Ternopil-born Kornel Filipowicz’s Ukrainian edition among Polish Book Institute-supported translations

The Ukrainian edition of selected stories by Ternopil-born Polish writer Kornel Filipowicz, “Моя люба, горда провінція” (“My Dear, Proud Province”), is among the translations supported through the Polish Book Institute’s ©Poland Translation Programme. Translated by Ukrainian serviceman, poet, and translator Yurii Matevoshchuk, the collection was published by the Ternopil-based Krok publishing house.

The Polish Book Institute lists the project under the Polish title “Opowiadania wybrane” (“Selected Stories”) and identifies FOP Zavadskyi Yurii Romanovych as the publisher. The institute included the Ukrainian edition among the translations supported through the ©Poland Translation Programme and highlighted it in August 2026.

The book continues Matevoshchuk’s long-standing work with Filipowicz’s writing. He previously translated several of the author’s works into Ukrainian, including “Провінційний роман” (“Provincial Romance”), “Скажи це слово” (“Say This Word”), “Щоденник антигероя” (“Diary of an Antihero”), and “Сад пана Нічке” (“Mr. Nietschke’s Garden”).

Filipowicz, a Polish prose writer, poet, and screenwriter, was born in Ternopil in 1913. As reported earlier, in an interview for Chytomo and PEN Ukraine’s “Words and Bullets” project, Matevoshchuk recalled discovering Filipowicz’s “Romans prowincjonalny” (“Provincial Romance”) while browsing publisher Yurii Zavadskyi’s library. Despite having studied Polish philology and lived in Ternopil, he said he had not previously known that Filipowicz was born in the city.

Matevoshchuk said he became a translator because of Filipowicz. Before encountering his work, he had not planned to translate from Polish; by the time of the interview, he had translated nine works from Polish into Ukrainian.

In the same “Words and Bullets” interview, Matevoshchuk said he still had unfinished work related to Filipowicz. He named two books he wanted to translate — a collection of the writer’s short stories and selected correspondence between Filipowicz and Polish Nobel Prize laureate Wisława Szymborska.

Matevoshchuk is a Ukrainian poet, translator, editor, cultural manager, and serviceman. He joined Ukraine’s Defense Forces following Russia’s full-scale invasion and has served as a UAV operator.

The ©Poland Translation Programme, run by the Polish Book Institute, supports publishers producing translations of Polish literature into other languages. The Ukrainian edition of Filipowicz’s selected stories was among the translations supported by the program.

Main image: Polskie Radio 24