Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · 13h

Valerian Pidmohylnyi’s “The City” now has a fresh new English translation. I reviewed this masterpiece of 20th century literature for @kyivindependent.com.

He could have written more great novels if he hadn’t been executed in Russia in 1937…

kyivindependent.com/one-of-the-g...

One of the greatest 20th century Ukrainian novels, now in English translation

Overwhelmed by the buzzing nightlife of Khreshchatyk Street in central Kyiv, Stepan Radchenko, the despondent protagonist of Valerian Pidmohylnyi’s novel “The City,” looks up at the moon for solace an...

kyivindependent.com

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Reposted by Kate Tsurkan

Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · 3d

A short prose piece I wrote after Russian drones and missiles targeted my Chernivtsi—many thanks to the editors at La Piccioletta Barca for giving it a home.

www.picciolettabarca.com/posts/iron-j...

La Piccioletta Barca | Iron-jawed beasts - by Kate Tsurkan

In the hush of the grass, they coil and keep watch. Before, I would slip through the ...

www.picciolettabarca.com

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Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · 3d

A short prose piece I wrote after Russian drones and missiles targeted my Chernivtsi—many thanks to the editors at La Piccioletta Barca for giving it a home.

www.picciolettabarca.com/posts/iron-j...

La Piccioletta Barca | Iron-jawed beasts - by Kate Tsurkan

In the hush of the grass, they coil and keep watch. Before, I would slip through the ...

www.picciolettabarca.com

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Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · 5d

The Opera Aperta team is bringing their hit production "Gaia-24" back to Kyiv this November. I wrote about how an opera can be powerful messaging against Russia's ecocide against Ukraine.

My latest for @kyivindependent.com

kyivindependent.com/art-after-ap...

Art after apocalypse — opera spurred by Russia’s ecocide in Ukraine to return to Kyiv

Editor's Note: The Kyiv Independent is a media partner of the "Gaia-24" performance on Nov. 27 in Kyiv. Even in the midst of Russia’s ecocide against Ukraine — where forests are scorched, rivers are ...

kyivindependent.com

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Reposted by Kate Tsurkan

Milena Findeis @zeitzug.bsky.social · 10d

‘A word fallen out of language’ and other poems — APOFENIE
by Milena Findeis translated by Kate Tsurkan www.apofenie.com/the-latest-c...

‘A word fallen out of language’ and other poems — APOFENIE

by Milena Findeis In the mouth, the word to taste to chew It hums in the ears is rolled by the eyes cut apart by grimaces Spread with hashtags processed in the news stream until it ends, checked o...

www.apofenie.com

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Reposted by Kate Tsurkan

Milena Findeis @zeitzug.bsky.social · 11d

Thanks to @katetsurkan.bsky.social , she translated my poems written in German—from the Ukrainian translation by Petro Rychlo—into English for the poetry magazine Apofenie.
www.apofenie.com

APOFENIE

www.apofenie.com

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Reposted by Kate Tsurkan

Apofenie Magazine @apofeniemagazine.bsky.social · 12d

Some standout, kinetic poems today by Austrian author Milena Findeis—

In the mouth, the word
to taste
to chew
It hums in the ears
is rolled by the eyes
cut apart by grimaces
(...)

www.apofenie.com/the-latest-c...

‘A word fallen out of language’ and other poems — APOFENIE

by Milena Findeis In the mouth, the word to taste to chew It hums in the ears is rolled by the eyes cut apart by grimaces Spread with hashtags processed in the news stream until it ends, checked o...

www.apofenie.com

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Reposted by Kate Tsurkan

Apofenie Magazine @apofeniemagazine.bsky.social · 12d

In fleeing me, my wrath,
my fear
a female rat is giving birth
on the hot sidewalk,
steadily,
trailing behind a streak of blood
with child
(...)

More from Romanian-born poet Ema Dumitriu at the link below.

www.apofenie.com/the-latest-c...

‘The Mother’ and other poems — APOFENIE

by Ema Dumitriu In fleeing me, my wrath, my fear a female rat is giving birth on the hot sidewalk, steadily, trailing behind a streak of blood with child

www.apofenie.com

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Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · 12d

For @kyivindependent.com I wrote about Guardian journalist Shaun Walker's new book on the history of Russia’s illegals spy program. One of the most insane books I’ve read in a awhile, but so well-written, definitely worth your time.

kyivindependent.com/spies-among-...

Spies among us? Shaun Walker's new book details Russia’s decades-long international espionage program

It could be a scene from a thriller — watching the FBI arrest your own parents for being Russian spies. But for Alexander and Timothy Vavilov, who had known their parents all their lives as Donald Hea...

kyivindependent.com

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Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · 14d

I spoke with Palestinian journalist Plestia Alaqad about some western states’ recognition of Palestine and what real justice for Palestinians looks like. That and more in latest Daily Humanity Dispatch, my new project with Katerina Sergatskova.

dailyhumanitydispatch.substack.com/p/true-freed...

“True freedom is to live with dignity in your own land”

Gaza survivor Plestia Alaqad on recognition without justice; Europe’s shifting conflict dynamics; and Trump’s U-turn on Ukraine policy

dailyhumanitydispatch.substack.com

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Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · 21d

It was my honor to interview the great Ai Weiwei this past weekend when he came to Kyiv for his first exhibition in Ukraine. My latest for @kyivindependent.com.

kyivindependent.com/i-wanted-to-...

‘I wanted to stand beside soldiers’ — Ai Weiwei on his trip to wartime Ukraine

Amid the shadow of war, the world-renowned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has brought his first-ever exhibition to Kyiv. Commissioned by the non-profit platform RIBBON International, Ai’s insta...

kyivindependent.com

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Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · 21d

It was my honor to interview the great Ai Weiwei this past weekend when he came to Kyiv for his first exhibition in Ukraine. My latest for @kyivindependent.com.

kyivindependent.com/i-wanted-to-...

