The Ukrainian Library. Milestones of Ukrainian Literature in German language

Programme(s): Creative Europe Programme (CREA)
Topic: CREA-CULT-2024-LIT
Type of action: CREA Lump Sum Grants
Project ID: 101192130

Objective: What do we know about Ukrainian literature? As it turns out, not much. Almost the entire body of classical Ukrainian fiction has never been translated into German. And without access to primary sources, it is impossible to get an idea of the country's culture and historical ties. Geopolitical processes in Europe are forcing us to rethink the status quo once again. The Ukrainian Library project by Galiani Berlin is supposed to fill the existing gaps by translating and publishing the most famous classics of Ukrainian literary heritage of the 19th early 20th centuries in one large-scale collection. For the first time, German-speaking readers will be able to discover, among others, Taras Shevchenko, Ivan Franko, Lesya Ukrainka, and Olha Kobylianska, central figures in the Ukrainian literary and aesthetic canon. The project includes seven publications of Ukrainian fiction and one dedicated to the Crimean Tatar classic Izmail Gasprinski, since the history and culture of the Crimean Tatar people is an integral part of the multicultural identity of modern Ukraine. The head editors of the Ukrainian library project are the experienced translator Claudia Dathe and the well-known Ukrainian author Tanja Maljartschuk. The individual volumes will be edited by the similar German-Ukrainian tandems, including famous authors and intellectuals. By engaging contemporary Ukrainian professionals in the work on the classic literature we increase the attention to the project and ensure its successful promotion. In order to provide high-quality translation of the works, Galiani Berlin has preliminary agreements with the main and most experienced Ukrainian translators, thus also seeking to highlight their long-term and mostly underestimated work in the field of Ukrainian-German dialogue. The Ukrainian Library project represents a unique and intellectually bold initiative designed to draw attention to Ukraine and Ukrainian culture both within the German-speaking world and internationally.