Both Sides Face East. Volume 1

Introduction

A Ukrainian journalist ends each day “scorched by another person’s grief.” A schoolgirl in Croatia cherishes her Barbie and learns to dread air raid sirens more than her geometry homework. A poet imagines the spiritual life of a fish who escapes the hook. An exiled artist recreates her homeland in the shape of a bird.

The writers assembled in this volume dream and document and remember, they translate one another’s work and meditate on fragility and resilience in the face of nihilism and obliteration. The collection gathers poems, essays, and stories written and translated in nine languages, reflecting an ongoing effort to communicate and understand across cultures.

Both Sides Face East – Durable Words began as a response to the invasion of Ukraine, but stakes a wider claim on behalf of human value and integrity.