Razom Ignites Passion for Ukrainian Literature with Book Tour for Rafeyenko’s Mondegreen

Published: March 12, 2023   

Razom for Ukraine is passionate about promoting Ukrainian culture, art and literature. We were thrilled to support the publication of Volodymyr Rafeyenko’s book “Mondegreen” through our Razom Translates program, which raised funds for the translation of the book on Kickstarter. Thanks to the support of our generous donors, the book was published in early 2022.

Mondegreen is a critically acclaimed book that has received praise both in Ukraine and internationally. The book explores the themes of identity, memory, and language and is an important contribution to Ukrainian literature. Through our efforts in translating the book, we are helping to make sure that Ukrainian voices can reach a wider audience.

But our work didn’t stop there. In November 2022, we organized a book tour for Rafeyenko in the United States. Razom covered the author’s travel expenses, arranged his accommodations, and worked with other Ukrainian organizations and universities to organize book readings and events. One of the most exciting aspects of the tour was the active involvement of our Razom Book Club members, who were eager to host Rafeyenko and help bring him to their communities. This grassroots effort is a testament to the passion and commitment of our members to appreciating and promoting Ukrainian literature.

These are just a few examples of the truly inspiring collaborations with organizations and universities to organize book readings and get-togethers. Ania Solovey worked with the local chapter of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) and Emory University to put on an event in Atlanta. Irena Chalupa worked with UCCA, Ukraine House, and George Washington University to organize book readings in Washington D.C. And in Cleveland, Irina Bade, a member of Razom Book Club, organized a presentation at the Archive Museum. Maria Genkin moderated a session on the book during the 2022 ASEEES (Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies) Conference in Chicago in collaboration with Nataliya Shpylova-Saeed of Carlton University.

Overall, the book tour covered several cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, New Heaven, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, and Washington, D.C. The book presentations also happened at Columbia’s Harriman Institute, Penn State, Harvard and UCSD. The events were a resounding success, with a large audience eager to hear the author speak about his book and his journey as a Ukrainian author. It was a great opportunity for the author to share his experiences and connect with his readers, sparking meaningful discussions and leaving a lasting impact on all who attended.

We’re proud of the work we’ve done to promote Ukrainian literature and culture in the United States, and we’re grateful for the support of our community and partners in making these events a success.

Learn more about and join our Razom Book Club to appreciate Ukrainian literature together.

Learn more about Razom Translates and support our efforts to promote Ukrainian literature in the world. (link)

Razom Book Club. Dom’s Dream Kingdom

Published: February 9, 2022   

On February 7th, Razom Book Club gathered to discuss Victoria Amelina’s book “Dom’s Dream Kingdom” (Дім для Дома), and the following afternoon they met with Victoria Amelina virtually.

“As if we’ve been reading the same book for several years,” said Irena Chalupa, “a book about memory, how to prevent forgetting.” Indeed, in the book Dom’s Dream Kingdom, the Tsiliik family, who live in Stanislav Lem’s old apartment at 4 Lepkoho Street, do not know how to talk to each other about the past. How to tell about the fact that people who are no longer in Lviv used to live in this apartment, how to remember a family history that you want to forget so much, how to find out who you are, if your parents have been trying to forget for many years.

This is how Yana Zavada, another member of the Razom Book Club, described the conversation: “In our book club we have already read about the heterogeneous Donbass in “The Death of Leo Cecil Made Sense”. Now it was a topic of heterogeneous Lviv (some in the club were very surprised by this, by the way). In these literary parallels, I see a movement towards each other. We are the one country. Cool. Original.”

In the words of the novel:
“The house where you are remembered is scattered like the wreckage of frozen rivers above the Earth. I can now say “my city”, but it is as absurd as saying “my air”. Even the air we breathe has already been someone’s and will be. Our air while it is with us. Our house, our home while it is with us. And we are all always in this home – each at our own depth.”

These topics were discussed with to Victoria among others, such as why she is not writing now as much as she is preparing for the New York Literary Festival and what she is planning to do in Poland with the Conrad Scholarship that Victoria won earlier this year. will begin in April. We invite you to watch this conversation, and if it inspires you, then read Victoria Amelina’s book “Дім Для Дома”.


Learn more about Razom Book Club and join the Facebook group to stay informed about the upcoming readings and meetings with Ukrainian authors.

Mondegreen to be published in English

Published: April 23, 2021   

It is unbelievable, but our Kickstarter campaign to publish Rafeyenko’s book in English has reached the initial goal amount of $5,500 — just two days after we launched it! 

We THANK everyone so very much for incredible support of this important book. 

Kickstarter campaign will still run for another month as per the site’s rules. The amount collected will cover the absolute minimum necessary to complete the translation, but the overall cost of the translation and rights to the book are a lot higher. And so every cent we collect above the initial goal amount will still go towards supporting the work of  Volodymyr Rafeyenko and towards fully covering the cost of the translation so that the writer and the translator can continue their work!  

Volodymyr Rafeyenko had to leave his home city of Donetsk immediately after the occupation by Russian-sponsored forces has begun. He started writing about the traumatic experience right away, too: first in the novel ‘Longue Duree’ (Dovhi chasy), which appeared in Russian and in Ukrainian (in Marianna Kiyanovska’s translation), and later in ‘Mondegreen.’ 

Volodymyr left his home when he was 45, having to abandon everything he had worked to achieve, and beginning from scratch in Kyiv. In one of his interviews, he compared the process to what Johann Sebastian Bach must have experienced when he had to bury four children from his first marriage, and then seven children from his second marriage. That experience of excruciating pain always accompanies Volodymyr, who now lives at a fellow writer’s dacha in Bucha near Kyiv, where he continues to write and from where he teaches literature courses online.   

We believe that it is incredibly important for the world to learn more about such experiences that many Ukrainian citizens have gone through as a result of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Your contribution allows us to change the way the world perceives Ukraine — and it will hopefully generate more support for our young democracy. There are many facets to Ukraine’s history and culture, and not all of them are tragic. With this campaign, we’re beginning with what’s very critical right now, but we hope to be able to count on your support in the future, too, when we campaign to translate and publish other works of Ukrainian literature in English. 

Please stand with us as we do it.  

You can learn more and contribute to the campaign at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/razomforukraine/mondegreen-by-volodymyr-rafeyenko

Passionate about Ukrainian modern literature? – Join our Razom Book Club.

And learn more about and support Razom Culture which promotes awareness of Ukraine’s vibrant art and culture through a variety of collaborations and events.

Razom Book Club with Dotsya Prototype

Published: July 21, 2020   

When many of us are still staying at home for the quarantine measures, Razom Book Club keeps reading on and just had its fourth online meeting. This time the Club read and discussed the awarded book Dotsya (“Доця”).

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Absolute Zero: Meeting with Artem Chekh

Published: February 13, 2020   

We are thankful to everyone who found time and joined the Ukrainian Studies Program аt Columbia University and Razom for an evening with Ukrainian writer and veteran Artem Chekh.

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