Marta Gosovska — Words Under Siege: Translating and Publishing Ukrainian Literature in a Time of War
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📣 While tracing the long history of Ukrainian literature in translation, Marta Gosovska examines how Ukraine's publishing industry has managed to operate, adapt, and even grow during war. Learn more at her lecture on October 6, hosted by Oleh Kotsyuba of HURI Books.
💙 "Words Under Siege: Translating and Publishing Ukrainian Literature in a Time of War"
💡 Ukrainian literature has been translated into foreign languages since the nineteenth century, yet for most of that history it remained a niche pursuit — sustained by individual enthusiasts, diaspora networks, and, during the Soviet period, state-controlled projects. Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, that picture has changed dramatically: translation has become both a cultural strategy and an act of political will, with the number of foreign rights sold to Ukrainian titles rising nearly fivefold in a single year, and government-backed programs such as Translate Ukraine now supporting hundreds of translations across dozens of languages.
But this expansion abroad has unfolded alongside devastation at home. Russian missile strikes have destroyed printing presses and warehouses, incinerating millions of printed books; publishers, editors, translators, and authors have been mobilized into the armed forces, and some have been killed at the front.
This lecture traces the long arc of Ukrainian literature in translation — from its earliest English editions to today’s Drahoman Prize laureates and translator-advocates abroad — while examining how the publishing industry inside Ukraine continues to operate, adapt, and even grow under conditions of active war.
💛 Marta Gosovska is a visiting scholar at HURI supported by the Fulbright Research and Development Program. She is a translator, scholar of comparative literature, and Editor-in-Chief of the Foreign Department at Laboratoria Publishing House in Ukraine.
📍 IN-PERSON @ HURI | 34 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
🗓️ Tuesday, October 6 at 12:00 – 1:30 pm EDT
🔗 LEARN MORE: https://www.huri.harvard.edu/event/marta-gosovska-words-under-siege-translating-and-publishing-ukrainian-literature-time-war
🥪 HURI | Ukraine Study Group | Attendees are invited to enjoy an informal lunch.
💙 "Words Under Siege: Translating and Publishing Ukrainian Literature in a Time of War"
💡 Ukrainian literature has been translated into foreign languages since the nineteenth century, yet for most of that history it remained a niche pursuit — sustained by individual enthusiasts, diaspora networks, and, during the Soviet period, state-controlled projects. Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, that picture has changed dramatically: translation has become both a cultural strategy and an act of political will, with the number of foreign rights sold to Ukrainian titles rising nearly fivefold in a single year, and government-backed programs such as Translate Ukraine now supporting hundreds of translations across dozens of languages.
But this expansion abroad has unfolded alongside devastation at home. Russian missile strikes have destroyed printing presses and warehouses, incinerating millions of printed books; publishers, editors, translators, and authors have been mobilized into the armed forces, and some have been killed at the front.
This lecture traces the long arc of Ukrainian literature in translation — from its earliest English editions to today’s Drahoman Prize laureates and translator-advocates abroad — while examining how the publishing industry inside Ukraine continues to operate, adapt, and even grow under conditions of active war.
💛 Marta Gosovska is a visiting scholar at HURI supported by the Fulbright Research and Development Program. She is a translator, scholar of comparative literature, and Editor-in-Chief of the Foreign Department at Laboratoria Publishing House in Ukraine.
📍 IN-PERSON @ HURI | 34 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
🗓️ Tuesday, October 6 at 12:00 – 1:30 pm EDT
🔗 LEARN MORE: https://www.huri.harvard.edu/event/marta-gosovska-words-under-siege-translating-and-publishing-ukrainian-literature-time-war
🥪 HURI | Ukraine Study Group | Attendees are invited to enjoy an informal lunch.
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Where is it happening?
34 Kirkland St, Cambridge, MA 02138-2012, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherUkrainian Research Institute, Harvard University
