I know nothing about Ukrainian literature so I was delighted to get a copy of "Voices of Freedom". This is an excellent introduction to this fascinating country which is now in our news bulletins. The works range from the sixties through to current writers. There is poetry, short stories, short prose pieces and they are all so different that there is bound to be ‘something for everyone’.

As someone unfamiliar with the country and the culture, I liked that each piece had a short biographical portrait of the writer and a resume of his or her work. There are a few writers here I will be researching.

Some of the work is beautiful, some is heartbreaking, some is strange but I think much of it is universal and I will be reading more about this country and its peoples.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley

This was a remarkable introduction to Ukraine authors and the voices they carry. Every story taught me something new, which I'm forever thankful for. Very glad to have read this.

I really wanted to love this, but the style of prose and poetry in this was just not for me. It being promoted as "contemporary" didn't feel right to me, as the writing didn't seem modern.

Voices of Freedom is an impressive anthology with a broad range of text types and genres, with well-researched biography notes and artistic portraits of each of the contributors. Particular attention is paid to the art of translation too, with in-depth biographies of the translators strategically placed at the end of each text. Thus, the reading of the biographical notes does not become monotonous and does not break the flow of the texts themselves. Overall, the biographical notes provide a comprehensive introduction to Ukraine’s history and culture, including the efforts of the diaspora.

A particular text that stood out to me was Oksana Zabuzhko’s Deportation, which captures the feeling of displacement so well, with its vivid and specific images, as well as a grounding in the precise moment of loss. We meet the refugee in their moment of becoming, which reminds us that they are first and foremost a human being. Abstraction and dehumanization thus become impossible.

The impact of the text is a testament to the skill of the translator too as Nina Murray manages the impressive feat of conveying the beauty of Zabuzhko’s long, complex sentences (which Slavic languages with their conjugations and genders and suffixes lend themselves to), all the while not compromising the readability of the translated text in English.

It would be interesting to see this anthology expanded to capture voices of freedom from across the region. However, given the political climate in which Voices of Freedom was compiled, the laser-sharp focus of the anthology (“This book will not stop the war, but it will explain what we are fighting for”) is understandable. Beyond its political aims, Voices of Freedom is a much-needed contribution to furthering and deepening the Anglo-American conceptualisation and understanding of the Eastern European region and its people.

Thank you NetGalley and 8th & Atlas Publishing for allowing me to read this book in return for my honest review. I couldn’t get in to this poetry, that however doesn’t make this bad poetry. I also just didn’t get myself enough time to read this book of poetry. So it’s only fair to review just what I read.

This is a violent, astonishing, innovative, and important collection of prose and poetry by Ukrainian writers, deftly translated. Every piece of writing is a different window into the country and its war with Russia, providing readers with short, strong voices telling the rest of the world what it's like, having been invaded, raped, murdered, tortured, stolen, frightened, and starved. Where there is hope and resistance, it is equally tough and enduring. This would be a good National Read book, or an all-city read, or one of those. It's going to stay with readers for a long time.

I enjoyed it, but some pieces were somewhat uneven. However, many of the texts were fascinating and I would highly recommend this to anyone who's unfamiliar with Ukrainian literature (many, I assume).

If I had to describe this collection in one word it would be either a kaleidoscope or a mosaic. This collection of very different works by many authors does not give an understanding of the literary scene in Ukraine, but something more like a glimpse into it. But this is actually a good thing, especially for someone who does not know one single Ukrainian author, because you have so many names here, that it makes it much easier to get to know their work. I could only wish for more translations into English not only of Ukrainian authors but also others from the Eastern European region, especially from Poland which has been having in recent years many incredibly good publications.

Voices of Freedom: Contemporary Writing From Ukraine, by Kateryna Kazimirova (Editor)

Collecting the poetry, short prose, and anecdotes of Ukraine's contemporary literary greats, this book can be seen as an avenue to Googling all the authors and their most popular works for future reading.

However, this book affected me in a different way. We all bring our own experiences and subjectivity to what we read. For me, that was my love of contemporary short-to-medium format poetry, my Eastern European heritage, and the ceaseless and fierce pride of those belonging to any group or nation persecuted for nothing more than being civilians of a particular geographic space.

And there is a lot of ferocity in this collection. There is also pride, love, and tragedy. These voices each spoke to me, whether I enjoyed the peace or not (I really don't get on very well with surrealist writing). I've already started recommending this book by word-of-mouth, and I hope this review inspires those across the virtual world to partake in this celebration of the spirit.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Kateryna Kazimirova, and 8th and Atlas publishing for access to this arc in return for an honest and unbiased review.

This is really a who's who of the current Ukrainian writing scene with samples of their work. It's brilliant if you're good at remembering names and you're looking for a place to start in getting acquainted with the Ukrainian literary world. Since I'm not particularly good with names I wish we had gotten to spend a little more time with each writer so I could have had more time to really absorb their voices, as it is it will provide me a place to start with people to look up, but I can see the appeal of the bitesize format.

A collection of writings acting as the voice of Ukrainians regarding their past, present, and future in the world.
This is an important topic regarding world issues. While middle grade kids don't have as strong of a grasp on world issues, they are still aware of Ukraine's situation through the use of social media, and hard-working teachers. As a librarian, it is important to provide information on current issues as a librarian. This collection will be a fantastic resource for just that, considering the writings come straight from a Ukrainian mind.