Kozak Talks Podcast
Ми знайомимо вас з українцями, які побудували тут неймовірне життя - підприємцями, професіоналами, громадськими лідерами та відомими українцями.
Їхні подорожі та інсайдерські поради покажуть вам, як боротися з викликами, відкривати можливості та реалізовувати свій потенціал - і все це з повагою до свого українського коріння.
Kozak Talks Podcast
Від фронтових ліній до сторінок: Британська письменниця українського походження Анна Шевченко
Наша гостя - Анна Шевченко, українська письменниця, яка поділиться своєю книгою оповідань про воєнний час.
Написана англійською мовою, книга знаходить відгук у читачів по всьому світу, які знаходять на її сторінках смуток, гумор, надію і силу духу.
Ми обговорюємо, як різні аудиторії сприймають історії Анни та надзвичайний шлях книги від лінії фронту до публікації. Анна ділиться зворушливою історією про стійкість і необхідність рухатися вперед. Цей епізод є свідченням незламної сили українського народу.
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Info@aroundthewarin20stories.com
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Let's start our podcast, episode 30, 46. I'm Sasha Kozak, your host on Kozak Talks Podcast, where we invite different Ukrainians, mostly successful Ukrainians, people who are already professionals in this country, in the UK. Today we have Anna Shevchenko. Anna Shevchenko has been living in the UK for over 30 years. She writes Ukrainian books, and today we will be talking about one book that you can already see on the table. This is her book, which she wrote a very cool story about, and also all the funds that you will buy this book all the money goes to the Fund for Ukraine. Anna Shevchenko, please can you tell us about your book? Well, you?
Speaker 2:know this is not my first book but the fifth, but probably the most difficult book of all I've written, because it's, first of all, about real people and real stories. Secondly, it's not just stories, but stories that make you laugh while reading about war, which seems absurd, and I'm often written about the book and said we laughed and cried at the same time. But of all my books, this book is the best Because people are real, stories are real and I had to completely close my emotions to bring to the world what is happening. And secondly, these stories, regardless of the fact that it's a story about war, it's a story about love, about support, about love for children. That is, stories that people can understand intersect and I see that the book is now flying around the world. They order from Arizona in America to Iceland and everyone writes that they understand these stories to Iceland and everyone writes that they understand these stories. So this book for me was very important, so that this book was a window to what happens to the cross-border Ukrainians during the war, how they love, how they go to work, how they support each other. And this book was printed 40 kilometers from the front under shelling, so in Ukraine.
Speaker 2:It was very important that it was not only my book but the book of the whole team. The designer, when she was making the cover, had two images and these two images are extraordinary. If you look closely, there are images of buildings and rockets. All the carriers worked for free. That is, the entire team worked for free. And we first wanted to give money for this book to the heroes of the story and when I started telling them let's split the books between you the first person said no, I collect it perfectly. I collect it on anti-m, antiminic tools for farmers it goes there. The second said great, I collect for a children's hospital in Lviv for medicines it goes there. The third said I support for dogs. A leash goes there. That is no person. No person in the report said I will take the money and for me it is very symbolic because it shows the spirit of Ukrainians in a time when people have nothing but they are the last to give up to support others.
Speaker 1:I want to ask you this question Do you have this book in English?
Speaker 2:only in English. They asked all the emotions they already have that they have experienced. But one more thing I write books, despite the fact that I am Ukrainian, in English, only English. Why is that? Because I'm from a family where my grandfather was a very famous historian of Cossacks and somehow I grew up with him, and I grew up at a time when he was accused of nationalism, when we were waiting all the time for him to be arrested, and somehow, at first, writing a book in English gave me a window and, secondly, a small distance, as if I was writing from myself, you know, but through someone.
Speaker 2:And my first book was about Ukrainian mentality, the first book in the world about Ukrainian mentality in the series 1993, I think it was a year ago, no, a little later and it's already in the 10th edition and they buy it and read it, although this book, the last edition, was in 2011. Everyone asks me a lot about what needs to be renewed, but there is no time now. Then there were novels, and the novels were also all on the Ukrainian Ukraine and they were published in 20 countries. But the last one, this book, is probably the most precious and closest to me because it is very simple. The stories are small. There are 2000 words in each story, that is, there are several stories, but each story has a lot of life feelings and hero experiences. And I see how it sells it just flies away.
Speaker 1:What do people say when they read this book? What kind of response do they give you?
Speaker 2:You won't believe it. But the biggest response that I was very surprised by at the beginning was a response from a Frenchman who wrote to me. I read your book. I have an extraordinary feeling of optimism, but maybe it's not what you expected. I answered him it's exactly what we expected, because there is a lot of hope, a lot of faith in Humanity, and Humour and humor, and that's what I wanted to convey. And people also say that they laugh and cry all the time at the same time, that now they understand what Ukraine is and Ukrainians, they understand what the Ukrainian spirit is. They understand that this book gives hope and gives strength. This is very important to me.
Speaker 1:What is your most? You know there are very different stories. What is the story that you can say touched your heart?