‘I wanted to stand beside soldiers’ — Ai Weiwei on his trip to wartime Ukraine

Amid the shadow of war, the world-renowned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has brought his first-ever exhibition to Kyiv. Commissioned by the non-profit platform RIBBON International, Ai’s insta...

kyivindependent.com

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Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · 27d

You can now order Ukrainian author Khrystia Vengryniuk's incredible poetry collection LONG EYES, co-translated by Dmyto Kyyan and me. Spread the word!

losthorsepress.org/catalog/long...

LONG EYES - Lost Horse Press

KHRYSTIA VENGRYNIUK’S Long Eyes is a collection of poems that guides us through the labyrinths of loneliness, where pain drifts like the wind and voices fade yet still echo on the edges of silence. It

losthorsepress.org

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Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · Sep 9

The right wing in US, Europe don't care about Ukrainian lives unless their deaths can be weaponized to promote racist, xenophobic policies at home. My latest for @kyivindependent.com.

kyivindependent.com/how-the-righ...

How the right wing in US, Europe is weaponizing murders of Ukrainian refugees

Iryna Zarutska and her family fled Ukraine in 2022 to escape the threat of Russia’s full-scale war against her homeland, seeking safety and the promise of a new life in the United States. But that hop...

kyivindependent.com

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Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · Sep 5

That buzz from a literary magazine sending an acceptance letter hits different when it’s your own creative writing and not a translation 🤌🏻

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Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · Sep 2

I wrote about Ukraine's installation/s/ at Burning Man this year, my latest for @kyivindependent.com

kyivindependent.com/no-fate-but-...

‘No fate but what we make’ — Ukrainians transform storm-destroyed Burning Man installation

When a storm in Nevada destroyed a Ukrainian art installation at this year’s Burning Man festival, the Ukrainian team turned a setback into a symbol. Drawing on resilience forged in more than three ye...

kyivindependent.com

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Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · Aug 30

This fall brings not one but two books I had the privilege to co-work on. I’m especially eager for English-language readers to follow Andriy Lyubka's journey as a wartime volunteer, told with his signature wit. Please spread the word—you can preorder now.

www.academicstudiespress.com/9798887198408/

War from the Rear

A gripping, unexpectedly humorous, and deeply human portrait of life in Ukraine reshaped by war. In this powerful collection of essays, writer Andriy Lyubka&...

www.academicstudiespress.com

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Reposted by Kate Tsurkan

Kristian Kiehling @kristiankiehling.bsky.social · Aug 25

The Russian invention of 'Great Russian Culture' has colonized the minds of people around the world, to the detriment of the cultures of the nations that Russia has occupied and attempted to exterminate. @katetsurkan.bsky.social has compiled a fantastic reading list to help decolonize our mind.

10 books to better understand Ukraine on its Independence Day

Thirty-four years on, Ukraine’s independence endures — even as Russia’s full-scale war puts its people to the ultimate test. That’s why Independence Day, marked on Aug. 24, is more than just a holiday...

kyivindependent.com

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Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · Aug 24

On Ukraine's Independence Day, here are 10 books to help you understand the country better. My little listicle for @kyivindependent.com.

kyivindependent.com/10-books-to-...

10 books to better understand Ukraine on its Independence Day

Thirty-four years on, Ukraine’s independence endures — even as Russia’s full-scale war puts its people to the ultimate test. That’s why Independence Day, marked on Aug. 24, is more than just a holiday...

kyivindependent.com

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Reposted by Kate Tsurkan

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · Aug 22

You should be mad about the FBI raiding John Bolton’s house not because you love John Bolton but because you’re opposed to Trump using the FBI to intimidate his critics

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Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · Aug 22

I reviewed the English translation of the CRIMEAN FIG anthology, which showcases Crimean Tatar literature. My latest for @kyivindependent.com.

kyivindependent.com/what-russia-...

What Russia stole, these Crimean Tatar authors endeavor to reclaim with literature

To much of the world, Crimea is mostly synonymous with the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine — once a precious Black Sea resort, the peninsula was seized at gunpoint in 2014 and transformed into a...

kyivindependent.com

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Reposted by Kate Tsurkan

Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · Aug 21

The sleep deprivation that comes with the start of motherhood rewires your brain in ways you cannot anticipate. So, I've started a Substack to write my way through reclaiming the so-called literary prowess I possessed during my Ph.D. studies. Subscribe! For now, it's free.

substack.com/@tsurkankate

Kate Tsurkan | Substack

Kate Tsurkan is a writer, editor, and translator. She founded Apofeie Magazine and co-translated Oleh Sentsov’s Diary of a Hunger Striker (2024) and Myroslav Laiuk’s Bakhmut (2025).

substack.com

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Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · Aug 21

The sleep deprivation that comes with the start of motherhood rewires your brain in ways you cannot anticipate. So, I've started a Substack to write my way through reclaiming the so-called literary prowess I possessed during my Ph.D. studies. Subscribe! For now, it's free.

substack.com/@tsurkankate

Kate Tsurkan | Substack

Kate Tsurkan is a writer, editor, and translator. She founded Apofeie Magazine and co-translated Oleh Sentsov’s Diary of a Hunger Striker (2024) and Myroslav Laiuk’s Bakhmut (2025).

substack.com

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Kate Tsurkan @katetsurkan.bsky.social · Aug 18

🫡

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Pierce Press @piercepress.com · Aug 17

"Bakhmut is a difficult book to read - but one you cannot turn away from. Read it slowly, if you must. What's most important is that you read it. Let every detail settle into your bones. Let the suffering of every living being - animal and human alike -

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