Originally published in Lviv in 1938, Українська усна словесність, 2nd ed. (Ukrainian Oral Literature) is an extensive 650+ page survey of Ukrainian folklore from the pre-Christian era to the mid-1930s. In the present edition the original text has been augmented with an introduction by Mykola Mushynka, a Ukrainian folklorist in Presov in eastern Slovakia. In his introduction Mushynka presents a summary of the life and works of Kolessa as a Ukrainian ethnomusicologist and folklorist. Divided into two parts, this publication also includes a survey of Ukrainian oral literature followed by selected illustrative texts. Modern society, whether the academic world or the general public, tends to view folklore as peripheral to life and barely worth serious consideration. Yet folklore in its various forms, like any art, contains many intriguing and esthetic features. A good understanding of the characteristics of a people requires a solid knowledge of folk traditions. See Ivan Kotliarevsky, Ivan Franko, Taras Shevchenko, Ballad, Folk Songs, and Fable in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine.