Queue at the entrance, Zelenskiy at book purchases and the Mariupol orchestra: Book Arsenal returns

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On June 22, the XI Book Arsenal was opened. After a hiatus last year and despite the demands of martial law, the International Festival gathered a crowd of book lovers, writers, publishers, illustrators, foreign guests, artists and book functionaries. UP.Zhyttia journalist Hanna Shtokan recorded the transformed book fair, the reduced program of events and the good old atmosphere of people’s unity around the book, which has returned to the capital these days. There is a queue of fifty people at the entrance to Mystetsky Arsenal. Journalists are allowed through another entrance. Everyone is directed to metal detector frames. Later it turns out that this is connected with the visit to the “Book Arsenal” by the presidential couple. “It’s a queue. We’ve been here for several hundred meters,” the photographer next to me smiles. After a thorough check of eco-bags, I get to the Arsenal yard. Everything is in place there – a fountain, cafe tables, as well as a summer stage for concerts and literary presentations. Tonight, the rescued Mariupol orchestra is expected to perform here. Behind the bar under the tent are several people with glasses. Several tables near the fountain are also occupied. A company of people hugs in front of the banners with the current exhibitions and the announcement of the Book Arsenal. “And again this year at Arsenal,” says a woman in a bright dress. Obviously, it is a paraphrase of the expression “Next year – in Jerusalem.” They hug again and start a lively conversation. A 4-day Book Arsenal opened in Kyiv. Photo: Facebook of the Book Arsenal The first visitors head to the stands with books. This year, there is an innovation at Arsenal. The usual sections from publishing houses were replaced by zones of 4 bookstores. But the traditional “Showcase of book novelties” has also been preserved. New editions published in Ukraine during the year by various publishing houses are collected here. On the long tables I see bright bindings of books by Ukrainian and foreign authors. The eye catches reprints of classics: Kobylyanska, Bagryany, Yanovsky, “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” by Kotsyubynskyi, “The Chemistry of Death” by Beckett, Roger Zhelyazny. Read also: “The book that I would never want to write”: Oleksandr Mykhed published chronicles of pain and hope I pass by the stand of the “Zakapelok” bookstore – the colorful covers of children’s books attract attention. There are already several dozen visitors. Volunteers in branded t-shirts help to navigate the books. 4 bookstores were presented at the Book Arsenal. Photo: Facebook “Sens” book arsenal has taken up a lot of space,” says a visitor in jeans and a T-shirt with the logo of the Dovzhenka Center. I draw attention to several areas occupied by the “Sens” bookstore. Non-fiction is sold here. At the very end – three locations for a photo. The couple is filmed on “router” chairs, under which a “dressmaker” stands. The official opening is on the first stage at the very end of the main gallery of the Art Arsenal. I walk along the wall with bright prints. They visualize this year’s focus theme: ” “When everything matters”. it’s warmer than usual,” Olesya Ostrovska-Lyuta, director of the Art Arsenal, says from the stage. She opens the festival. I catch myself thinking that I really forgot how cool it is in the Arsenal, but, of course, the speech is more about the mood. Coordinator of the Book Arsenal Yuliya Kozlovets enters the stage to loud applause. It begins with gratitude to the ZSU. “Preparation for the festival took place during blackouts, bombings. We learned to distinguish the sounds of drones, various types of missiles that Russia bombards us with. This is not the same festival as usual – this can be seen from the gallery, which today has only one, by the number of visitors, by the number of stages. And this is still our Book Arsenal with you – the event that is important for all of us. We are here today because it matters to us,” Yulia quotes the slogan of the focus topic. Journalist Natalya Gumenyuk, the curator of the focus topic “Everything Matters”, thanks foreign guests for joining her program. “This time, the most important things are happening right here. And it is here that we have to say whether democracy really matters. And if so, does it take into account the values ​​for which Ukrainians are fighting, whether they are tested by reality, whether people around the world are ready to adhere to them “, says Natalya. About 100 events are planned at the Book Arsenal. Photo: Book Arsenal Facebook This year, in addition to writers and publishers, many military personnel, activists investigating Russian war crimes, and volunteers joined the program. In the space of Arsenal, I meet people in pixels. Near the section with literature about the Russian-Ukrainian war – revitalization. Visitors surrounded the stands and tried to film President Zelenskyi with the First Lady. He walks in a section surrounded by people in military uniform. Examines books. Some of the visitors follow Zelensky to the right part of the building. Read also: Where to read about books? 5 thematic Ukrainian sites A little later, the director of the Arsenal, Ostrovska-Lyuta, tells me that the Zelenskys bought Maxim Yakovlev’s book “Conspiracy Theories: How (not) to become a conspiracist” from the Vikhola publishing house, the book “Emotional Swings of War” also by Vikhola, earth” by Anastasia Levkova, Mykhed’s new book “Job’s Call Sign”, a collection about Ukrainian design during the war. He calls the President’s visit a great gesture. I am asking about the difficulties of this year’s event. “You absolutely do not know what will happen tomorrow and during the event itself. You have to plan so that you can cope. During the day, we did an air raid simulation for everyone who works in space. Also, we are used to the fact that Arsenal is bigger – it is very difficult to translate the large format into small, so that it does not lose saturation, meaning, aesthetic parameters,” says the director of the Art Arsenal. Emphasizes that the focus topic is very close to her, it responds precisely because of the context of a full-scale war. President Zelenskyy visited the Book Arsenal. Photo: Book Arsenal’s Facebook As for the atmosphere, Ostrovska-Lyuta doesn’t notice any difference with festivals before a full-scale invasion. “I see the same joy of seeing each other. There are just as many hugs, beauty in the