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On 16 November 2021, the Ukrainian Institute London, in partnership with the British Library, held an extraordinary event, discussing the work of Lesia Ukrainka. The speakers, Oksana Zabuzhko, Lucy Delap and Sasha Dovzhyk addressed what Oksana Zabuzhko called ‘a hole in European culture’ by situating the feminist and modernist writing of Lesia Ukrainka firmly in the European literary canon.
In order to help bring Ukrainian literature to readers around the world, the Ukrainian Institute London awarded its inaugural Ukrainian Literature in Translation Prize to Nina Murray (first prize for her translation of the extracts from Lesia Ukrainka’s ‘Cassandra’) and Daisy Gibbons (second prize for her translation of extracts from Lesia Ukrainka’s letters to Olha Kobylianska and ‘By the Sea’).
Oksana Zabuzhko highlighted that only now, after 150 years, a complete collection of Lesia Ukrainka’s works has finally been published: 14 volumes of it. She emphasised how crucial it is to revitalise and re-read Ukrainka, to bring her back to public attention.
‘Lesia Ukrainka has been my role model. It’s like having a great grandmother behind you, having constant dialogue with her works’.
Oksana Zabuzhko
Sasha Dovzhyk pointed out that ‘Lesia Ukrainka gave a voice to the voiceless, subverting and retelling classics from a female standpoint. In her “Cassandra”, the female prophetess takes centre stage, and in Ukrainka’s retelling of Don Juan, it is Donna Anna who changes the course of Don Juan’s life – not the other way around.’
Lucy Delap observed that Lesia Ukrainka continues to be relevant to today’s society in Ukraine and asked why her writing speaks to contemporary audiences over 100 years later.
‘Thanks to her civic nationalism not ethnic nationalism, her commitment to social justice, her cosmopolitanism engaged not only with Europe, but with the cultures of the Middle East and beyond, her feminism, Lesia Ukrainka shows us how to fight for a more equal world’.
Sasha Dovzhyk
The recording will be available on our YouTube channel.
We are very grateful to all who make the work of the Ukrainian Institute possible. Please consider supporting us in strengthening Ukraine’s voice in the UK and beyond: https://www.justgiving.com/ukrainianinstitutelondon.
Photos by Anna Morgan and Tetiana Kharchenko. View the full album here.
