New England Review

Literature & Democracy

Tomas Venclova

GULAG prisoner’s uniform and belongings, Sakharov Center, Moscow. Photo by Ellen Hinsey.
The Sakharov Center has been accused of violating Russia’s Foreign Agent Laws.

“A principled stance against aggression should never turn into blind hatred. Such hatred does not help anyone to win, since victory for us means increasing—and not diminishing—our humanity.”

Acclaimed Lithuanian poet, writer, and critic Tomas Venclova has dedicated his life to combating authoritarianism, and to the world of letters. We are honored to publish in English two of his recent poems: “To Master Radovan” and “Extra Urbem,” both translated from the Lithuanian, and an interview between Tomas and NER international correspondent Ellen Hinsey.

To Master Radovan
Extra Urbem
Interview: Increasing Our Humanity: Poetry, Civil Society, and Democratic Ethics

This is the third in our “Literature and Democracy” series. This quarterly column, curated by NER international correspondent Ellen Hinsey, presents writers’ responses to the threats to democracy around the world, beginning with a focus on Eastern Europe.

Literature & Democracy

Serhiy Zhadan

Kharkiv, Ukraine, April 2022. Photo by David Peinado.

“That’s the appeal of writing: you treat the world like a potential text, using it as material, setting yourself apart, stepping out. You can write about anything, literature allows you to do so without demanding anything back. The poetry of life is identical to the poetry of death.”

Ukrainian poet and writer Serhiy Zhadan is one of East Central Europe’s most important contemporary writers. We are proud to present for the first time in English a poem translated by Ostap Kin and John Hennessy, and two prose excerpts from “The Telephone Book of the Dead,” translated by Magdalena Baran-Szołtys.

“Whatever genre he is working in—poetry, prose (including both fiction and nonfiction), or dramaturgy—he has been passionately, persistently, and systematically giving voice to the voiceless,” notes translator Ostap Kin in his introduction. As Magdalena Baran-Szołtys has written, “Serhiy Zhadan writes about realities and feelings that we all have, but which we often only become aware of in all their force through his texts.”

Introduction: On Serhiy Zhadan by Ostap Kin
[Unknown saints have appeared in the city]
Excerpts from “The Telephone Book of the Dead”

This is the second in our “Literature and Democracy” series. This quarterly column, curated by NER international correspondent Ellen Hinsey, presents writers’ responses to the threats to democracy around the world, beginning with a focus on Eastern Europe.

Literature & Democracy

Gábor Schein’s “My Gate”

Budapest Living Memorial to victims of the Holocaust. Photo by Ellen Hinsey.

“What is happening now has long since been anticipated by poetry. Poetry is the sensory organ of the future.”

Hungarian poet and writer Gábor Schein examines the war in Ukraine, the concept of citizenship in the wake of corruption and collapse, and poetry as prediction in his essay “My Gate.” Translated from the Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet.

[“My Gate”]

This is the first in our “Literature and Democracy” series. This quarterly column, curated by NER international correspondent Ellen Hinsey, presents writers’ responses to the threats to democracy around the world, beginning with a focus on Eastern Europe.

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