A Literary Evening with Volodymyr Rafeyenko

An evening of conversation with Ukrainian writer and scholar Volodymyr Rafeyenko. 

Chaired by Yuliya V. Ladygina, Jacyk Distinguished Fellow at HURI.

The discussion will begin with Rafeyenko’s personal and creative journey—from his displacement from Donetsk in 2014 and again following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 to his experience of writing and working as an artist at risk. From there, the conversation will turn to the role of literature in times of war and to Rafeyenko’s current research on the Iliad, exploring what an ancient epic of war might tell us about violence, loss, displacement, and the human experience of war today. The evening will also feature readings from Rafeyenko’s recent play, Signals of Being, or Verbum caro factum est. It is envisioned as an open conversation, with ample time for questions and discussion with the audience.

This event will be an open conversation, with ample time for questions and discussion with the audience. Light refreshments will be served.

This event is organized by HURI as part of the Ukraine Study Group public event series and co-sponsored by the Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard.

For more information, please visit the Harvard University Ukrainian Research Institute's event page.