Words without Borders: August news-Fiction from Ukraine

New Fiction from Ukraine

Join us this month as Ukrainian critic and writer Oleksandr Mykhedintroduces a compelling collection of new writing from Ukraine.Sashko Ushkalov's protagonist considers a new career as a panda,Taras Antypovych contemplates a future in which life expectancy is mutable, andTanya Malyarchuk plots to snare an interloping rat. 

Events

Words without Borders: Writing Exile, September 16

Where: Verso Books, 20 Jay St., Suite 1010, Brooklyn, NY

When: Tuesday, September 16, 7:00 

Words without Borders, in collaboration with FreeDimensional and Verso Books present a reading from WWB's September issue dedicated to writing exile. The reading aims to draw attention to the voices of writers forced from their homes, and will feature contributors and other special guests reading selections from the issue. To accompany the reading, freeDimensional will present an exhibition of work from contemporary visual artists who have experienced persecution and forced displacement as a result of their artistic practice. 

Featured readers will include Israel Centeno, Kayhan Irani, Évelyne Trouillot, and Nathalie Handel. 

The event will also feature the work of visual artists  in exile Arahmaiani, Zunar, Owen Maseko, Chaw Ei Thein, and Issa Nyaphaga. 

Save the Date for the Words without Borders Gala 
October 28, 2014, 6:30 PM. At Tribeca Three Sixty.
More here.

Blog

Where the Sidewalk Bends: An Interview with Sylvio Fraga 
By Rachel Morgenstern-Clarren

RMC: Which writers and musicians were the biggest influences on you while you were growing up between Brazil and the US? Were there any hyphenated artists who particularly inspired you?

SF: When I was growing up, I wasn’t so much into reading but I loved music, mainly what my parents put on at home or in the car. João Bosco, Milton Nascimento, Rita Lee, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Caetano Veloso, Yes . . . The first art I loved and assimilated was music. more>>>

The City and the Writer: In Iowa City with Chris Merrill 
By Nathalie Handal 

NH: What is the most extraordinary detail, one that goes unnoticed by most of the city?

CM: There is a ravine behind my house, in which I like to run after writing. Stone steps lead down to a creaky footbridge, across which lies a pile of bark, which was never spread along the trail, and at dusk I take great pleasure in circling that pile on my way to the river.more>>>

Reviews

Alessandro Baricco's Mr. Gwyn
Reviewed by Jennifer Florin

In an attempt to combat an approaching aimlessness after his sudden retirement, Gwyn chooses the new vocation of a copyist. more>>>

TEH PRESS RELEASE: Member Izolyatsia has been occupied by DPR

Dear friends of Trans Europe Halles, 

We want to inform you of the outrageous occupation of TEH Member centreIzolyatsia (Donetsk, Ukraine) and express our concern with the situation. Because of this, we would like you to help us spread the news via social media (please use #getoutofizo) and other means. You can find TEH's press release and some graphic materials here.

These are the facts: On Monday morning 9th June 2014 the premises of TEH Member Izolyatsia Foundation were forcibly occupied by the DPR, a terrorist organisation operating illegally and without sovereign authority within the city of Donetsk.

At around 09:00 local time a group of armed separatists entered onto private propertydemanding the appropriation of the site and its buildings for the benefit of the DPR and its activities.

Izolyatsia, a private not-for-profit organisation based in rented accommodation, is utterly disgusted by the actions of the DPR whose operations announce a direct and explicit violation of the democratic freedoms of speech, and the indirect censure of egalitarian initiatives.

Izolyatsia, a non-governmental organisation was established in 2010 to provide a catalyst for change offering opportunity for all genres of creative expression. The foundation, based on the site of a former insulation factory aims to provide a hub of cultural excellence delivering social, economic and ecological transformation to a post-industrial hinterland.

The Izolyatsia experience sets out to nurture a dynamic environment emphasising the creative process whilst supporting curiosity, investigation and cultural production. As a site of creative risk Izolyatsia is uniquely placed to actively encourage an open dialogue and educational exchange set within the context of cultural experimentation and enterprise. The local community is at the forefront of its activities inviting participation and immersion into a resource sadly lacking in south eastern Ukraine.

Izolyatsia appeals to the international community and all medias to support Izolyatsia’a activities in exile in Kiev and spread this news.

It is with great dismay that Trans Europe Halles received the news that pro-Russian separatists have occupied the cultural centre Izolyatsia. TEH strongly believes that creative and artistic expression are core factors in the development of a healthy and democratic society since they can be used as powerful means to inspire and boost free expression, critical thinking and identity. The fact that a civil-society-managed cultural centre like Izolyatsia has been occupied by armed forces shows the disrespect of the DPR towards some of the most important values in a free society.Therefore, TEH and all its member organisations strongly condemn this action and expect the separatists to inmediately leave Izolyatsia.

