Uzhgorod residents read “Apricots of Donbas” (PHOTOS)

In Uzhgorod, in the "Ilko" art gallery, a significant event was held recently that reminds that Donbas is Ukraine. It is the presentation of the poetry collection by Lyubov Yakymchuk "Apricots of Donbas". The moderator of the event was a Transcarpathian Valentin Kuzan. The last poem for the collection was written in April, while the first one was written back in 2008.

The author was writing them for a long time, but they made up a single story. In late 2008 and during 2009, she created a series about a pretend, toy war.   And after that, the war begins. It was very different from anything she had written before, Lyubov Yakymchuk admits.  In 2012, she he wrote a poem called "Apricots of Donbas" about miners and workers of coal processing plants. About apricots with coals inside.  She had enough poems to publish a book even back in 2013, but it did not seem complete then. Last year, the writer visited her parents’ place, where she began writing very different poetry. Then, the series "Decomposition" appeared. It is about the current situation in the Donbas.  This year the book was finished.

"Apricots of Donbas" seemed too narrow a title for the publication, – Lyubov Yakymchuk says.  And the word "Donbas" nowadays is vulnerable, causes too much negativity, gives life to numerous stereotypes, and most importantly, it is a regional word, and no writers wants to be that. But ultimately, the author was convinced to give the book this title because of its phonetics and sound. If it sounds well, then it is alive.