Get ready to immerse yourself in the rich poetry of Ukraine upstairs at Leaf on Bold Street with Liverpool Dead Good Poets. Mid-Eurovision, the event promises to be an unforgettable experience that celebrates the present and past of Ukraine’s poetic traditions.
Join us as we showcase recorded performances of some of Ukraine’s leading contemporary writers, including Yuliya Musakovska, Lyuba Yakimchuk, and Khrystia Vengryniuk.
Local poets will then take the stage, reciting their works in both English and Ukrainian, followed by performances by Ukrainian poets and singers currently residing in Liverpool.
To top off the night, we’ll also feature readings of the poetry of Ukraine’s National Poet, Taras Shevchenko, translated by Vera Rich. You won’t want to miss this exceptional celebration of Ukrainian poetry, which is a part of Writing on the Wall’s Annual WoWFest.
Yaryna Chornohuz is a poet who is also a combat medic in the Ukrainian Marines. She is currently serving on the frontlines and defending Ukraine against the Russian invasion. Her debut poetry collection Як вигинається воєнне коло (How the Military Circle Bends) was released by Folio Publishers in 2020.
Ostap Kin (translator) is the editor, and co-translator with John Hennessy, of Babyn Yar: Ukrainian Poets Respond (forthcoming from HURI/Harvard University Press), editor of New York Elegies: Ukrainian Poems on the City (Academic Studies Press, 2019), which was awarded the 2018–2019 Prize for Best Translation from the American Association for Ukrainian Studies, and the co-translator, with John Hennessy, of Serhiy Zhadan’s A New Orthography (Lost Horse Press, 2020), finalist for the PEN America Award for Poetry in Translation and co-winner of the Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry. He also co-translated, with Vitaly Chernetsky, Yuri Andrukhovych’s collection of selected poems Songs for a Dead Rooster (Lost Horse Press, 2018).
Khrystia Vengryniuk is a poet, author, literary historian, and painter who lives in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, where she serves as editor-in-chief of Chornivivtsi, the country’s top publisher of children’s books. She is the author of essay collections and volumes of poetry, as well as the co-author of several anthologies. She works in poetry in multiple genres, including film and video, and has participated in various literary festivals with her multimedia poetry. She is currently volunteering in local efforts to aid the Ukrainian army and refugees.
Dmytro Kyyan (translator) is a writer, editor, and translator. In the 1990s, he became the editor-in-chief of Foto & Video magazine in Moscow. During his time at the magazine, he published and interviewed legendary photographers such as Richard Avedon, David Bailey, and Irving Penn. He also published many rising stars from across Eastern Europe. Originally from Kharkiv, he currently resides in New York City.
Lybua Yakimchuk is a poet, playwright, and screenwriter. Her two collections of poetry ,iak Moda (2009) and Abrykosy Donbasu (2015) won prestigious awards, including the International Slavic Poetic Award (Ukraine) and the International Poetic Award of the Kovalev Foundation (USA). Since 2019, her play The Wall has been running at the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater, the largest in Ukraine. She also authored the script for the film The Slovo House: An Unfinished Novel, reflecting on the literary life in the 1930’s Kharkiv. Born and raised in a small town near Luhansk, Yakimchuk now lives in Kyiv, Ukraine. Translated by Oksana Maksymchuk, Max Rosochinsky, and Svetlana Lavochkina
Natalya Hovist was born and lived before the war in the beautiful and UNESCO heritage city of Lviv. She graduated from the medical college in Lviv and received a degree in nursing, then studied in Lublin at the Faculty of Philosophy of Theology. On completing her studies in moral theology, she worked as a nurse in a hospital in Lviv and as a teacher in a private school. Her hobbies are poetry and singing. She has written a number of poems and songs under the pseudonym Nata Svitla, and sang in church choirs in my hometown. Natalya presently lives in Liverpool. @Nata Svitla
To make this event possible, we’re raising funds to cover the cost of the venue, a technician, and a projector, as well as to compensate the poets both in Ukraine and Liverpool.
Any donations are greatly appreciated and can be made through our GoFundMe page.
Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the beauty and depth of Ukraine’s poetic culture!
A donation of £5 is great, while £10 is simply brilliant. Donate now.
*These are difficult times. We know some people may struggle to afford full price tickets. If you would like to attend this event but can’t afford to, please contact info@writingonthewall.org.uk. All queries will be treated in confidence. If you would like to purchase a gifted ticket for someone who can’t afford it, please buy directly from the event page and we will offer your ticket out. https://www.facebook.com/writingonthewall.liverpool