Maryna Ponomarenko is a renowned Ukrainian poet who harbours a great love for Ukraine and Kyiv, where she now lives. She is the author of the sensual collection of poetry "The Book of Love and Fury."
War has an undeniable impact on people from all walks of life, whether you're fighting on the front lines or defending your Ukrainian identity through writing.
Maryna, like many other Ukrainians, has witnessed the terrifying realities of war firsthand. She fled to her hometown of Hryhorivka at the start of the full-scale invasion, when Kyiv was under active shelling. Later, Maryna resumed her normal life in the capital, which was now shrouded in the all-encompassing veil of war. A Russian bomb once fell about 300 meters from the apartment where she lives with her husband.
Naturally, the Russian invasion prompted an increase in Maryna's writing.
"I began to write more than ever. It was a kind of therapy," she says. Writing became a way to process fear and anxiety by transforming them into words. She wrote her first war-themed poem in February and hasn't stopped writing since. "I never had periods where I felt 'lost for words,'" she recalls.
Her poetry often depicts everyday life disrupted by Russian aggression, providing a unique civilian perspective amid the chaos.
Maryna writes rhyming poems more frequently than free verses.
"I feel that free verse requires a very clear, well-formed thought," she explains. It demands immediate clarity, whereas syllabic-tonic allows for extended contemplation. However, in the context of war, she prefers free verse for its precision and poignancy.
Maryna's poems strike a deep chord with her readers.
"The most valuable feedback comes when they say my poetry helps them cope with their grief, their reality," she reveals. Messages from soldiers are particularly moving, as they reaffirm that her efforts are not in vain. "If it helps at least a fraction of people psychologically survive these dark times, it means I write for a reason," she claims.
Despite her impact, Maryna experiences feelings of futility. "Sometimes I wonder why I write. Who needs this?". Nonetheless, she continues to work, write, and assist the military, navigating her emotions rather than acting on them.
We asked Maryna what she considers Ukraine's victory.
"I would like to see us return to the 1991 borders and receive certain security guarantees."
I believe that when the day comes when we can declare ourselves victorious, I will lie down and cry. I haven't been able to cry properly since the beginning of the invasion, so I'll do it on Victory Day.
"I think I will continue to write about the war after it has ended. Previously, I wanted to write about trivial matters, such as stories about stupid alcoholic poets. All of my ideas now have some connection to the war."
"I would like to see us return to peaceful topics following the victory, but that will not happen. At the very least, our generation will write about the war. I believe we will have enough war-related topics for a long time. People will write about it in various ways, which is great. Someone will write light, ironic, and possibly fantasy books about war. We'll look at it from multiple perspectives. I hope that the writers who are currently at the front will write great novels. Even if they don't want to, someone will share their experience."
"This is what we have to share with the world because this world needs to be brought to its senses, in particular, with such topics."
"I am drawn to the genre of alternative histories, in which we can retell the traumatic events that happened to us in a new way. Those that lie on the surface are traumas from earlier generations. They can be rethought and remade: What if things had turned out differently? This is also considered a therapeutic practice. If we talk about the history of the entire country, I believe it works in a similar way."
"I've had this talent since childhood. When I had nightmares, I would wake up and re-imagine the endings from the point where I was scared."
"However, the war is too big and all-encompassing to re-story."
Maryna says that proper humour can be very helpful during wartime.
"I have developed the principle that it is okay to joke about what you are going through personally."
"War is such a huge event that it is enough for everyone. It lives at all levels. At the level of what we are experiencing in Kyiv while also being at the level of Uzhhorod, where there is little shelling and no curfew. And at the level of Kharkiv, which is shelled daily. These are all unique experiences, and we must be respectful of each one."
We also asked about Maryna's reading habits.
According to the Ukrainian writer, she no longer wants to read war-related books because they retraumatize her. So she selects non-war stories for some downtime.
When I read European literature that isn't about the war, it both distracts and irritates me due to the scale of its problems, or lack thereof.
Maryna is particularly critical of the influence of Russian literature and seeks to spread her views across the international community.
"No matter how 'beautiful' classical Russian literature is, it was and continues to be used as a weapon. It is used as a way to penetrate other societies and promote their narratives there," Maryna concludes.
