Literary classics aren’t always created by the greying elder statesmen and women of the writing world. You know the ones. They’re all wise and wrinkly and impassive, and woe betide the scholar who dares mount an honest critique of their bodies of work.
You see, literary classics are also written by upstart youngsters. These youngsters are full of vitality and creativity. They live fully awake and fully aware during these very difficult times. Nothing escapes their notice and they’re unafraid to share what they really think. They walk among us right now, breathing, smiling and crying, loving and hating, experiencing the full range of their humanity without apology.
This series presents names that you won’t find in textbooks or on Wikipedia, but these are the very youngsters who are creating modern Ukrainian literature right now. Trust us, you will want to check them out because it’s only a matter of time before they become household names. When we go back to these writers in two hundred years, we have no doubt that they’ll be mentioned in the same breath as luminaries such as Taras Shevchenko and Lesya Ukrainka.
A poem about November
Again, I’ve lived until the Fall
Though last November
the way felt insurmountable
The Father says
the Winter will be tough
so, we should do the
canning
The poems are the same
‘bout November
I start to write in July
Вірш про листопад
Знову дожив до осені
Хоча минулого листопаду
нездоланним здавався шлях
Каже батько
що зима буде важка
тож треба робити
закрутки
Так само вірші
про листопад
починаю писати з липня
Original poem by BOHDAN BRATUS
Translation by TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2024
unbolt me 
“Again, I’ve lived until the Fall
Though last November
the way felt insurmountable”
Learning resilience in a way that I can’t even imagine. Capturing wisdom at a tender age.
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Yes, it’s kind of shocking just how resilient people are forced to be in today’s world… but war is still a thing, unfortunately. 😦
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Winter is far away but the chills are here already!
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Nothing that a good ol’ cup of hot chocolate and a warm blanket can’t fix! 😛
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Tati,
Getting the young ones to write is a feat alright
Thanks, Gary
Gary Avants Forbear Productions * *garyavants66@gmail.com garyavants66@gmail.com
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Gary,
Thank you so much! Generally, I agree with you. But the war puts everything upside down. I’ve read a lot of interviews where prolific and seasoned writers say they feel numb and don’t know what to say at the moment. And, vice versa, someone who had never written started to pour their emotions into writing. And it’s not a matter of age often.
Please, take care.
Tati
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You all are in a different country with different circumstances. I am seeing things from an American lense.
Gary Avants Forbear Productions * *garyavants66@gmail.com garyavants66@gmail.com
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Відміннe, і чудовий переклад. Я давно не чувала про “закрутки”! Я молюся за твою безпеку, Танечко.
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Дуже дякую, Доллі! Так, ці “закрутки” трохи покрутили мій мозок у процесі перекладу. Ми досить довго обговорювали з Тоні як це краще перекласти англійською (звичайно, до того я повинна була пояснити йому що таке “консервація” взагалі та навіщо люди займаються такими дивними речами). 😄
Бережіть себе! Міцно обіймаю.
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Ви здивуєтеся, Танечко, але в Америці стає популярною консервація, і «canning» – це загальноприйнятий термін для неї. Твій переклад був ідеальним за тоном. Я просто подумала, що це конкретно одеське слово.
Бережіть себе та будь в безпеці. Oбіймаю teбе.
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