Angelus Prize winner serves his homeland on the front
Natalya Gorbanevskaya, a famous Russian poet and dissident and – years later – the first chairwoman of the jury of the Angelus Central European Literary Prize, emphasised that Angelus is a prize for authors from countries that were affected by both totalitarianisms in the 20th century: communism and fascism.
Serhiy Zhadan received the Angelus Prize in 2015. He is considered to be the most outstanding living Ukrainian poet and writer. He received an award that is dedicated to a difficult history, to national, ethnic and geographical conflicts, but also to cultural diversity, ever-changing borders, states – in other words: the most troubled and unstable part of Europe.
Immediately after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Serhiy Zhadan engaged in helping the Ukrainian army, and his efforts proved very effective (millions of PLN were raised through his support). He supported fund-raising activities and played concerts with his band 'Zhadan and the Dogs’ not only in Ukraine but around the world (e.g., in New York), becoming an exceptional wartime bard, giving hope and creating a community – in other words: doing what culture can do in times of war.
At the beginning of June, he announced on his FB profile that he had joined the ranks of the 60th Brigade of the Khartiya National Guard of Ukraine, was undergoing training and serving the Ukrainian people.
The Wroclaw House of Literature and its associated Warstwy Publishing House, which published Serhiy Zhadan's volume Antenna, emphasise that they are deeply moved by the decision of the Ukrainian writer and poet – also as publishers of his poetry, which also touches upon the subject of war.
‘This is why we would like to appeal to Wroclaw people for help,’ they emphasise, adding that they treat the winner of the Angelus Central European Literature Prize 2015 as a Wroclaw citizen.
Serhiy Zhadan – well-known and widely read in Poland
Serhiy Zhadan was born in Starobelsk in 1974 and lives in Kharkiv. He is a poet and a writer, and his books have been translated into 16 languages. He translates texts from German himself.
His prose booksThe History of Culture at the Beginning of the Century, Big Mac, Depeche Mode, Anarchy in the UKR, Hymn of Democratic Youth, Voroshilovgrad, Mesopotamia and War in the City (all published by Wydawnictwo Czarne) and poetry volumes The History of Culture at the Beginning of the Century (Biuro Literackie), Drohobych (Polish State Publishing Institute), Etopia (słowo/obraz terytoria) and Antenna (Warstwy Publishing House) have been published in Poland.
Zhadan also sings in a band; the Ukrainians know his songs by heart. The writer is also the face of Maidan. He speaks out on Ukrainian issues, arguing that what takes place in his country results from the need for change and that people are fed up with living in the post-Soviet reality after the collapse of the USSR.
At the beginning of June 2024, he joined the ranks of the 13th Brigade of the Khartiya National Guard of Ukraine.
Let's help the Angelus Award winner – a fund-raising campaign
Funds are being raised in support of Serhiy Zhadan on zrzutka.pl. The funds (100,000 PLN are needed) will be used to purchase the necessary equipment, i.e., military vests, helmets, clothing, survival gear and anything else that may be in demand.
‘We are in constant touch with Serhiy, and we will decide together with him what to buy,’ write the organisers of the fund-raising initiative – the Pogoń Ruska Association, which has provided humanitarian and military aid since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
All raised funds will be appropriated for the needs of Khartiya. This is the name of the Assault Brigade of the National Guard, which Serhiy Zhadan supported and which he has now joined as a soldier.
Serhiy Zhadan's poem from the volume Antenna – announcement of the decision
A friend went as a volunteer.
He came back after six months.
Where he has been – is unknown.
And what he is afraid of - he does not say.
But he is afraid of something.
He may even seem
to be afraid of everything.
He went as a normal person.
Admittedly, he talked too much.
About everything in the world.
About everything that came before his eyes.
And he returned
completely different, as if
someone had taken his old tongue away
and left no other instead.
Here he sits on the bed all the time
and listens to the devils in his head.
The first devil is furious,
he pours out heat and demands
punishment for all the living ones.
The second devil is humble,
he asks for forgiveness,
speaks quietly,
touches the heart with his hands
smeared with black soil.
But the worst of them is the third one.
He agrees with both of them.
He agrees and does not deny.
After his voice
the headache begins.
a poem from the volume Antenna, published in 2020 by the Wrocław-based Warstwy Publishing House.
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Знайомий пішов добровольцем.
Повернувся за півроку.
Де був – невідомо.
І чого боїться – не каже.
Але чогось боїться.
Може навіть здатись,
що боїться всього.
Йшов нормальною людиною.
Говорив, щоправда, забагато.
Про все на світі.
Про все, що траплялось на очі.
А ось повернувся
зовсім іншим, так ніби
хтось відібрав у нього старого язика,
а іншого натомість не залишив.
Ось він сидить цілими днями на ліжку
й слухає бісів у своїй голові.
Перший біс лютий,
сипле жаром, вимагає
кари для всіх живих.
Другий біс покірний,
говорить про прощення,
промовляє тихо,
торкається серця руками,
вимащеними в чорноземі.
Але найгірший – третій біс.
Він із ними обома погоджується.
Погоджується, не заперечує.
Сам після його голосу
і починається головний біль.
