Iya Kiva is a fantastic Ukrainian poet, translator and journalist. She’s been translated into several languages, and is the author of two poetry collections – ‘Further From Heaven’ and ‘The First Page of Winter’. She’s won numerous awards for her work including at the International Poetry Festival Emigrant Lyre, the LitAccent-2019 award, and many more.
Iya had to leave Donetsk in 2014, when Russian-backed separatists began what many call ‘a Russian invasion by stealth’, and she became a refugee within Ukraine, being forced to move to Kyiv.
We’ve a great conversation about the difficulties of trying to write – and live – during wartime; the importance of poetry especially during war; the job of being a poet – ‘like a cleaner, it’s a dirty, but necessary job’; and much more.
In the midst of the current brutal Russian invasion, Iya continues to advocate for Ukrainian culture, and the hope for a genuine engagement with Ukrainian writing.
This first poem she reads is called Ilya (from ‘People of Dunbas’) – and ‘[untitled] if you close your eyes’ – you can find here. Other poems in the podcast include ‘How Long Have You Been A Daughter?’ and ‘The Year of Ukraine’.
Also check out this excellent essay by Katherine E. Young – ‘Women Writing War Redux: Ukraine’s Iya Kiva’ and this one edited by Zarina Zabrisky – Genres For War: Writers in Ukraine on Literature.
Her poems have appeared in English translation in Asymptote, Literary Hub, Los Angeles Review of Books, Words Without Borders, and others. Some poems not in the podcast, but translated into English by Amelia Glaser and Yuliya Ilchuk are here. And ‘February. Get the ink and weep – Contemporary Poetry From Ukraine’
You can also follow her on twitter – Iya Kiva @sumriko.
Slava Ukraine.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts – and stay tuned for the next season of WANDER, coming in 2023.
Funded by the Arts Council of Ireland.
