Defending a country is not only the job of soldiers and armies. In today’s Ukraine, it is the job of every able citizen, but most particularly its writers, who time and again have shown that the pen truly is mightier than the sword. ~ Irena Chalupa

Voices of Freedom is an anthology of contemporary writing from Ukraine, introducing the American reader to some of the country’s most important writers. The 27 writers featured in the anthology represent not only a variety of genres, from poetry to short stories and essays, but also the internal tapestry of Ukrainian society in the struggle for the freedom of their country.

Join us for an in-depth conversation about the distinctive and rich Ukrainian writing tradition and the people behind the news living and working on the edge amid the country’s fight for freedom.

Irena Chalupa, one of the translators involved in the publication, will talk about the importance of the artistic written word for Ukraine’s readers, introduce you to the writers in a video, and read excerpts from the book.

Irena Chalupa is an editor at the fact checking site StopFake, and a journalist, translator, and community activist heading up the Washington, D.C. branch of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (UNWLA).

Irena is a journalist specializing in broadcasting, having spent 23 years working for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Munich, Kyiv, and Prague, where her last position was that of director of the Ukrainian Service. Irena has also worked as an analyst and writer for the Atlantic Council. She was a Fulbright scholar in Ukraine during 2016-2017 working in Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv. During her Fulbright tenure, Irena recorded video interviews with former Ukrainian political prisoners and worked in two state universities training students in radio journalism. As a result, both universities launched student radio stations which continue to broadcast to this day.