PEN Ukraine is a Ukrainian non-governmental organization established to protect freedom of speech and authors' rights, promote literature and international cultural cooperation. It is part of the network of national centers of the
International PEN.
The Ukrainian Center for International PEN was founded in the fall of 1989, within the
Writers' Union of Ukraine. Mykola Vingranovsky, a Ukrainian poet, was elected the organization's first president.
[Протягом п'яти років у Москві не промовив жодного слова російською мовою ](_blank)
// Gazeta.ua, 8 листопада 2016
The main governing body is the General Assembly, which elects an eight-member executive board, headed by a president and two vice presidents.
The abbreviation PEN stands for "poets, playwrights, essayists and novelists", but today PEN Ukraine accept members from outside of literary circles, and the organisation currently has 140 members.
Structure
Today, there are 146 national PEN centers in the world.
The headquarters of International PEN, which coordinates and advises other centers, is located in London. The largest PEN center in the world is
PEN America
PEN America (formerly PEN American Center), founded in 1922 and headquartered in New York City, is a nonprofit organization that works to defend and celebrate free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of litera ...
, with 7,200 members.
Priorities in the activities of national PEN centers may be determined by the cultural and political situation in a particular country.
Every autumn, the International PEN organizes a PEN Congress in one of the world's countries, which brings together the heads and members of other national PEN centers to re-elect the international leadership and adopt PEN human rights resolutions. In 2017, the International PEN Congress was held for the first time in Ukraine (
Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...
). It was in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
(
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
) in 2018, in
the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
(
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
) in 2019, and then online for 2020 and 2021.
The congress for 2022 will be held from the 27th of September to the 1st of October in
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019.
Located north of the c ...
,
Sweden, with the title "The Power of Words: Future challenges for freedom of expression".
Membership
Firstly, PEN included only Writers, but the circle of potential members of the organization has expanded. The main criteria for joining the PEN are to share the values of the organization listed in its ''Charter'' and to have the desire to promote the development of literature and protect
freedom of speech in Ukraine
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving one ...
and the world. Currently, the Ukrainian PEN includes 140 members who are writers,
human rights activists
A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing camp ...
, translators, Journalists,
humanities scholars, publishers, and
Cultural managers.
According to the Charter of the Ukrainian PEN, the decision on the admission of new members is made by the Executive Council. Upon the invitation of the executive board, each new member must submit to its consideration two recommendations from other full members of the Ukrainian PEN, as well as a biography and bibliography.
Financing
Ukrainian PEN is a nonprofit organization that exists through the contributions of its members and the support of individual
Donors.
Management
Presidents of the Ukrainian PEN
* 1989-1993 — Mykola Vingranovsky
*1993-2010 — Yevhen Sverstyuk
*2010-2014 —
Myroslav Marynovych
*2014-2018 —
Mykola Riabchuk
Mykola Riabchuk ( uk, Рябчук Микола Юрійович; born September 27, 1953, in Lutsk) - Ukrainian public intellectual, journalist, political analyst, literary critic, translator and writer. Riabchuk is known for his analytical art ...
*since 17 December 2018 —
Andrey Kurkov
Andrey Yuryevich Kurkov ( uk, Андрій Юрійович Курков; russian: Андре́й Ю́рьевич Курко́в; born 23 April 1961 in Leningrad, USSR) is a Ukrainian author and public intellectual who writes in Russian. He is ...
Vice presidents and Executive Director
In August 2018, journalist Tetyana Teren became the executive director of the Ukrainian PEN.
As of October 2019, the members of the executive board of the organization are Olena Styazhkina, Leonid Finberg,
Yevhen Zakharov,
Larysa Denysenko and
Ostap Slyvynsky.
Honorary presidents
There are currently two honorary presidents,
Myroslav Marynovych, human rights activist, journalist, religious scholar, and lecturer, and
Mykola Riabchuk
Mykola Riabchuk ( uk, Рябчук Микола Юрійович; born September 27, 1953, in Lutsk) - Ukrainian public intellectual, journalist, political analyst, literary critic, translator and writer. Riabchuk is known for his analytical art ...
