From LA Review of Books, org, February 10, 2021
Review written by Visiting Asst. Prof of Russian Tetyana Dzyadevych
More than a writer, philosopher, and public intellectual, Oksana Zabuzhko is a highly recognizable Ukrainian brand and a renowned ambassador of Ukrainian culture in the international arena. As Askold Melnychuk states in the introduction to her new Selected Poems, she is “the most influential literary figure in Ukraine of the last half-century.” Zabuzhko is widely published both in Ukraine and abroad. Despite the challenges imposed by a global pandemic, 2020 was kind to her: in addition to this book, this year also the appearance of a collection of her short stories, Your Ad Could be Here. The dual publication is a fitting tribute to the author on her 60th birthday.
Selected Poems continues the dialog with her English-language readership initiated back in the 1990s, when most of the poems compiled in this stylish and well-organized book were first made available in translation. Among the few previously unpublished poems is “Diptych 2008” (translated by Melnychuk), replete with apocalyptic Biblical motifs and allusions. Written in the aftermath of the 2008 Russian–Georgian military conflict, this precisely dated text nevertheless addresses the universal tragedy of war.
Read the entire review here.