Speaker 2:very much. You know everyone. There are many different stories. What is the story that touched your heart the most? You know every story. I don't have one, I'm always asked about it. For me no story is so special because there are many personal stories, my relatives, even my mother's story is here, stories of my closest friends. So every story is very close. But what I am very happy about is that when people write to me, they all write oh, I liked this story most of all. But all the stories are different. That is, there is no such thing as everyone says only this is in my heart. Everyone chooses me. So people find something personal to themselves, from different countries, from different points of view about this story. But you know, for me the closest story is about emotional intensity.
Speaker 2:This is the story of a girl from Milan. It's an absolutely true story. It's 1922, the beginning of the war, and I was working as a volunteer abroad, abroad from Romania, and just then Ukrainian… Not just abroad, but on the pedestrian border People were walking. It was impossible because it was a pedestrian city and all this city, from the Ukrainian side side to Romania, was made up of toys, and when I asked the border guards why, they told me that children see unfamiliar military uniforms. They are afraid to go, they are afraid that they will be shot at and in order for the children not to being afraid, they put these toys out. And this story is very about one girl, how she chose the toys, how our conversation ended with her. It's all in the book.
Speaker 1:What are the main projects supporting your book?
Speaker 2:The projects are very specific, very specific, and it pleases me One of the projects. When you read a book, you understand why it's a children's Kherson library. Why? Because the occupiers took everything there and we have collected almost all the money, almost. If someone buys a book, it will help. It will be great for two things for an interactive board and a computer, because they were stolen and a children's library cannot work without it. The second project we have almost closed is a-mine equipment for farmers. A special tractor is being developed with such devices. We would like to learn more about it. We have not much money left to raise to develop it.
Speaker 2:The third project, the fourth, very important project, is the Lviv Children's Hospital. This is Lviv Children's Hospital. This is a hospital where they collect instruments and a very famous musician and director of the Ukrainian Cultural Association is Alla Sirenko. Her story is also in the book and we will gladly help. But all stories, who is the hero of which story are at the end and I forgot to say a very important project, a very simple project, but very extraordinary.
Speaker 2:This story is in my menu. I don't want to tell you all the details, but this is a story about a restaurant where I was in the Lviv region and I see when I providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine, we stopped there and saw that everyone who ordered number 5 in the restaurant was not told what it was. They were told that it was number 5 for them and for me. When I looked at the menu, I saw that it was number 5 for the military, that all the staff collects this money every week, buys, feeds, something delicious, not just military, but those who are in the hospital for the most seriously injured and they go there every week, and it's not a month and not two, but it's almost two years, and this is also such a very important project.
Speaker 1:And you as the author of the book? What were your emotions when you wrote this book?
Speaker 2:It's very strange to tell you. I completely closed my emotions. I completely forgot that I have emotions. I wanted to laugh and cry there Because I had to feel the emotions of those people who survived. This is not a therapeutic book. This is not a book that helps me to express my emotions. No, these are the emotions of other people. I had to leave and be a watcher, because a writer is not just a communicator. A writer often has to watch before communicating and decide to leave a little bit and watch and then bring it to people.
Speaker 1:I want to go back a little bit. Where did you get the idea for this book? You, you wrote. What was it like to write this book?
Speaker 2:The idea appeared very simply because I had a article in Times, in the Times newspaper, at the beginning of the war. And I got a call because I am a writer with several books, a well-known British literary agent, and she said I was at home with a British literary agent and she said listen, don't you want to write a biography of Zelensky? I said I don't want to because there will be eight biographies at the end of the year. That's what happened At the Frankfurt fair. They made eight biographies. What do you want to write? I said you know, I see what's going on and I want to write a book not just about ordinary people but about how they perceive life, through humor, through some kind of inner gathering, and so that people not just read and think, oh, this is horror, but understand how strong Ukrainians stories. We will print the book, but I have 40 stories, which is a lot. Secondly, it is clear that the publisher is collecting money and I would like to sell it to Ukraine and it so happened that I am a member of the team of the project Rukzachok. It's a wonderful project. It's a children's book that helps children to open up the possibility to fight the trauma of war. Ukrainian who was also on your podcast, the psychiatrist, denis Ugrin, kateryna Yavna wrote the methodology and we together Ukrainian girl, a wonderful illustrator under shelling made illustrations and this book was. This project was already held in eight countries. This project will now be printed by Ukraine, so they understood that it was useful through the Ukrainian program books for Ukrainian children.
Speaker 2:When I was in Ukraine, I came to the committee on radio communication and reading and printing which means Ukrainian polygraph who print it and I said listen, can I help you with the project? They said what are you writing now? I said yes, I wrote a story. They said what are you writing now? I said I wrote a story. Let's make a two-year war together. I said let's do it. I forgot because everyone was very busy and they called me three months before the second Black Year, on Tuesday, and said we are ready and you? I said I will be ready too. And we just the whole team worked all day long and the first 100 books came to Ukraine just on the anniversary and we handed them over for free to 100 organizations and 100 volunteers who help Ukrainians.
