Please join the Ukrainian Studies Program at the Harriman Institute for literary readings and a conversation with Iryna Tsilyk. Moderated by Mark Andryczyk.
During the meeting, Iryna Tsilyk will read some of her poems as well as excerpts from her essays, and talk about the life of Ukrainians—and, in particular, Ukrainian artists—in a time of war. Many of them are fighting, others have become medics and volunteers, while hundreds have already been killed. Does art have any power in times of war? What tools can artists use? What does Ukrainian culture tell us today about the past, present and future of Ukraine? These issues and other will be focused on during the event’s discussion and Q&A.
Iryna Tsilyk is a Ukrainian film director and writer. She is the director of the award-winning documentary film The Earth is Blue as an Orange, which received the award for the best director at the Sundance Film Festival 2020, as well as dozens of other prestigious honors. Tsilyk is also the director of the fiction film Rock. Paper. Grenade based on the novel Who Are You? by Ukrainian writer and Iryna’s husband Artem Chekh. Additionally, Iryna Tsilyk is the author of 8 books (poetry, prose, children’s editions). Many of her poems and short stories have been translated into multiply languages and published in a number of international literary magazines and anthologies. During Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, Iryna also began writing columns and essays for various international publications and has been engaged in cultural diplomacy for her country. Iryna and her family live in Kyiv. Iryna’s husband, Ukrainian writer Artem Ckekh, is serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
