New poetry and tickets sold out a week before the event: How Artur Dron’s literary evening went

On Feb.17, Kyiv National Academic Molodyy Theatre (the Young Theatre) hosted a charity literary evening with Dron. For two hours, Svitlana Stretovych, founder of the publishing house and exclusive events agency Stretovych Agency, led a live on-stage interview with the author. The conversation was focused on Dron’s work and activities. However, the main part of the evening was devoted to the writer reading his works.

The hall was packed and, according to Stretovych, tickets for Dron’s literary evening were sold out a week in advance. In total, about 400 spectators filled the venue. This was already the 17th major literary evening as part of a joint special project between Stretovych Agency and the Molodyy Theatre.

The purpose of the event was charity, and all proceeds from book and merchandise sales, as well as part of the profits from ticket sales, will be transferred to the Voices of Children Foundation for children with autism spectrum disorders who need systematic treatment. UAH 50.000 (USD 1161.01) will go to support the treatment of children of defenders with autism spectrum disorder. Artur Dron calls on everyone to join the fundraiser to reach UAH 100.000.

The conversation began with memories and dreams. Before Feb. 24, 2022, Dron had always dreamed of becoming a writer. He worked at the Old Lion Publishing House. The night the full-scale invasion started, he stayed up until 1 a.m. working on his novel.

“I went to bed. A few minutes later, my mother called, saying the full-scale invasion had begun.” Dron hadn’t open that file for three years, but he finally returned to it recently.

Speaking about the role of literature, Dron noted he truly understood its importance while being a soldier, when it became clear that “literature, words, writing, and language haven’t lost their relevance. Instead, they turned out to be much more than I had ever imagined.”

Dron read from “We Were Here” between discussions. In just two years since its publication, the book has raised over UAH 1.7 million (over USD 39.000) for children affected by the war (including royalties from all editions and translations into other languages, publisher’s profits, charity presentations of the book, related events, and so on).

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In a separate section of the program, Dron recited his unpublished poems. One poem told about an elderly neighbor from Dron’s childhood who went caroling every Christmas for all 95 years of his life, and when he lost his sight, Dron guided him by the hand. “I haven’t read it to anyone yet,” said Dron. Another poem begins with the words, “Someday I will become Taras Prokhasko,” which Dron called his first not-sad text.

The third part of the evening was devoted to reading excerpts from “Hemingway Knows Nothing.” The discussion of the book shifted to the international context. The rights to translate and publish the book have already been sold to publishers in eight countries. However, Dron did not accept all offers.

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One of the offers came from the large Norwegian publishing house Cappelen Damm, which, in 2022, distributed thousands of free books to Ukrainian refugee children. Bernhard Mohr, the publishing house editor, was the person who edited the Norwegian translation of Valerian Pidmohylnyi’s “The City.” Dron was at first happy to hear the news until his Swedish publisher pointed out that it was the same publishing house that, in 2025, released “Ufred — Russland fra innsiden” (Unrest — Russia from the Inside), a book by journalist Åsne Seierstad, about Wagner fighter Andrei Miedviediev, who had fought for the Russian side near Bakhmut, deserted, and escaped to Norway.

The situation became even more absurd later. It turned out that while Seierstad was gathering material about the Wagner mercenary, she was also moderating a meeting with Ukrainian writer and director Iryna Tsilyk, asking her about her husband, writer and soldier Artem Chekh, who fought near Bakhmut. “At the same time, she was already traveling somewhere near Murmansk,” he said. The journalist was presented with an award for the book soon after the Russian missile strike on Ternopil on Nov. 19, 2025.

Mohr was disappointed by the refusal and suggested revisiting the decision, emphasizing that it was important for the Ukrainian voice to be heard as well. Dron refused. “In other words, they showed the war from the perspective of a Wagnerite (albeit a deserter), and now they would show it from the perspective of a Ukrainian soldier. In this way, they equated the aggressor with the victim who is defending himself. In reality, a voice can be given to only one side. While the war continues, I will not publish any books with the same publisher as the Russians, nor will I participate in literary festivals with them.”

After the official program ended, a line for autographs formed in the lobby of the Molody Theater, and people remained there for another hour. In a comment to Chytomo, Dron said he was delighted to see so many people, particularly given the evening’s charitable aspect. “All these tickets, this presence, and all these books are converted into treatment for children.”

Artur Dron is a poet, prose writer, and soldier who volunteered from the first days of the full-scale invasion, serving in Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts for the 125th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade.

In 2024, he was seriously wounded, and in 2025 he was discharged into the reserve. Dron is the author of two poetry collections, “Dormitory No. 6” (2020) and “We Were Here” (2023), as well as “Hemingway Knows Nothing,” a collection of short prose (2025). Dron is also a laureate of the Yuri Shevelov Prize.

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Images: Danylo Pavlov

Translation: Iryna Savyuk

Copy editing: Joy Tataryn