Speaker 2:And this didn't end there. We saw that there were only a few. We needed another 100. But we already got a book Ukrainian and it was a great honor for me and the whole team to present the book to Ukraine in the Council of Europe, because Strasbourg this year is the city, the world capital of books, and there each country must present its book through a ambassador, and the ambassador chose our book and gave it to 45 ambassadors of the Council of Europe each year so that they would read and understand what Ukraine is. And now they will also give in the European Parliament.
Speaker 1:These groups in Ukraine Anna, what kind of questions do you have? You said a little bit about it. When people look at the book, ukrainians see rockets and British and English see windows at home. What kind of Because Ukrainians see it as Ukrainian mentality? Tell us please, how do the gave this idea and also the Ukrainians?
Speaker 2:You know the British. It was very interesting because recently a quote where a woman wrote despite the terrible atmosphere of the war, these stories are universal. That is, they still take these stories through the prism of universal but at the same time understand what is happening in Ukraine. That is for them, the very history that is the history of love. The history of how a person survives in such difficult conditions is more important, but in this way they understand and let go of what is happening to Ukrainians. The British read with a leap of faith, that is, they sit down and read everything. Ukrainians read one story a day Because they can't stand it, psychologically, emotionally and indeed because they let emotions pass through them. What they have experienced, they take it. You know, many Ukrainians are ordering for host families now, for families that have been protected, so that they understand what Ukrainians are going through, and I think this is really very useful.
Speaker 1:I was very happy that I went to Ale Sirenko and their concerts and found your book. I know all the costs go to Ukraine. I want to ask you where can I buy your book?
Speaker 2:There is a website behind the book. I don't know if you can write something about it.
Speaker 1:I will write about it.
Speaker 2:The website is very suitable for me, from different sides of Amazon, To do it on Amazon. I don't really want to, because you know, it's such a special book. It's so much effort invested in this first edition that it is very important for me to know literally every person who receives it, Because the cost is not big, that is, if people want to buy. The cost is only 2,000 books this first book. We will print more, but this is the special thing, Because when they printed the book, they had a typ typography and 95 windows were blown out at the moment when we discussed the quality of the paper, and they continued to print regardless of everything, so that the world heard about Ukraine. That is, it is very important, but I think that after all, in order to raise more costs, we will do it through Amazon as well, but now through the website.
Speaker 2:I was also asked to buy five books at festivals. I think that through festivals, through websites and maybe later through Amazon. But I want those who are listening to me to buy now, because it may not be A book. In a month we sold half. It's literally flying.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, ukrainians buy a book. All the links will be below. I will also send you also the guides. All the descriptions will be below. I have the last question for you, anna where can our listeners and guides find you and support your work? This?
Speaker 2:is a very interesting question, because I am not on social networks but a book on social media, but a book on social media. That is, we made an Instagram book and on the website we will also put on Instagram what projects have ended, what projects we are financing. That is how it happens, absolutely. The problem is one I am a complete technical idiot. I absolutely cannot. Social media frightens me. I am frightened by all these communications because, as a writer, I collect a lot of information and somehow I protect myself from it. That's why I need to find a person who would help me to run these social media and read books. I don't have it there.
Speaker 2:If you look at our Instagram Instagram, it's Instagram around the war in 20 stories. That is 20 as a number. Around the war in 20 stories. Around the war in 20 stories, and you can put it in the podcast below. There we exhibit the adventures of the book, what she did, where she was in the Council of Europe, in the mission of Ukraine in the EU, what project she is now finance and so on. This is this really is. And the second project is the project First Aid Ukraine. This is our charity project. We have been providing tactical medicine to the front for three years.
Speaker 1:What are the last words you would like to say to our audience, because our audience is mostly Ukrainians who live in Great Britain, ukraine, europe, canada, america and Brazil.
Speaker 2:I want to say these one word about one heroine. I have a true story about a girl, a champion of horse sport from Bucha, and when the terrible events in Bucha began, her trainer let the horses go so that they would not burn them in the stable. In the end, her coach let the horses go so that they wouldn't burn them in the stable and she lost this horse and she still looks for it. You see, she lives with this hope that she will find this horse. When she trained with this horse, she told him remember, if you stop, we will go out to the competition and we will be destroyed. They will take us down. The English word eliminate is a very good word in this concept, because it's eliminate, it's to remove from some competition during the competition and also to destroy. And she always says we can't be eliminated, go forward. We always have to move forward, and I wanted to make sure that everyone remembered these words that you don't stop all the time.
Speaker 1:Go, go ahead, so that we don't get destroyed. I will leave all the links in the description. You can order the book now and read it. You can also sign up for Anna through this book. Thank you very much for being on the podcast. Dear Ukrainians, our podcasts are broadcasted in the Strenlo. Thank you, strenlo, for giving us the opportunity to do this podcast. It is also a legal company that helps Ukrainians. If you want to know more about law, if you want legal help in Britain, thank you.
