A meeting dedicated to a new project—an upcoming book of translations of works by Paul Celan, one of the most prominent Jewish poets of the 20th century—was held in the art space of the Menorah Center. Born in Chernivtsi and forever linked to the global memory of the Holocaust, Celan’s poetry, built on the painful experience of loss, silence, and the search for light, formed the basis for the collaborative work of Ukrainian writer Serhiy Zhadan and Dnipro-based artist Alina Haieva.
The forthcoming book will consist of two equally important parts: the first features translations by Zhadan, on which he has been working for over ten years, returning to Celan again and again; the second is a visual series by Alina Haieva, who created 23 graphic works for the publication: 22 in black and one in white. The artist emphasized that the white lines amidst deep black represent the possibility of emerging from darkness, echoing motifs in Celan’s poetry and the Jewish tradition of inner light.
During the event, visitors had the opportunity to engage more closely with the exhibition of Alina Haieva’s works, which had previously been displayed in Kyiv. In Dnipro, they were presented as large banner canvases, allowing viewers to literally “enter” the graphic text. Serhiy Zhadan read excerpts from his translations and several of his own poems, discussing his years of work on Celan’s poetry and how a new phase of translations began after he encountered Alina Haieva’s series of works.
The artist noted that she conducts an internal dialogue between Celan and Botticelli—two artists who lived through dark chapters of history and left behind texts and images that continue to inspire today. Her “white line on black” became a symbol of emerging from darkness, a motif naturally discernible in Celan’s poetry as well.
The project by Zhadan and Haieva creates a new way of hearing Celan’s voice in the contemporary Ukrainian context. For this reason, the central focus of the evening was Paul Celan himself—his poetry, his experiences, and his voice, which continues to resonate decades later.
A special part of the evening was a charity auction, during which one of Alina Haieva’s works was sold for 13,500 hryvnias. All proceeds from the event are planned to support humanitarian projects.
Based on materials from open sources.
