In France, a bilingual anthology of Ukrainian poetry was published

The anthology of Ukrainian poetry Ukraine. 24 Poets for One Country (Ukraine. 24 poètes pour un pays) was published by the French publishing house Editions Bruno Doucey. This was announced by the editor and translator of the anthology Ella Yevtushenko on her Facebook.

“This book was born by the war in Ukraine as a flower that managed to grow up through the ruins to claim its right for light and life. These are the words that you first see when opening the anthology that is based on current news. It unites Ukrainian resistance poets. Just like the national hero Taras Shevchenko, some of them asserted their nation’s identity in the face of the aggressor. Others, like Vasyl Stus, the writer, the martyr, the dissident, survived the fight with the Nazism, Stalinism and the Cold War. Like Ella Yevtushenko, the youngest of therm belong to the generation of Dignity, born after the collapse of the USSR, the generation that has only known the independent Ukraine. And through their works the spirit of Maidan breathes on the pages,” goes in the foreword to the anthology.

The collection includes poems of 24 Ukrainian poets and poetesses: Yurii Andrukhovych, Natalka Bilotserkivets, Taras Shevchenko, Olena Herasymiuk (Olena Herasymyuk), Bohdan‑Oleh Horobchuk, Serhiy Zhadan, Borys Khersonsky, Liudmyla Khersonska, Pavlo Korobchuk, Lina Kostenko, Oleh Kotsarev, Halyna Kruk, Lesіa Ukrainka, Yevhen Pluzhnyk, Mykhaylo Semenko, Hryhorii Semenchuk, Ostap Slyvynsky, Yuliia Stakhivska, Vasyl Stus, Iryna Tsilyk, Liubov Yakymchuk, Ella Yevtushenko, Oksana Zabuzhko and Yurii Zavadskyi.

In an exclusive comment to Chytomo, Ella Yevtushenko said that the number of authors is not accidental: it is associated with both important dates of restoration of Ukrainian Independence and the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion. According to her, it is also the perfect number of poets, otherwise, the anthology would be too large (therefore, too expensive). “At the same time, it was important to include at least 3 poems from every poet to represent all of them more or less completely,” she stated.

In accordance with Yevtushenko, the anthology is a good opportunity for the publisher to get rid of the sense of guilt about her powerlessness and to do something for Ukraine. For her, it is a kind of contribution to victory on a cultural frontline. “In fact, the promotion of Ukrainian poetry in France was my long-time dream. It is such a pity that the way to its realization was paved by this great tribulation. However, it is also a powerful way to remind everyone about the war since people of the culture, that is the audience of our anthology, are the people who can make a difference,” the poetess said.

The translation of the book lasted two months. Poets were chosen by both the editor of the anthology and the publisher. Several poems in the anthology appeared in already available translations (in particular, written by Shevchenko, Kostenko and Stus).

“Our purpose was to show both modern poetry and the continuance of traditions. There is constant connection between the poems of different periods in this book. Some of them I selected consciously (as in the case of Olena Herasymiuk quoting Yevgen Pluzhnyk in her poem), others appeared purely coincidental. And that’s like magic. Apart from that, sometimes it’s even scary how prophetic some lines are. For example, Patagonia by Mykhaylo Semenko (I will die young…) was the favorite poem of Roman Ratushnyi, to whom this poem is dedicated in the anthology,” told Yevtushenko.

Each poem in the collection is presented in French and the original language.

The poetess hopes that the anthology will arouse considerable interest: “There will be a lot of sympathy because of the war, but I am also sure that people will appreciate the poetry itself. I am also aware that numerous people in France do not fully understand what is happening here, because even if they learned history, it was only through the prism of russian imperialism”.

“Ukrainian poetry, even Shevchenko, is not that well known in the world. As for the Executed Reneissance, Semenko and Pluzhnyk, the publisher (who is well aware of world literature) first learnt about them from me, and he was really impressed by Semenko. And only now have we started fixing this injustice caused by russian occupation and repressions. Ukraine has proven its individuality through its fierce fight, and people around the world got curious what Ukrainians write. That’s an opportunity not to be missed. Yet, ususally the enthusiasm fades away sooner or later, so we need to develop the institutions and invest into purposeful and systematic promotion of our culture abroad,” she summed up.

You can order the publication at the link. It costs €20.

Part of the sales will be donated to a charitable organization Association Aide Médicale & Caritative France-Ukraine.

The Executed Renaissance is a term used to describe the generation of Ukrainian language poets, writers, and artists of the 1920s and early 1930s who lived in the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic and were subsequently persecuted, denied work, imprisoned and, in dozens of cases, shot during the Great Terror (August 1937 – November 1938).

Photos: actualitte.com