space of the Arsenal. The program is very full. In the evening, we still have a concert by the Mariupol Chamber Orchestra. I think that this is also a very special event – it is about music, but first of all it is about the ability to survive,” concludes the director of Arsenal and goes to the foreign guests. Together with her, I approach volunteer Sofia-Hrystyna Borysiuk. He says that volunteers are everywhere – in sections, on playgrounds, in the “well” where films are shown. Sofia met two foreign guests from Georgia – Rati Mojiri and Giorgi Japaridze. Novelties of book printing were presented at the Book Arsenal. Photo: Facebook Book Arsenal’s Sofia-Hrystyna picked them up at the train station after a 29-hour drive, drove them to the place where they would live, and also warned them that the subway is a bomb shelter and how to get to the Arsenal. “I asked if they were not afraid to go to Ukraine at such a time – both answered that they were ready and wanted to come. One of the guests is a journalist, writes books about the war. And all the other guests who came were in high spirits. There were smiles you can see – we didn’t come for the war, but for the book festival,” says the volunteer. Probably the most poignant event of the day took place on the second stage. There they presented the book-diary of Volodymyr Vakulenko, a writer tortured by the Russians, “I am changing”. The mother, his son and acquaintances of the writer are on stage. The book was published by Kharkiv Vivat together with the Kharkiv Literary Museum. Writer Victoria Amelina, who saved the diaries of Volodymyr Vakulenko, also joined the presentation. “We would prefer not to go to such a presentation and for Volodya to be alive,” – these are the words that begin the event. In addition to the diary, the book contains Volodymyr’s poems for children and adults. There are also installations in the Arsenal gallery. Photo: Facebook of the book arsenal. Near the stands, I meet literary critic Anastasia Korotka. She notes that the system without stands with Arsenal’s publishing houses is not beneficial. He said that this is precisely why top writers ignored the Festival this year: “Zhadana won’t be there, Zabuzhko won’t be, Prokhaska. At the same time, Andruhovych is presenting a reprint of Moscoviada at the Ye Bookstore. I miss the atmosphere.” Among the announced guests, there are really no star names. However, there are many young writers and publicists who have loudly declared themselves in the last year and a half. I notice the poet, soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Pavel Vyshebaba – he is giving an interview on camera. I catch up with him in the gallery. “I was going to get my backpack, but I was stopped all the time,” says Pavlo Vyshebaba. “I’ve been to the Arsenals before. Then it was reminiscent of the merry drunkenness of poets and writers. Now it’s a completely different mood – everyone is serious. It’s clear that there’s a war in the country. Before it was networking, a party. Now people feel that it needs to be heard – the lyrics about the war, books about the war, no matter how painful it is,” Pavlo shares. The poet and soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Pavlo Vyshebaba was in the program of the Book Arsenal. Photo: Facebook of Book Arsenal Pavlo read his poems as part of the “Poetry in Pixel” program. “We read poets who are in the ranks of the Armed Forces. I made acquaintances, I saw old acquaintances. It was very warm. Although it is really difficult to listen to poetry about the war – but it is necessary,” says Vyshebaba. Pavlo bought Volodymyr Vyatrovich’s book “The History of the UPA” at the Book Arsenal: “A beautiful edition and a big gap in my school curriculum. As a person from Donetsk region, I did not study the UPA at all – I want to read about the leaders I like in a fragmentary way, I want to dive deeper into question. Despite the fact that the UPA was active in Donetsk region, but we did not know anything about it.” Musicians from Mariupol play in the “Renaissance” orchestra. Photo: Book Arsenal’s Facebook We go out to the yard, where a concert of the Mariupol Renaissance Orchestra, which I listened to in the Kyiv Philharmonic back in the spring, is already taking place on the street stage. The orchestra was revived with the participation of musicians from Luhansk Region, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv. Unfortunately, today they are playing without their legendary conductor Vasyl Kryachko, who was involved in saving “Renaissance”. Spectators sit in an improvised hall, around a fountain and at tables. Some visitors are standing in line for drinks and food. I remember that the last time I saw a performance of “Zhadan and Dogs” here on the Arsenal stage was in 2021, that is, in a past life. I will listen to the violinist’s shrill playing. An orchestra from Mariupol performed on stage. Photo: Book Arsenal’s Facebook Here I meet an acquaintance Oleksiy Obolenskyi, who teaches translation. Emphasizes that this year Arsenal is different in “time” – precisely wartime. Oleksiy is often in the East – he says that the military theme of this year’s Arsenal is comfortable for him. “War is present in everything, but it should be. It is not oversaturated with war, it keeps up with the times – but the war is felt: there are poems, discussions, there is a separate section of writers who write about the war, there is a separate section where it is written about specific of the military. Even the Installations also reflect time,” says Oleksiy Obolenskyi. The book arsenal lasts 4 days. Photo: Facebook of the Book Arsenal. Aftertaste and meeting in the subway. Let’s go down to the subway on Arsenalnaya with Maryna Ryabchenko, an expert of the Literature section about the Russian-Ukrainian war. Below we meet theater and film actor Oleg Shulga. He is a military man, he came from the front a few days ago. He says: he was at Arsenal for the first time. Changed into civilian clothes – went to a cultural event and to meet with acquaintances. “It’s cool, it’s interesting, there are many people, all in civilian clothes,” Shulga jokes. “I personally came to hear poetry. It’s interesting how one can translate military experience into finding the right words,” says Oleg. There are so many books that I didn’t choose anything. “I hope that I will come here in the next few days and find something to remember,” says Oleg Shulga. At the festival, I saw a book about my native city of Dnipro, which I had been looking for for a long time.

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