, poet, translator, prose writer and essayist.
Activities
The scope of the PEN club's activities is outlined in the Charter of the International PEN (est. 1921). It describes PEN's main tasks as "Protecting freedom of speech and expression, defending minority rights, assisting persecuted writers, supporting cultural diversity, and promoting humanistic values through culture".
Ukrainian PEN has implemented the following projects:
*Participation and presentation of Ukrainian issues at International PEN Congresses: in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
(M. Marynovych, 2012) at the 78th Congress; in
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
(A. Kurkov, 2014) at the 80th Congress; in Galicia (M. Ryabchuk, A. Kurkov, G. Bekirova, 2016) at the 82nd Congress; and in Pune (T. Teren, V. Amelina) at the 84th Congress.
*Invitation to Ukraine of the International PEN president John Ralston Saul (Kyiv,
Odesa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrati ...
, 2015), of the Department head for International Relations at American PEN Drew Menaker (Kyiv, 2016) and of the International PEN executive director Carles Torner (Lviv, Kyiv, 2017).
*Presentation of Ukrainian issues before the International PEN "Writers in Prison" Committee in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...
, and the "
International Cities of Refuge Network
The International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) is an independent organisation of cities and regions which offers shelter to writers, journalists and artists at risk of persecution, with the goal of advancing freedom of expression.
History
It ...
" in
Lillehammer (Halya Coynash: 2014, 2017, 2019).
*Organization of the 83rd International PEN Congress in Ukraine.
*Annual regional conferences of Eastern European PEN clubs.
*Annual award of Ukrainian PEN's Yurii Shevelyov Prize for modern essays.
*Annual award of Ukrainian PEN's Vasyl Stus Prize.
*Annual award ceremony of the Gongadze Prize for Ukrainian journalists.
*Setting up the PEN Discussion Club. Discussions on topical issues are held at the Club and media projects discussions are implemented.
*Implementation of the "Literary readings in the towns of Ukraine" project.
In 2019, the Ukrainian PEN became a partner of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
Literary Prize, gaining the right to form a national jury and decide the prize-winner from Ukraine.
PEN Ukraine Translation Fund Grants
Ukrainian PEN held a competition to translate Oleg Sentsov's short story book "Life" into English, German and
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
as part of a joint mini-grant program with the
International Renaissance Foundation PEN Ukraine Translation Fund Grants, which was announced in October 2018.
The book was translated into English by Dr. Uilleam Blacker (''Deep Vellum Publishing)''. Writer, translator and critic
Bohdan Zadura
Bohdan Zadura (born 18 February 1945 in Puławy) is a Polish poet, translator and literary critic.
Biography
Zadura debuted in 1962 in "Kamena". He was editor of the Lublin literary magazine ":pl:Akcent (czasopismo), Akcent", from 2004 editor o ...
(''Warsztaty Kultury'') became the translator of the book into Polish.
On 6 December 2018, the Executive Council of the Ukrainian PEN selected the third winner of the competition for the translation of a book of short stories by Oleg Sentsov into German. The winner was the application of a group of translators consisting of Lydia Nagel, Claudia Dathe, Claraia Dathe, Alexander Kratochvil, Thomas Weiler, Andreas Tretner, Christian Körner, Olga Radetzkaja, Jennie Seitz, Irina Bondas and Kati Brunner. The book was published by ''Voland & Quist''.
Kharkiv Literary Residence
The Kharkiv Literary Residence for Ukrainian Prose Writers was established by the Ukrainian branch of the International PEN Club and the Kharkiv Regional State Administration to support writers as well as promote Kharkiv and its culture in Ukraine and around the world.
Participants of the residency have the opportunity to live in Kharkiv for a month to work on their
prose
Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the ...
work, as well as to get acquainted with the city.
The participants of the residency today are writers Luba-Paraskevia Strynadyuk, Lyubko Deresh, Michael Zeller (Germany), and translator Yaroslava Strikha.
Several months of literary residencies for Ukrainian prose writers and translators are planned in Kharkiv.
Human rights projects
Since 2014, the Ukrainian PEN has been trying to draw attention to the events in Ukraine, the
occupation of Crimea and Ukrainian
Political prisoner
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...
s in
Russian prisons through a series of statements to the
international community. In particular, the following were published:
* Statement on the cessation of escalating violence in Ukraine;
* Protest statement against
Political repressions in Crimea and in defense of Ilma Umerov;
* Open letter to
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
colleagues on the eve of the local referendum on the
Ukraine-EU Association;
* Statement in support of journalist, member of the Ukrainian PEN
Stanislav Aseev;
*Joint action of
Hromadske.TV and Ukrainian PEN of Oleg Sentsov's story from the collection "''Stories''" performed by famous Ukrainians (
Ada Rogovtseva, Marko Galanevich,
Natalia Sumska,
Mustafa Nayem, Larisa Denisenko, Igor Kozlovsky, Oleg Mykhalyuta and
Nataliia Vorozhbyt).
On 21 August 2018, on the 100th day of the
hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
of film director and writer
Oleg Sentsov
Oleg (russian: Олег), Oleh ( uk, Олег), or Aleh ( be, Алег) is an East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine and Belаrus. It derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' ( Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "blesse ...
, Ukrainian PEN together with the
Center for Civil Liberties held a rally "''Solidarity with Oleg Sentsov''" near the
Russian Embassy in Kyiv.
On 15 November 2018, the International Day of Prisoner Writers, the Ukrainian PEN, and the Center for Civil Liberties held an "''Empty Chairs''" campaign in support of Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia and Crimea, as well as prisoners in the
self-proclaimed republics in
eastern Ukraine
Eastern Ukraine or east Ukraine ( uk, Східна Україна, Skhidna Ukrayina; russian: Восточная Украина, Vostochnaya Ukraina) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Khar ...
.
Literary awards
Vasyl Stus Award
The Ukrainian PEN continued the
Vasyl Stus Prize, founded in 1989 by the Ukrainian Association of Independent Creative Intelligence (UANTI), headed by Yevhen Sverstyuk, which was awarded annually on 14 January, St. Vasyl's Day.
The Vasyl Stus Prize is awarded annually to Ukrainian PEN authors (writers, artists, directors), regardless of their place of residence, for life, for special contribution to Ukrainian culture and stability of civic position.
The winner of the Vasyl Stus Prize receives a diploma and a distinction from the Ukrainian PEN and a partner of the Prize Kyiv-Mohyla Business School (KMBS).
Yurii Shevelov Prize
The
Yurii Shevelov Prize was established in 2013. Its founders were also the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School, the publishing house "''
Duh i Litera
Dukh i Litera («Дух і літера») is a Ukrainian publishing house that was founded in 1992. It is based in National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and operates on a not-for-profit basis. Dukh i Litera publishes scholarly titles in bo ...
''" and the
Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute
The Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI) is a research institute affiliated with Harvard University devoted to Ukrainian studies, including the history, culture, language, literature, and politics of Ukraine. Other areas of study include s ...
.
The prize is awarded once a year to a Ukrainian author for artistic and scientific Essays published during the last year. The winner is announced annually during the ceremony on 17 December when it is the birthday of Yurii Shevelyov, who founded modern Ukrainian essays. The winner is awarded a statuette of the
Bronze Angel, as well as a cash prize and a diploma.
The winners of the Shevelyov Prize in different years were:
Taras Prokhasko,
Andrii Portnov
Andrii Portnov (in , in , in pl, Andrij Portnow; born 17 May 1979 in Dnipropetrovsk (now Dnipro), Ukrainian SSR) is a Ukrainian historian, essayist, and editor. He is the Chair Professor of Entangled History of Ukraine at the European Universit ...
, Konstantin Moskalets, Oleksandr Boychenko, Vakhtang Kebuladze,
Andriy Lyubka
, native_name_lang =
, pseudonym =
, birth_name =
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Riga, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
, death_date =
, death_place =
, resting_place =
, occupation = prose writer, poet, essayist, translator
, ...
, Volodymyr Yermolenko, Diana Klochko.
Georgiy Gongadze Prize
The
Georgiy Gongadze
Georgiy Ruslanovych Gongadze ka, გიორგი რუსლანის ძე ღონღაძე, Giorgi Ruslanis dze Ghonghadze (21 May 1969 – 17 September 2000) was a Georgian-Ukrainian journalist and film director who was kid ...
Prize is awarded once a year on 21 May, on Georgy Gongadze's birthday. This is a new award in the field of journalism in Ukraine founded by the Ukrainian PEN in partnership with the Association of
Alumni
Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
of the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School and the publication "
Ukrayinska Pravda
''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukrai ...
".
The award is created to support those journalists who follow the principles and values of
independent journalism, demonstrate professionalism, competence, innovation, create materials that lead to solving or understanding certain problems in society and changes in the country, and make a significant contribution to the media environment. The winner will receive a statuette, a diploma and a prize of $3,000.
The first winner of the Georgiy Gongadze Prize was a journalist, historian, editor-in-chief of the online publication ''Istorychna Pravda'', as well as the founder of the Museum-Archive of the Press Vakhtang Kipiani.
Drahomán Prize
The Drahomán Prize is a prize for
translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
from Ukrainian, open to translators from across the world who have at least one published translation of literary or documentary work. The prize was launched in 2020 by PEN Ukraine, the
Ukrainian Institute, and the
Ukrainian Book Institute.
It is awarded for excellent translation and the international promotion of
Ukrainian literature
Ukrainian literature is literature written in the Ukrainian language.
Ukrainian literature mostly developed under foreign domination over Ukrainian territories, foreign rule by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Poland, the Russian Empire, t ...
.
The winner of the prize in 2020 was Claudia Dathe from
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
nominated for her translations of
Serhiy Zhadan's collection “Antenna” and Oleksiy Chupa's novel “Fairy Tales of My Bomb Shelter”.
Members
*
Borys Gudziak (born 1960), bishop and theological writer
*
Mykola Horbal (born 1940), Ukrainian poet, activist, and member of
parliament of Ukraine
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...
*
Iya Kiva
Iya Yanivna Kiva (another spelling - Ija Kiva) (; born May 4, 1984) is a Ukrainian poet, translator, journalist, and critic. She is the author of the books, ''Подальше от рая'' (Further from Heaven), ''Перша сторінка з ...
(born 1984), Ukrainian poet, translator, journalist, critic
*
Marianna Kiyanovska (born 1973), Ukrainian poet, translator, literary scholar
*
Myroslav Marynovych (born 1949), Ukrainian human rights activist, journalist, religious scholar, and lecturer
*
Kateryna Mikhalitsyna
Kateryna Mikhalitsyna ( uk, Катерина Василівна Міхаліцина; born February 23, 1982) is a Ukrainian poet, children's writer, translator and editor.
Early life and education
Kateryna Mikhalitsyna was born on February ...
(born 1982), Ukrainian poet, children's writer, translator, editor
*
Alexander J. Motyl (born 1953), Ukrainian-American author
*
Volodymyr Rafeienko
Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Rafeienko (born November 25, 1969, in Donetsk) is a Ukrainian writer, novelist, and poet. From 1992 to 2018, he wrote his works in Russian, was mainly published in Russia and was considered a representative of Russian liter ...
(born 1969), Ukrainian writer, novelist, and poet
*
Mariana Savka (born 1973), Ukrainian poet, children's writer, translator, publisher
*
Iryna Shuvalova (born 1986), Ukrainian poet, translator, scholar
*
Yevgen Zakharov
Yevgen Yukhymovych Zakharov (born 12 November 1952) is a Ukrainian human rights activist and Member of the Ukrainian PEN. He is a Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, Director of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group. He ...
(born 1952), Ukrainian human rights activist
See also
*
PEN International
PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internatio ...
*
European Union Prize for Literature
The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), established in 2009, is a European Union literary award. Its aim is to recognise outstanding new literary talents from all over Europe, to promote the circulation and translation of literature among ...
External links
Official websiteFacebook Page of Ukrainian PEN
References
{{Reflist
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
1989 establishments in Ukraine
Freedom of expression
Writers' organizations
Organizations established in 1989