The International Charity Foundation Izolyatsia is a grass-root multidisciplinary cultural centre established in 2010 aiming to inject new life into the premises of an old abandoned mineral cotton factory. Inspiring social change and regional development through the arts, Izolyatsia has become the main independent cultural actor in Donetsk, an industrial city with almost 1 million inhabitants situated in Eastern Ukraine. 

Izolyatsia is a member centre of Trans Europe Halles, a European based network of cultural centres initiated by artists and citizens that brings together 70 members in 28 countries.

Birgitta Persson and José Luis Rodríguez

Trans Europe Halles Coordination Office

Lund, Sweden.

 ITI Action Committee for Artists Rights (Ukraine)

Ukraine: Don’t give in. Resist the lies. Anti-war statement by Russian intellectuals

Russian journalists, publishers, theatre artists, scientists and other intellectuals have formed an action alliance against the current Russian policy against the Ukraine. On 19 March in Moscow the alliance organized a congress "Against war. Against Russia's self- isolation.  Against restoration of totalitarianism."  The Russian PEN centre has collected more than 4.000 supporters of the following statement, published by Novaya Gazata on 13 March (English translation Irina Bondas):

Don’t give in. Resist the lies. 

Anti-war statement by Russian intellectuals

Not for the first time in Russian history are people who oppose the state’s aggressive imperialistic politics being denounced as defeatists and enemies of the people. Not for the first time is devoted subservience valued more than civic engagement. The events in the Crimea are rapidly unfolding and will end, if not in bloodshed, then at least in disgrace for Russia and catastrophe for two countries. The hope that these developments can be stopped with reasonable arguments is dwindling day by day. It is therefore all the more shameful to stay silent and stand aside passively now. We do not claim to be ‘important figures’ in culture or academia, but simply as Russian intellectuals working in many different areas, we state:

We are against the invasion of another state’s territory.
We are against war with the Ukraine and hostility towards the global community.

We stand in solidarity with everyone who is not giving in and is resisting the lies.

Theatre for Dialogue in Ukraine

Between February 11 and 18, seven international Theatre of the Oppressed practitioners were invited to visit different parts of Ukraine as part of a locally-led, crowdfunded “Theatre for Dialogue” (TfD) initiative with the aim to promote grassroots dialogue among Ukrainian citizens from different walks of life about the current highly complex, at times contradictory and increasingly violent situation in the country.

Since late November 2013, hundreds of thousands of ordinary Ukrainians have consistently expressed their growing frustration with a national government unwilling to ensure that all Ukrainians, and not just a small business elite and government-apparatshiks, can live a life of dignity and freedom. The original cause for what is commonly known as the “Euromaidan” protest was the failure of president Victor Yanukovich to sign an (admittedly potentially adverse) Association Agreement with the European Union, which has since grown into a full-blown protest movement tired of economic mismanagement, lack of democratic accountability, endemic corruption and selective justice among others.

After the first deadly clashes between protesters and riot police on January 19 and the apparent failure of the national government and political opposition to resolve the stalemate, a group of local civic and human rights activists, all of whom had previous Theatre of the Oppressed experience, decided that it was urgent to address the growing anger and hopelessness among ordinary Ukrainians by creating opportunities for horizontal dialogue via an artistic, creative and embodied response. The Theatre for Dialogue initiative was born.

Concretely, TfD activities were carried out in 5 cities of Ukraine, covering the main geographical regions of the country. A total of six 3-day Theatre of the Oppressed workshops followed by the same number of public Forum Theatre performances brought together hundreds of spect-actors invited to critically reflect on what is happening in the country and try out in action some of their ideas for non-violent change.

Unfortunately, in one region, home base of the Ukrainian president and his entourage, the theatre activities were met with threats, persecution and protests, though luckily everyone involved managed to conclude their participation unharmed. In the other regions, the vast majority of those who took part in the initiative, either as performers or audience, expressed their delight at being involved in a genuinely people's-led dialogue that promoted the voices and perspectives of those hitherto ignored and/or silenced.

Besides, according to a number of workshop participants, Theatre for Dialogue enabled them to find their own role in and contribution to the protest movement. In the words of one of the participants: “I do not see myself with a gun in my hand. And neither can I accept merely providing food or clothing for those protesting out on Maidan (the main square in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, where the protesters have been camping for almost 3 months). For weeks I was looking for a more creative, human way of getting involved. Theatre for Dialogue is exactly what I was searching for.”

Finally, the Theatre for Dialogue initiative set in motion a great desire to continue to use different forms of participatory, interactive theatre in the future. Both in those regions where activities took place as well as in other parts of the country, local activists have already contacted the TfD organizers with the request for further theatrical actions. In short, the buzz generated has been enormous and it now appears possible that TfD will become a major way of involving the people of Ukraine in the creation of a better, more democratic and just Ukraine for all.

For more info: https://www.facebook.com/theatrefordialogue

Contact: Joffre-Eichhorn Hjalmar-Jorge <communitybasedtheatre@gmail.com>