Antidespairant

Natalka Maryanchak’s collection of poems, written in Kharkiv, Ukraine, during the first 365 days of the Russian invasion, is an inspiring declaration of love for her homeland in the face of aggression.

Ukrainian poet Natalka Maryanchak’s Antidespairant (Відчаєспинне) is a powerful expression of defiance and hope in the face of Russian aggression, written in Kharkiv during the first 365 days of Putin’s invasion – the latest phase of a conflict that has raged between the two countries for four centuries. Composed under fire, Antidespairant – a personal diary in poetic form – is at once a prayer for her own people, a curse on the enemy, and a panegyric to those struggling to defend their homeland. Complemented by Kostiantyn Zorkin’s arresting and evocative graphics, this is an unflinching account of hope preserved in the most challenging of circumstances.