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Essays by Ukrainian Intellectuals

Ukraine in Histories and Stories

challenge

Foreigners still know very little about Ukraine. How can we tell them more about our past and present?

How does the world see Ukraine? Does it understand our colorful history? Is it ready to hear our collective biography?

Even after the events of the Orange Revolution in 2004 and the Revolution of Dignity in 2013-2014, Ukraine remains unknown to most foreigners. For them, it is not easy to understand the modern context of our country and to explore Ukrainian history and culture.

solution

A book in which famous Ukrainian writers and intellectuals tell the world about Ukraine

Sixteen short essays and interviews have been published as a book, titled “Ukraine in Histories and Stories: Essays by Ukrainian Intellectuals”. It features reflections on the Ukrainian past and present. What injuries keep us from breaking away from the past? What are the hopes that guide us towards the future? What does our collective biography look like?

The book features some of Ukraine’s most recognized intellectuals, including Yuri Andrukovych, Irena Karpa, Yaroslav Hrytsak, Larysa Denysenko, Haska Shyyan, Andrij Bondar. Known to readers all over the world, they explain Ukraine in relatable and understandable ways.

outcome

The book’s presentation in Europe and Ukraine: it is available for free in e-format in Ukrainian and English

The presentation of the book in 9 European cities brought it directly to interested readers. Residents of London, Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Strasbourg, Warsaw, Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt (Oder) and Kyiv had the opportunity to chat with the authors and receive a hard copy. The #UkraineStories information campaign reached more than 120,000 Facebook and Instagram users.

"Ukraine in Histories and Stories" is distributed free of charge and available in electronic formats in two languages – English (PDF, EPUB, MOBI) and Ukrainian (PDF). We want this book to be read by as many readers around the world as possible.

As explained in a review in New Eastern Europe, "the book offers a “package of lenses” as all the contributors depict Ukraine from very different angles. This book can serve as a theoretical introduction to Ukraine, which later can be enriched by practical encounters with Ukrainian people, places and stories".

The authors managed to find all the necessary "keys" to each reader’s experience. Of course, the context of the book is close and clear to fans of Ukrainian non-fiction literature.

"I’m currently reading "Ukraine in Histories and Stories" and thinking, why was I deprived for so long of the feeling that you can respect your own country? Why have I, for all my life, been told the history of Ukraine in such a way that I had to love it contrary to these stories? It’s a sort of "I believe because it is absurd" feeling. When you look for crumbs of love in the smallest pieces, in indirect memories, in hints and collect them like "Love is ..." wrappers in a lollipops metal box, you can count them on fingers of one hand and you know all of them by heart," wrote educator Valentina Merzhievskaya on her Facebook.

Readers in Europe and Ukraine have liked the book. Thus, the main goal of the project – to popularize the ideas of leading Ukrainian intellectuals and writers who talk about Ukraine to foreign audiences – has been successfully implemented.

The book was prepared and published with the financial support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation under the project "Understand Ukraine: Popularization of Ukrainian Intellectuals' Voices in the World".