On 2 August, the first meeting of the MoloUkraine Book & Chat Club took place at the Central Library, Cape Town. When we discussed the idea of the book and chat club, we imagined books as a way for people to connect – a way to say “hello” from South Africa to Ukraine. That’s how this project was born.
Learning about Ukraine is a form of solidarity, and that’s how the idea of starting a Ukrainian book and chat club emerged within the Ukrainian Association of South Africa (UAZA) members’ group. But where can one read more about Ukraine and not be overwhelmed or heartbroken by the reality of war?
The Central Library in Cape Town has one of the best collections of books on Ukraine in the country, thanks to the Ukrainian Bookshelf, established in 2023. The collection includes English-language books by Ukrainian authors and topics related to Ukraine. Today, the Central Library likely holds the largest collection of Ukrainian books in English in South Africa, with over 80 titles. These include fiction, nonfiction and children’s books. There are also eight books in the Ukrainian language for those studying Ukrainian or curious about the Cyrillic alphabet.
The Ukrainian Bookshelf allows readers to explore the real Ukraine – beyond the harsh reality of war and news headlines – through books like Art of Maidan and the visually rich Awesome Ukraine and Ukrainer series. These titles highlight Ukrainian art, creativity and everyday life. Yes, Ukraine is a country under attack, but it is also a country of more than 1 000 years of history, rich culture and vibrant people. There’s even a small booklet that came out of research into the Ukrainian community in South Africa. Anyone interested in learning about who the Ukrainians in South Africa are – and how many live here – can read the print edition or access the online version of that publication.
There is also a strong selection of Ukrainian history books. For generations, Ukraine’s history was rewritten, censored or erased under both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Historians were silenced and archives were destroyed. But since Ukraine regained independence in 1991, Ukrainian scholars have worked to reclaim and retell their country's past. In 2015, the Ukrainian government made a bold decision to declassify KGB archives, allowing researchers to investigate the real impact of World War II and the Stalin-led famine that took the lives of three to nine million Ukrainians – the Holodomor.
Major works like A short history of Ukraine by Oleksandr Palii and The gates of Europe by Serhii Plokhy allow readers to grasp the broad sweep of Ukrainian history in a single volume. Other books focus specifically on the famine, such as Red famine by Anne Applebaum and the story of Gareth Jones – the Welsh journalist who witnessed the Holodomor and tried to raise international awareness. The collection also includes the landmark article by Raphael Lemkin – the Lviv-born lawyer who coined the term genocide – and Russian Colonialism 101, a sharp, illustrated guide to understanding imperial strategies still in use today, not only in Ukraine but in many other countries as well.
Perhaps the most distinctive part of the collection is its poetry section. Poetry is often the most concentrated form of emotional and political expression – especially during times of repression, which was largely the story of Ukraine in the 19th and 20th centuries (read Bloodlands by Timothy Snyder if you would like to understand more about this period). While novels can take years to write and require publishing freedom, poetry can survive in secret, resist in silence and speak boldly even under threat. The poets and works featured in the collection include:
- Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine’s national poet and a symbol of resistance. Born a serf, he was freed through the support of fellow artists. He spent 10 years in exile under military surveillance, forbidden to write or paint – yet he secretly composed Kobzar, which includes “My testament”, a poem translated into over 150 languages. He died at 47, having lived 24 years in serfdom and 10 in exile. Shevchenko’s poems continue to inspire Ukrainians who see current Russian aggression as a continuation of a centuries-long struggle for freedom. His poem “Caucasus” from 1845 is seen as today’s call to action:
Keep fighting – you are sure to win!
God helps you in your fight!
For fame and freedom march with you,
And right is on your side!
- Lesya Ukrainka, a central figure in Ukrainian literature, represented in the collection by a children’s adaptation of The forest song.
- Bohdan Ihor Antonych, a Ukrainian avant-garde poet of the early 20th century, inspired by Polish modernism. He died tragically at 27.
- Vasyl Symonenko, known for his deeply personal and politically charged poetry critical of Soviet oppression and the erasure of Ukrainian identity. He also died at 27.
- Letters from Ukraine, an anthology of contemporary poetic voices from the ongoing war.
- Ukrainian literature: A journal of translations, with volumes from 2004 and 2007, featuring selected works of Ukrainian literature in English translation. Later volumes are available online.
Of course, there are still many books that could improve the collection. We hope to build a stronger fiction section and expand the offering of Ukrainian literary classics, such as works by Ivan Franko and more by Lesya Ukrainka – must-haves for any collection representing Ukraine’s cultural heritage. Still, the collection as it stands today is a strong beginning. The books were donated by the Friends of the Central Library, UAZA, the Embassy of Ukraine and many visitors from Ukraine to South Africa, including the family of the third president of Ukraine, Viktor and Kateryna Yuschenko.
The meetings of the book and chat club are not just about reading – they’re about connecting, understanding and celebrating Ukraine in all its complexity. It’s also about building a growing cultural bridge between South Africa and Ukraine.
The Central Library in Cape Town has been an incredible partner for UAZA. One of the very first events the organisation held there was a literary gathering in March 2017, where the renowned Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko gave opening remarks online, and poets Hanna Yanovska and Oksana Kutsenko shared their work. Since then, the library has hosted many Ukrainian poets who have come to South Africa to participate in Poetry Africa. In 2019, the library also presented a powerful exhibition, The victors, about Ukrainian war veterans who have lost limbs but not their spirit.
But institutions don’t build relationships – people do. At the heart of this cooperation is Elsa von Ballmoos, the art section librarian at the Central Library.
The next meeting of the MoloUkraine Book & Chat Club will take place in October. Please follow the Central Library or UAZA on social media, or contact us at info@uaza.co.za for more information.
*
Dzvinka Kachur is cofounder of the Ukrainian Association of South Africa.