Devon academics help share experience of life on the Ukrainian front line
Artur Dron has had to endure multiple operations and a nerve transplant after being wounded by shrapnel from a Russian anti-personnel mine
A Ukrainian poet and soldier is tonight sharing his experiences of the front line at an event in Devon.
Artur Dron will be speaking at Exeter University - which helped translate the book - and the event is also being live-streamed on the internet.
Artur Dron has had to endure multiple operations and a nerve transplant after being wounded by shrapnel from a Russian anti-personnel mine or a drone that killed two of his fellow soldiers.
His book We Were Here talks of his own experiences on the front line and of the lives of his fellow soldiers and civilians, sharing their voices and perspectives.
Artur Dron volunteered to join the 125th Separate Territorial Defence Brigade from Lviv within days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He wrote the book while serving on the front line. He has been described as one of the brightest stars in a new wave of Ukrainian literature inspired by and responding to Russia’s illegal invasion of their country.
Artur said: “A lot of time has passed since the injury, and I feel much better. I’m still undergoing rehabilitation in Lviv. Therefore, I was sincerely grateful for the invitation to present the English edition and gladly accepted it. I believe there’s a lot for us and our English-speaking readers to discuss and to share a moment of silence together.”
Professor Roberts said: “Encountering Ukrainian war poetry by Artur Dron and others has been a revelation. It is an extraordinary privilege to be involved in bringing this work, which I don’t hesitate to place alongside British First World War poets (for example), to an English-speaking readership.
“We Were Here gives voice to the ‘we’ of the title who rose up in defiance of Russia’s invasion. It echoes Volodymyr Zelensky’s words in his famous selfie video from Kyiv, flanked by the Prime Minister and other officials, on the night of 25 February 2022: ‘We are all here. Our soldiers are here. Citizens are here, and we are here. We defend our independence, our state, and we will continue to do so.
“Artur Dron communicates both the experience and the spirit that underpins the defence of Ukraine, at once intensely personal yet also collective.”
The event will be held from 5.30 to 7pm at the Digital Humanities Seminar Room 1 in the Queen’s Building on the University of Exeter’s Streatham campus and via Zoom.