Poetry as the “bridge-building material”

Ostap Slyvynsky believes in poetry as the “bridge-building material”. It is very delicate, but its power is in its weakness. Like an openwork net, it will remain standing after all the dense sails fall down because of the strong wind. It is the fate of all big narratives, which make illusion of stability, total clearness and security. Poetry is the “smallest” among the all possible narratives. One of the best conceptions of poetry ever was formulated by Paul Celan who identified a poem with a handshake: the held hand means the maximal openness and at the same time – equality. This combination of intimacy and respect – it could be the most important poetry’s gift now.
Ostap Slyvynsky, PhD. (*1978 in Lviv, Ukraine) is a graduate of the Department of Slavic Philology at Lviv University. In 2007 he earned a PhD in contemporary Bulgarian literature. Slyvynsky has authored five books of poetry. His poems and critical essays were translated into 13 languages and are included in many Ukrainian as well as foreign anthologies. An active participant and contributor to numerous literary festivals both in Ukraine and abroad, he also coordinated the International Literary Festival at the Publishers’ Forum in Lviv in 2006 and 2007. He translates from Belarussian, Bulgarian, English, Macedonian, Polish and Russian (notably Czesław Miłosz, Andrzej Stasiuk, Derek Walcott, and many others). Slyvynsky is the associate editor of the Polish-German-Ukrainian literary magazine RADAR. He is currently occupied teaching Polish literature at Lviv University.
Ostap Slyvynsky wird die ukrainischen Texte und ihre englische Übersetzung selbst lesen. Darüberhinaus werden die Texte auch auf deutsch zusammengefasst werden.
Moderation: Professor Dr. Alexander Wöll