Nucleus: A poet's lyrical journey from Ukraine to Canada

by Svetlana Ischenko

Overview

Ischenko tackles the creative tension between her identity as a Ukrainian poet with deeply Ukrainian sensibilities and an immigrant poet enthused by her adopted country. Readers see through a Ukrainian immigrant’s eyes as she looks back at the land and traditions of her original country. This collection illuminates Ischenko’s poetic transformation from a heroic crown of sonnets to freer, lyrical pieces, all within the dynamic of Ukrainian and Canadian subject matter and sensibilities. A powerful collection, made even more profound in light of recent events in Ukraine. Nucleus includes a fascinating introductory essay about Ischenko’s experience of identity and translation, which explores her translation of self in a new country. By slowly beginning to write in Canada in English, she achieves a sense of centredness beyond language and culture — a nucleus of identity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781553807070
Publisher:	Ronsdale Press
Publication date:	06/01/2024
Pages:	100
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Svetlana Ischenko is an award-winning poet, translator, actress and teacher. She was born in Mykolaiv, Ukraine where she established herself as a stage actress and poet before immigrating to Canada in 2001. She is the author of several books of poetry, essays and dramatic plays in Ukrainian and English. In Canada, her poems have been published in The Antigonish Review and Event and included in the anthology Che Wach Choe/Let the Delirium Begin (Leaf Press) and the chapbook In the Mornings I Find a Crane’s Feathers in my Damp Braids (Leaf Press). She lives with her family in North Vancouver, BC

Editorial Reviews

"Nucleus takes readers through a journey that traverses space (Ukraine to Canada) and language (Ukrainian to English) to arrive at an arresting and beautiful synthesis.”—Steve Neufeld, The Fiddlehead

“The heroine in Svetlana Ischenko’s Nucleus views the world through the lenses of two homelands, one native and one acquired, and this gives her poetry depth, subtlety, and a polyphonic quality.””—Teodozia Zarivna, author of Willow Board and Hunting for Birds of the Sky

“Nucleus is not only a showcasing of a transcendent poetic gift, but also a lyrical testimony to what it means to be Ukrainian and Canadian.”—Angela Girard, North Vancouver City Councilor

“Nucleus is a poignant collection, entertaining and full of whimsy and magic as well as reflecting the dearth of the speaker’s situation as an émigré from war-torn Ukraine.”—Gillian Harding-Russell, The British Columbia Review


 

From the Publisher