Kate Tsurkan

The greatest motivation is when your dear friend, a far more accomplished writer, reads the start of your novel and christens it "an insane fever dream," only to add "but keep leaning into it, it works."

Slavoj Žižek: There is no humanity without our small, everyday, seemingly meaningless rituals Exclusive! From Maternal Tyranny to Collective Spiritual Suicide: Žižek on AI, Europe, and Our Growing Unwillingness to Face Reality

Reunited with Slavoj Žižek to talk about everything from maternal tyranny to collective spiritual suicide. Check out our wide-ranging conversation at the Daily Humanity Dispatch.

dailyhumanitydispatch.substack.com/p/slavoj-ziz...

The Soviets tried to silence Ukrainian poet Vasyl Stus. A new exhibition honors his legacy While the Soviet authorities promoted their vision of ideological "universalism" — a homogenized identity that suppressed national cultures — dissenting voices were silenced through arrests, intimidat...

My article for @kyivindependent.com on the wonderful ongoing Vasyl Stus exhibition at Mystetskyi Arsenal.

With thanks to the curatorial project manager, Yulia Naidukh, and Dmytro Stus, Vasyl's son, for their comments.

kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-po...

Slavoj Žižek: There is no humanity without our small, everyday, seemingly meaningless rituals Exclusive! From Maternal Tyranny to Collective Spiritual Suicide: Žižek on AI, Europe, and Our Growing Unwillingness to Face Reality

Reunited with Slavoj Žižek to talk about everything from maternal tyranny to collective spiritual suicide. Check out our wide-ranging conversation at the Daily Humanity Dispatch.

dailyhumanitydispatch.substack.com/p/slavoj-ziz...

Finally, my translator’s copies of Khrystia Vengryniuk’s LONG EYES have arrived in Ukraine. 👁️ 👄 👁️

She’s melancholic, she’s beautiful, she’s everything you didn’t know you needed.

Order your copy here: losthorsepress.org/catalog/long...

'Bring Ukraine more weapons' — author Andriy Lyubka on cultural diplomacy's main wartime role When the full-scale invasion began, Andriy Lyubka struggled to write. A celebrated Ukrainian writer and translator, he turned instead to fundraising, logistics, and delivering used cars to the front f...

My interview with the always great Andriy Lyubka about returning to fiction writing, why Ukrainian books deserve less sad endings, and how a writer's responsibility changes during war. My latest for @kyivindependent.com.

kyivindependent.com/bring-ukrain...

New book exposes Russia’s ecocide as a war against Ukraine’s land – and memory When Russia destroyed Ukraine’s Kakhovka Hydroelectric Dam in June 2023, unleashing catastrophic floods across the country’s south, it seemed like such a blatant act of environmental and humanitarian ...

I reviewed Darya Tsymbalyuk's soul-crushing yet vital book "Ecocide in Ukraine," my latest for @kyivindependent.com.

kyivindependent.com/new-book-exp...

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...

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...

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 ...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

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...

‘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...

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

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

‘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...

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...

‘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

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...

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...

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-...

“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

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...

‘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...

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...

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-...

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

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...

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...

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...

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

‘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...

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

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

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&...

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/

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...

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...

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-...

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

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

kyivindependent.com/what-russia-...

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).

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).

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