Life and Legends’ twelfth edition is exceptional in many respects. In this edition, we bring a record number of poets and writers from across the world with a particular focus on Ukrainian poetry on war, resistance, and literature addressing global concerns. Wars have torn the world apart, but they have also brought us together to stand for humanity. Reading the works of Ukrainian writers, whom I did not know before the current war in Ukraine, has been a privilege. I never before had imagined editing and translating poetry from the Ukrainian language. But, in a war, no matter where it takes place, everyone takes a new role, so did I.
The most humbling and gratifying experience in putting this edition together was translating the poems of the Ukrainian poet Serhiy Zhadan. Translating Serhiy Zhadan is like becoming Serhiy Zhadan which can be empowering and intimidating at the same time. Nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature by the Committee of Literary Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Serhiy Zhadan is one of Ukraine’s most prominent poets and writers. I thank him for his trust in me for translating his work. I also want to thank other Ukrainian poets, writers, and translators for entrusting me with reading, editing and publishing their works. A very special thanks to Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach for her inspiring poetry, a part of this edition, and her ‘Dear Ukraine’ project uniting the world through poetry to support Ukrainian causes. I also owe Stanislav Belsky for giving me his expert opinion on my translations of Zhadan’s poem and Victoria Feshchuk at Chytomo for introducing me to the literary world of Ukraine. I’m indebted to all mentioned here and published in this edition. The Ukrainian poetry of resistance curated by River Paw Press for the twelfth edition of Life and Legends is a tribute to the people of Ukraine and support for their voices and resilience.
This magnificent edition of Life and Legends wasn’t possible without the collective efforts of our team. Here I want to thank and recognize our associate editors, Lopa Banerjee and Megha Sood, for reading and editing the general poetry and prose sections and helping me put this special issue together. I hope you appreciate and enjoy reading the legends.
Kalpna Singh-Chitnis
Editor-in-Chief
July 15th, 2022
