Cafés, bakeries, and small farmer markets are open in Kyiv. I have a list of things the territorial defense forces need, and I can easily get all of them at a supermarket. Still, we stop by every coffee booth and every street vendor. I am patient. The coffee can be suspended; sausage or sauerkraut can qualify as off-the-list treats. If we stop in good time, we’ll end up with only half a barrel of sauerkraut. And even less sausage. Slightly short of ten kilos.
But when we stop by the bakery with its aroma of fresh-baked bread and pastry, I finally lose my patience. “No!” I shout. “No pastry!”
You can’t stop the wind blowing in the right direction.
He goes out of the bakery with a crate of cinnamon buns. In pre-war life, they were called “Cinnabon.” You need special accessories to eat them in the street. Napkins or wet wipes and plates or at least a piece of paper to hold these treats in your hands. You can’t fit a cinnamon roll in your mouth with a single bite.
But when we stop by the bakery with its aroma of fresh-baked bread and pastry, I finally lose my patience. “No!” I shout. “No pastry!”
“I can’t eat as much!”
“It’s not for you! This is off the list.”
“Someone has already brought Napoleon cake off the list…”
“And what happened? Did the soldiers conquer Moscow?”
“Nope. The commander said it was not the right time for Napoleon cake or other pastry. It made people gassy. Got it?”
“Well… Let’s get them over to the military hospital then.”
I give him a hospital-food look.
“Alright. Let’s just give them away to passers-by. We’ll just stand here and treat people to cinnamon rolls. Like Father Frost.”
“Santa!” I yell. People in the street throw sympathetic glances my way. Anyone can go mad in whatever way they like. But I am not mad, no. “Santa Claus, not Father Muscovite! I wish to hell he’d die!”
The passers-by are smiling. They take my side.
“Alright, alright,” he says, frowning at his defeat. “Then let’s make dry biscuits out of them. A sack or two.”
“Why did you buy them in the first place?”
“It’s all about the economy, Lionia. Someone has to keep it going. And I will be this ‘someone’ as long as I have money in my pocket.”
“Okay, let it be biscuits.”
Today it was sunny, windy, rainy, and cold. It’s February all over. The same February as thirty-two days ago.
Author — Olena Stiazhkina, historian, writer
Translator — Hanna Leliv
Illustrator — Victoria Boyko
Editor — Maryna Korchaka
Program Directors — Julia Ovcharenko, Demyan Om
If you think of yourself as a poet or a poetess and you are considering taking this path seriously, most likely sooner or later you will ask yourself this question: what can I do for poetry?
Few weeks ago (mid January it was)* I took part in a writer’s conference with other international writers in Kolkata, India. It was a panel discussion addressing the topic of “Writing for the post-pandemic world”.
The morning begins with a final farewell to a soldier in our yard. He died in the war. A message about this appeared in the neighbor chat yesterday, indicating the building number and the entrance. High-rise buildings, just like low-rise ones, can’t avoid loss in wartime. There are more than 800 apartments in our building. Is there at least one unaffected by the war?
Knowledge Domains and Keywords
Philosophy
Political Philosophy
Philosophy & Literature
Social Philosophy
Philosophy of Mind
Philosophy of Music
Philosophy of Sport
African Philosophy
Arab Philosophy
Asian Philosophy
Latin American Philosophy
Western Philosophy
Ethos Pathos Logos
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Universal Values
Natural Rights
Justice
Problem of Evil
Thinking
Bildung
Health
Wellbeing
Emergentism
Emergence
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Antifragility
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Epistemology
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Social science
Sociocultural Anthropology
Sociocultural Evolution
Social Psychology
Community Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Soft Law
Democracy
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Integral Theory
Social Identity Theory
The Spiral of Silence Theory
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Liberal arts education
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Globalization
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Humour Studies
Програми Культурного Хабу реалізуються завдяки потужності та обороноздатності Збройних Сил України, через волю, професійну і фінансову участь наших мемберів та інституційних партнерів з 2022 року: European Cultural Foundation, MitOst e.V., BBK Landesverband Bayern e.V., Київської Бієнале.
Ми також глибоко вдячні всім тим колегам — культурним дипломатам — із ким ще не знайомі особисто, але відчуваємо та цінуємо вплив вашої праці.
The programmes of the Cultural Hub are being implemented thanks to the power and defense capacity of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, through the will, professional and financial participation of our members, as well as institutional partners since 2022: European Cultural Foundation, MitOst e.V., BBK Landesverband Bayern e.V., and Kyiv Biennial.
We’re also deeply grateful to all those colleagues — cultural diplomats — who we don’t know personally so far, but we feel and appreciate the impact of your work.
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