This event is organized by Askold Melnyczuk, hosted by Brookline Booksmith, and co-sponsored by HURI.
Full details here: https://www.brooklinebooksmith.com/event/memorial-victoria-amelina
Please join us for a public memorial reading celebrating the literary and activist work of Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina.
Victoria Amelina was the author of The Fall Syndrome (Синдром листопаду, або Homo Compatiens), Dom's Dream Kingdom (Дім для Дома), and a book for children, Хтось, або водяне серце (Somebody, or Water Heart). She had recently begun to write and publish poetry, and was also in the process of writing a nonfiction book about Ukrainian women fighting against political violence. She was a member of PEN International. In 2021, she won the Joseph Conrad Literary Award.
In the last period of her life, Amelina turned her eye to the injustice and brutality of war in Ukraine. She became a war crimes researcher, trained by Truth Hounds. She interviewed the witnesses of atrocity. She successfully recovered the buried war diary of Ukrainian writer Volodymyr Vakulenko, a poet and children's writer killed by occupying forces in 2022.
On June 27, 2023, Amelina was at a cafe with colleagues and friends. A Russian missile attack struck the cafe, injuring over sixty people and killing thirteen people. Among the dead was Amelina.
At this memorial, we seek to remember Amelina's legacy--the forever intermingled vision, compassion, and fearlessness of her creative work and activism. We will be joined by many readers from Amelina's community, as a beloved writer, a chronicler of war, a Ukrainian, and a former resident of Brookline.
This memorial is open to the public. An RSVP is not required.
LOCATION:Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA 02446 STATUS:CONFIRMED DTSTART:20230930T220000Z DTEND:20230930T220000Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR