorical images, introducing “literature of slowing down”. A special place is occupied by the book My Grannie, which, through the concept of the “house in the heart”, acts as a mediator in themes of ageing and loss, harmonising the philosophy of being with the ethics of compassion.

It has been established that the current phase of her work consists of bibliotherapeutic prose (Secret Stories…, The Hugging Workshop). The author creates a safe space for processing the trauma of war, using personification (the anxious rucksack, the life-saving siren). Her most recent works from 2024–2025 (The Hugging Workshop, Farewell, First!) are presented as a synthesis of artistic narrative and practical workbook, teaching social intelligence and gentle adaptation to physiological changes.

It is concluded that Tetyana Stus has charted a path from “instructions for life” to a “space of life”, where vulnerability is recognised as a strength and writing becomes an act of “embracing” through words. Her body of work affirms the child as an equal personality, capable of nurturing an “inner garden” in a globalised world.