Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:50
#EditorInterview | In conversation with Kateryna Kazimirova, editor of Voices of Freedom: Contemporary Writing From Ukraine
These are intellectuals and moral authorities for the Ukrainian people whose voices and opinions are helping to synchronize the internal compass of Ukraine and their struggle for freedom of their country. Poetry, short stories, essays it has it all. This collection demonstrates the desire for freedom and what must happen in order to achieve it as a theme that cuts across generations of Ukrainian writers and is the central preoccupation of the society of Ukraine as a whole
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 0:28
Katerina, I would love to start out by hearing about the birth of this collection. When did you decide that it was necessary for this anthology to come together and how did you go about organizing it and publishing it amidst the struggle for freedom in Ukraine at this moment?
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 0:43
We have a really international community here on Swell, and I know they would love to hear from you about what it's like to be a writer and editor and artist in Ukraine right now, or perhaps Ukrainian and living elsewhere and being a part of this struggle for freedom. What are you hearing from the writers that you've been working with about how they're managing and how it's influencing their practice and art and how have the past few years influenced you as an editor?
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:18
Lastly, I just want to thank you so much again for doing this work. It's so essential and so important. I mean, we're seeing the threat of authoritarianism all over the world, and the voices of writers and the editors who are doing the work to make sure that they are heard is so essential. Who are some of the writers or figures in Ukraine who have been most influential to you? And for those who maybe aren't very familiar with Ukrainian literature?