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.

MUST NOT SLEEP

must not sleep
not yet for every loner
was created a pair
that could fit them in name
and length of stride

must not sleep
what’s up
not yet for every child
was created a future
so dry and grotesque
that at that moment every star
will think thrice before
lighting up

НЕ МОЖНА СПАТИ

не можна спати
ще не кожному самотньому
була вигадана пара
яка пасувала б йому за іменем
та довжиною кроку

не можна спати
ти чого
ще не кожній дитині
вигадане майбутнє
таке сухе та гротескне
що в той час кожна зірка
спочатку тричі подумає
поки засвітиться

Original poem by OLEKSII DOLHULOV
Translation by TETIANA ALEKSINA
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