The Aspen Institute’s Kyiv panel discussion, “Resilience in the Literary Canon of Ukraine”, on the main stage of the XII Book Arsenal
The Aspen Institute Kyiv held a panel discussion, “Resilience in the Literary Canon of Ukraine”, on the main stage of the XII Book Arsenal.
There are several studies on Ukraine’s literary canon: what it is, what its characteristics are, and how flexible and capable of transformation it is under the influence of circumstances and historical events. Consequently, they have discussed how much it meets the needs of each generation, reflecting current challenges and aspirations.
Participants in the panel discussion noted that resilience is one of the key qualities that Ukrainians must demonstrate today. Literature and the experience it describes are one way to nurture this resilience.
Speakers took a rather non-trivial approach to defining resilience—they considered not only its practical dimension but also its spiritual one, noting the need to reflect more, read, and open up new horizons of knowledge. Among the works cited as examples of resilience were the works of Lesya Ukrainka, Valeriy Puzik, Yevhen Pluzhnyk, and Hryhorii Skovoroda.
In the discussion, participated:
- Vira Ageyeva, Ukrainian literary scholar, literary critic, and gender researcher.
- Taras Lyuty, Ukrainian philosopher and writer.
- Oleksandr Khomenko, cofounder of MUR art group, the author of the first historical musical “You are Romantica” (“Ty [Romantyka]” — Ukr.).
Yuliya Tychkivska, Executive Director of The Aspen Institute Kyiv, moderated the discussion.
Thank you to everyone who visited the Book Arsenal. We will soon publish brief notes from the speakers’ presentations.
