Andriy Lyubka and Dmytro Lazutkin are two Ukrainian poets who use not only their poetry in their fight against Russia. At the invitation of Passa Porta and PEN Vlaanderen, they will talk about what it means to write in times of war. Writer Guido Snel will be in conversation with them, and translator Roman Nesterenko will read from their work.
volunteer
Andriy Lyubka is a young poet, writer and translator from Uzhhorod. After his debut in the mid-2000s, he became an established and beloved figure on the Ukrainian literary scene. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lyubka has devoted himself almost full-time to volunteer work for the Ukrainian army, using his fame to raise money so that, together with his team, they can buy and fix cars for the troops and bring them to the front. He also regularly publishes short sketches of these journeys and the stories he hears from the soldiers.
spokesperson
Dmytro Lazutkin is a journalist and writer. In 2022 he won Ukraine’s most important literary prize, in 2023 he joined the Ukrainian army, and today he is a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence. In his latest collection of poetry, which is much less lyrical than his previous work and contains very direct poems in free verse, he writes about his experiences at the front. In an article for The New York Times, he wrote about the value of poetry in processing emotions.
the empty chair
PEN brings together authors from around the world who stand up for the physical and literary freedom of all writers, with special attention for authors from war zones. The Empty Chair is a PEN International concept; it symbolizes an author who cannot be present due to imprisonment. At the request of PEN Ukraine, we will leave a chair empty for Victoria Amelina, who died in 2023 while reporting at the front.
about the authors
Ukrainian writer Andriy Lyubka put down his pen at the outbreak of the war in order to contribute to his country in a different way. He publishes regularly about his experiences, including in De Standaard.
Dmytro Lazutkin is known in Ukraine as a poet and sports reporter. He has won several literary prizes for his poetry, which has been translated into English, German and Czech, among other languages. In 2024 he was appointed spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.
about the moderator
Guido Snel (b. 1972) is a writer, translator, lecturer in European literature at the University of Amsterdam and board member of PEN. His publications include novels, a collection of short stories and Naar Istanbul, which he subtitled ‘an exploration full of fact and fiction of the most beautiful city in the world’. His latest book is the novel De mirreberg.