The Ukrainian Institute in Sweden has presented the first Swedish anthology of poetry from the Executed Renaissance — a generation of Ukrainian artists from the 1920s and 1930s destroyed by the Soviet regime.
The collection, entitled Den avrättade renässansen, includes translations of poems by eleven Ukrainian poets: Mykola Khvylovyy, Mykhailo Dray-Khmara, Maik Johansen, Lada Mohylanska, Yevhen Pluzhnyk, Mykhaylo Semenko, Volodymyr Sosyura, Volodymyr Svidzynskyy, Raisa Troyanker, Pavlo Tychyna, and Mykola Zerov.
The publication features a foreword by Nataliya Pasichnyk — pianist, Doctor of Arts, and Director of the Ukrainian Institute in Sweden — as well as short biographies of each author. The book introduces Swedish readers to Ukrainian history and culture, previously almost unknown in Sweden, and highlights the deep European roots of Ukrainian literature.
“The translation of these poets is not only a literary project, but also a way to restore their place in history, which they were deprived of,” says Nataliya Pasichnyk. “It is part of the cultural decolonisation of Ukraine and a path towards a deeper understanding of the struggle for freedom that continues today.”
The collection is the first large-scale publication to introduce Swedish readers to Ukraine’s classical literary heritage. Although translations of contemporary Ukrainian literature into Swedish are increasing every year, the classics remain virtually unknown in Sweden.
The project was implemented by the Ukrainian Institute in Sweden, which has been operating in Stockholm since 2014. The Institute’s mission is to promote Ukrainian culture and integrate Ukrainian cultural products into the European cultural space.