Works of Ukrainian poets can bring solace in an unsettled world
During times of extreme stress, insightful words carry us past the harshness of the world. Ukrainians know this well and look to their poets to remind them of who they truly are, for that may be all that remains of their culture after the ravages of war come to an end. Poets have a unique position of honor in Ukraine, one not to be taken lightly, for they are the ones who lyrically keep their love of country, language, and culture undaunted and strong.
The Ukrainian language traces its origins to the Old East Slavic language of the ancient state of Kievan Rus’. The language has persisted despite the two bans by Imperial Russia and political persecution during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state language of Ukraine in Eastern Europe. Written Ukrainian uses the Ukrainian alphabet, a variant of the Cyrillic script.
In an eloquent article from the L.A. Review of Books, “Ukraine at 30: Part III, The ‘Mova’ I Live In” (Aug. 24, 2021), Kyivborn poet, Iryna Shuvalova spoke of her childhood and life, growing up in Ukraine, and described the Ukrainian language, known as the mova, as a political matter, since it had been banned, denounced, and mocked during the Russian reign in Ukraine from 1804 to 1921. Ukrainians had to learn to speak Russian, and not their own language, which was yet another insult to their culture.
Now, after the Ukrainian War of Independence, both languages are spoken, but Russian is mostly used for ordinary things, like asking to buy potatoes at the market, while the mova is spoken in the most exquisite ways with a nightingale’s tongue. In a nation that loves poetry, Shuvalova said it was only natural, as an adult, to become a poet, for their language was a weapon, a treasure that they guarded with their lives.
Shuvalova is the author of five award-winning books of poetry, including the bilingual “Pray to the Empty Wells” published in 2019 in the US, as well as her most recent collection in Ukrainian, “stoneorchardwoods” (“kamin’sadlis”) (2020), which was named poetry book of the year by Ukraine’s Litakcent Prize for Literature. Her new poetry collection, “The Ending Songs” (“Kinechni pisni”), is forthcoming in 2022. Her poems have been translated into nine languages. She has a Ph.D. in Slavonic Studies from the University of Cambridge and is a member of PEN Ukraine. Originally from Kyiv, Ukraine, she has lived in Greece, the U.K. and the U.S. but now lives and works between Ukraine and China.
Odesa-born poet, Ilya Kaminsky, is a hardof-hearing, UkrainianRussian-Jewish-American poet, critic, translator and professor. He is best known for his poetry collections, “Dancing in Odessa” and “Deaf Republic,” which have earned him several awards. In “Deaf Republic,” he wrote that the human spirit will not fail when aligned with love. In 2019, the BBC named Kaminsky among “12 Artists who changed the world.” I was able to attend Kaminsky’s reading at Idyllwild Arts Academy, a few years ago, and it was a great pleasure to not only hear him speak but also to be in his presence and to witness his commitment to poetry as something more than an art, but a way of life.
The list of amazing Ukrainian poets and writers seems endless.
Serhiy Zhadan was selected as one of two winners of the U.S. Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry in 2021. Zhadan is an internationally known Ukrainian writer, with 12 books of poetry and seven novels, and winner of more than a dozen literary awards. On March 13, the Polish Academy of Sciences nominated him for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He is currently in Ukraine, fighting for his beloved Kharkiv.
I understand the need for poetry when our lives are turned upside down. When your old dog suddenly takes her final breath, the eloquent words of poets, like Shuvalova, can make life livable again.
These days are filled with uncertainty with so many cast from their homes and their lands — everyone searching for a roof over his head, when there aren’t enough dwellings to house the ever-increasing population on Earth. It is a time for poets to rise and encourage the protection of our world and all who live upon it.
Myra Dutton