In the Hour of War: Poetry from Ukraine

Gathering well-known and widely translated poets as well as voices unknown in the West, Forché and Kaminsky deliver a timely and essential collection reflecting on language in wartime, and the duress endured by victims of Russia’s current invasion of Ukraine (a war, the foreword reminds readers, that has been ongoing since 2014 but whose full-scale invasion caught large media attention in February 2022). The short and impactful “In a Country Where Everyone’s Name Is Fear” (Lyudmyla Khersonska, translated by Grace Mahoney) opens: “in a country where everyone’s name is fear:/ it’s good that you don’t see a thing/ and don’t hear a thing. Say to anyone not a thing.” Many of these poems share a powerful directness as they speak of the daily lives of war-torn peoples: “how many windows shattered how many collapsed balconies/ did anyone die or is everyone alive and kicking/ only frightened that there is no more peaceful life perhaps/ war happened and the laws of war are a cruel thing,” (Boris Khersonsky, translated by Olga Livshin and Andrew Janco) and “with each passing day of war/ my emergency backpack/ has grown lighter” (Halyna Kruk, translated by Amelia Glaser and Yuliya Ilchuk). These poems resonate beyond their time and place, reminding readers of the enduring human spirit. (May)