WRITERS' SERIES
Insights into Ukraine's
cultural nuances.
Ukrainian Voices writers’ series will feature presentations, conversations and discussions of the works of modern Ukrainian writers. Literature can bridge cultural gaps and facilitate understanding between different societies. Presentation and discussion with contemporary Ukrainian writers can provide deep insights into Ukraine's cultural nuances, traditions, and values, helping Canadians and international attendees gain a better appreciation and understanding of Ukrainian culture.
Second Event
Online Conversation
Saturday, October 5 at 10 AM (PDT)
Tickets here:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/ukrainian-voices-eugenia-kuznetsova-tickets-1026502124487
Description:
Join us for an online conversation on Saturday, October 5 at 10 AM with Eugenia Kuznetsova, Ukrainian author of the novel The Ladder and Ask Miechka which was shortlisted for BBC News Ukraine Book of The Year in 2021 and Jessica M. Zychowicz a scholar, editor, curator and author.
In her novel Ask Miechka, Kuznetsova tenderly explores the lives of four generations of women from a single family as they gather in their childhood home. Together, they seek to pause time and navigate the life-changing decisions that each of them faces. In her latest work, The Ladder, she tells the story of a character living outside of Ukraine who aspires to build his dream life away from his family, only to find himself hosting relatives who have been forcibly displaced by the war.
The conversation will delve into the importance of depicting family relationships in Ukrainian literature, particularly in light of the ongoing conflict and its impact on these bonds. We will also explore Kuznetsova’s sources of inspiration, the settings of both novels where characters confront pivotal moments in their lives, and the art of portraying characters with empathy and depth.
This event is taking place online and is free, but please reserve your spot here.
The event is part of Senchenko’s Ukrainian Day programming, in partnership with the Maple Hope Foundation, a Canadian not-for-profit organization committed to helping people suffering from the war in Ukraine, and Upstart & Crow Literary Arts Society.
About the author:
Eugenia Kuznetsova is a Ukrainian author, translator, and researcher. She was born and spent her childhood in the village of Khomutyntsi in central Ukraine. After graduating Kyiv National University, she received her PhD in literary analysis in Spain. Now, Eugenia works in media research, focusing on conflict-sensitive reporting and countering disinformation, and translates fiction and non-fiction. So far, Eugenia has published two books. Her first book Cook in Sorrow published in 2020. Her second book Ask Miechka was shortlisted for BBC News Ukraine Book of The Year in 2021. Now, she works on the monography on Soviet linguistic and identity policies and another novel. Both books are to be published in 2022.
About the moderator:
Jessica Zychowicz, Ph.D. is the author of award-winning books as well as many articles and chapters. She is currently Director of Institute of International Education (IIE) International Office Kyiv and Fulbright Ukraine. She has held key research positions at the University of Toronto Munk School of Global Affairs, the University of Alberta in Canada, Uppsala University in Sweden. She was a U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Kyiv Mohyla National Academy of Ukraine. She serves on international professional boards in academia and the arts and has also curated exhibitions of contemporary art and was most recently an author and consultant on the “100 Years of Self-Determination” exhibition at Irish Museum of Modern Art. She has given many invited public keynote lectures at universities and museums in the U.S. and Europe. She holds a Doctorate from the University of Michigan and a BA from the University of California Berkeley.
More about Upstart & Crow:
Located on Granville Island, Upstart & Crow is a literary arts studio for curious readers and creative storytellers alike. We are international in our outlook, and local in our sensibilities. We create opportunities to surface new talent and champion bold ideas through events, workshops, literary launches, unique partnerships — and yes, we also sell books!
First Event
Description:
Join us on Thursday, May 23 at 6 p.m. for the first event of the Ukrainian Voices Series — an evening conversation with Maria Reva, author of the novel, Good Citizens Need Not Fear, nominated for the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize in 2020. Reva will be in conversation with Alina Senchenko, an artist and curator.
Clever and perfectly biting, Good Citizens depicts the absurdity of life in Ukraine under the Soviet regime as well as the time following its collapse. It chronicles the lives of several unforgettable characters, all residents of the same apartment building who face different challenging circumstances.
This conversation will delve into Reva’s inspirations for the book, the wider context of Ukrainian and Canadian literature, how Ukraine has been affected by Russia’s full-scale invasion, and the future of Ukrainian literature in Ukraine and the diaspora. Reva will read an excerpt and take audience questions. We will have books on hand for sale.
This event is free, but please reserve your spot here as capacity is limited.
The event is part of Senchenko’s Ukrainian Day programming, in partnership with the Maple Hope Foundation, a Canadian not-for-profit organization committed to helping people suffering from the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Voices Series features presentations and discussions of the works of modern Ukrainian writers.
About the author:
Maria Reva writes fiction and opera libretti. She is the author of Good Citizens Need Not Fear (Doubleday, Virago, and Knopf Canada New Face of Fiction, 2020), set in an apartment block in Ukraine. In November 2022, she was included on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s list of sanctioned Canadian citizens who are forbidden from entering Russia.
Her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, McSweeney’s, The Wall Street Journal, Granta, The Best American Short Stories, and elsewhere. She won a National Magazine Award in 2019 and was a finalist for the Writers’ Trust of Canada 2020 Fiction Prize.
Her musical collaborations include a script for City Opera Vancouver (“Lost Operas of Mozart,” 2016) as well as two operas with composer Anna Pidgorna (“Our Trudy,” commissioned and premiered by Ad Astra Music Festival in Russell, Kansas, as well as “Plaything,” developed by Musique 3 Femmes, premiered in Berlin at the ufaFabrik in Fall 2022).
Reva was born in Ukraine and grew up in New Westminster, B.C. She received her MFA from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas.
About the curator:
Alina Senchenko is a Ukrainian artist and curator living and working in Vancouver on the unceded land of Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and the Squamish peoples. With photography as the foundation of her practice, she seeks to explore the complexity of her immigrant identity, belonging and displacement within her own experience and globally. Recently, she has developed an interest in film and video work.
Senchenko has exhibited locally and internationally: at 560 Gallery (Vancouver) in 2023, Canton Sardine in 2022 (Vancouver), CSA Space in 2019 (Vancouver), Art Platform in 2018 (Ukraine), Dynamo Art Association in 2017, PLAZA Projects 2016, Print Ready VII 2016, Project Space 2015, Vancouver Art/Book Fair 2015, Access Gallery 2014, and Square Project 2014 (Vancouver). In 2021, she curated the Solidarity Print Sale exhibition and fundraiser as well as Ukrainian Days, which included the film series “Witnessing Change: Ukrainian Cinema at the Time of Turmoil” in 2023 at The Cinematheque and Her Presence (Womanhood in Ukraine) exhibition in 2024 at CSA space.
More about Upstart & Crow:
Located on Granville Island, Upstart & Crow is a literary arts studio for curious readers and creative storytellers alike. We are international in our outlook, and local in our sensibilities. We create opportunities to surface new talent and champion bold ideas through events, workshops, literary launches, unique partnerships — and yes, we also sell books!
Health precautions:
We want this event to be fun and safe. Masks are welcome, though we won’t enforce them. We hope that folks who come will be vaccinated and boosted and will stay home if they feel ill.
Accessibility:
The main studio of our shop is accessible for folks with mobility aids. There is a washroom on the main floor available for attendees.
More information:
