Writing On – Ukraine (2022)

Writing On – Ukraine published correspondence between women writers who fled to Germany from Russia's war of aggression and German-speaking colleagues.

The first literary correspondences, which attempt to create a space for listening and solidarity in exile in times of war, were published in November 2022. , Three tandems of female authors exchanged letters, emails and text messages : Daryna Gladun & Asal Dardan, Oksana Stomina & Ulrike Almut Sandig and Natalka Sniadanko & Tanja Dückers.

What constitutes the power of words in the face of the horror and destruction of the ongoing war in Ukraine? How does one deal with the threat to one’s own life and that of loved ones, with the loss of one’s home and in general, with a loss of trust in life in this world? What does this do to one’s view of the world and how does one go on living and writing in exile?

With great openness and immediacy, the Ukrainian authors shared experiences and information, reporting on the situation in cities under fire, on survival in air-raid shelters, in the rubble. Their written lines speak of a deep shock and disbelief that all this is really happening, that Russian bombs are falling on their homeland, while in exile an unshakable daily routine prevails and ever new challenges have to be met.

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