On 3 March, the world celebrates World Writer's Day — a day dedicated to those who record the truth with words, shape meanings and teach empathy. In an age of fast news and short messages, it is writers who help us make sense of events and preserve our humanity.
For Ukraine today, the writer's word has special significance: it is the voice of our identity that resounds throughout the world. Ukrainian authors today write not only in cosy offices, but also in dugouts, volunteer centres and evacuation centres, proving that culture is not an addition to life, but its foundation.
For us, a writer is no longer a ‘lonely artist in an ivory tower.’ It is a person with a machine gun on their shoulder who, in the short breaks between shelling, jots down lines on their phone or in a greasy notebook that become new classics.
Among those who combine the pen and the weapon are Pavlo Vyshebaba, author of the collection ‘Just Don't Write to Me About the War,’ whose poems have become a voice of hope; Artem Chekh, author of the novel ‘Who Are You?’, who speaks honestly about the experience of war; Valerii Puzik, who in his books With Love, Dad! and Monolith transforms everyday life on the front lines into literature; Bogdan Nazarenko, organiser of the project ‘Voice of the Fighting Heart’ — a book of poems by soldiers; Dmytro Lazutkin and Serhiy Horbatenko, whose voices are heard in both poetry and official reports; Oksana Stomina, poet, writer, social activist, founder of the NGO ‘Paper Stairs,’ author of a collection of poems about the war, ‘Lyrics of Mariupol Bomb Shelters,’ who continues to serve Ukraine and the world through poetry, kindness, and civic engagement.
We have no right to forget those whose pens were silenced by the war. Volodymyr Vakulenko, tortured by the occupiers in the Kharkiv region, left behind a Diary of the Occupation — a testament to his unbreakable spirit. Viktoria Amelina died in a rocket strike in Kramatorsk, having devoted the last years of her life to documenting war crimes. Their voices continue to be heard through books that have been translated into dozens of languages around the world.
World Writers' Day is not just about words of gratitude. It is also our responsibility as readers. A book purchased, a poem read, support for a Ukrainian author — all of this contributes to the preservation of the culture that is being fought for today, both on the pages of books and on the battlefield.