{"id":27632,"date":"2023-12-20T11:55:02","date_gmt":"2023-12-20T16:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/?p=27632"},"modified":"2023-12-19T19:07:30","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T00:07:30","slug":"winter-reading-poetry-by-vasyl-makhno","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/winter-reading-poetry-by-vasyl-makhno\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter Reading: Poetry by Vasyl Makhno"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/makhno-feature.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-27633\" src=\"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/makhno-feature-1024x644.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"860\" height=\"541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/makhno-feature-1024x644.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/makhno-feature-500x315.jpg 500w, https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/makhno-feature-1536x966.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/makhno-feature-2048x1288.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/makhno-feature-700x440.jpg 700w, https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/makhno-feature-350x220.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ukrainian writer Vasyl Makhno traveled to Israel between 23 June and 2 July 2023 to discuss the intersection of Ukrainian and Jewish literature and culture in Ukraine and abroad. His presentations before Ukrainian-, English- and Hebrew-language audiences were met with widespread enthusiasm and praise. While in Israel, Makhno recorded several of his poems for the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter's traditional \"Winter Reading\" segment. The readings are in Ukrainian, with English-language translations provided below.<\/p>\n<p>Makhno is a Ukrainian poet, prose writer, and essayist who has been living in New York since 2000. He is the author of fourteen collections of poetry and, most recently, the book of selected poems <em>One Sail House<\/em> (2021). He has also published a book of short stories, <em>The House in Baiting Hollow<\/em> (2015), a novel, <em>The Eternal Calendar<\/em> (2019), and five books of essays. Makhno's works have been widely translated and published in Israel, the United States, and throughout Europe. He is the recipient of many prizes, including \"<a href=\"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/category\/uje-initiatives\/encounter-literary-prize\/\">Encounter: The Ukrainian-Jewish Literary Prize<\/a> \"(2020), sponsored by UJE with the support of the NGO \"Publishers' Forum\" (Lviv, Ukraine), for his Ukrainian-language book <a href=\"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/eternal-calendar-by-vasyl-makhno-wins-the-encounter-prize\/\"><em>Eternal Calendar<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Vasyl Makhno's trip to Israel in the summer of 2023 for presentations and research was supported by UJE.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Vasyl Makhno\/\u0412\u0430\u0441\u0438\u043b\u044c \u041c\u0430\u0445\u043d\u043e: Sermon On The Mount\/\u041d\u0430\u0433\u0456\u0440\u043d\u0430 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u043f\u043e\u0432\u0456\u0434\u044c\" width=\"860\" height=\"484\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Tj3gDHE_JKA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Sermon On The Mount<\/h2>\n<p><em>Vasyl Makhno<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I heard: the rustling of a lizard and a snake on the slope of the mount<br \/>\non Galilee's mount of the sermon my<br \/>\nshadow \u2014 I listened to the sounds of the pines and Lebanon cedars<br \/>\nthat St. Matthew listened to then<br \/>\nwhat is it to live like birds \u2014 don't reap don't sow<br \/>\nsing and clean your golden feathers with your beak<\/p>\n<p>He also spoke about the eye with which we touch the mound<br \/>\nHe also spoke about the heart in which a fire burns<br \/>\n\"blessed\" \u2014 spoke that no one can save anyone<br \/>\na house built upon the sand will not stand \u2014 salt in your bones<br \/>\na flower lives as a flower \u2014 a bird lives as a bird<br \/>\nand here is a molecule of light for you \u2014 \"Our Father\"<\/p>\n<p>your body is your home \u2014 and your eye is its lantern<br \/>\nbut when its light goes out or the sea wind tears it away<br \/>\nwho will light the way for you \u2014 and later about the cheek<br \/>\nthey listened and didn't know how these words could come to life<br \/>\nhow they could ease breathing \u2014 ease your soul<br \/>\nand a honeybee swayed on a thistle<\/p>\n<p>\"clothe yourself in this air and become blessed<br \/>\nwith His words \u2014 He spoke quietly \u2014 they live among you\"<br \/>\n\"and where are they? \u2014 they asked those that listened\"<br \/>\n\"those who forgive and who live as an example<br \/>\nand don't fear evil and look themselves in the eye\"<br \/>\nhaving its fill the bee flew away I think<\/p>\n<p>when He left the hill \u2014 no blessed or righteous were<br \/>\nfound in the village \u2014 neither wheat nor millet<br \/>\nthe shepherds herded the sheep home \u2014 drank their fill of milk<br \/>\nMatthew followed Him \u2014 thinking \"it's not possible<br \/>\nto live by His words it's impossible and difficult\"<br \/>\nand with each new written notation his hand shook<\/p>\n<p>I returned on the bus towards Jerusalem<br \/>\na lone tractor stood by the roadside among the olive trees<br \/>\nshepherds herded goats past cactuses and rocks<br \/>\nI thought about the house and about the eye \u2014 how Matthew followed him<br \/>\nhow should I understand \"don't worry don't reap don't sow\"<br \/>\nand how can one forgive everyone<br \/>\nand how can I write a verse?<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a9Vasyl Makhno<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Translated from Ukrainian by \u00a9Olena Jennings<br \/>\n<\/em>From\u00a0<em>Paper Bridge<\/em>\u00a0(Plamen Press, 2022)<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Vasyl Makhno\/\u0412\u0430\u0441\u0438\u043b\u044c \u041c\u0430\u0445\u043d\u043e: The Garden Of Gethsemane\/\u0413\u0435\u0442\u0441\u0438\u043c\u0430\u043d\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u0441\u0430\u0434\" width=\"860\" height=\"484\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/apaRQqtLcqw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>The Garden Of Gethsemane<\/h2>\n<p><em>Vasyl Makhno<\/em><\/p>\n<p>According to St. Mark: in the viscous air of the olive grove<br \/>\nHe summoned Simon and spoke of solitude<br \/>\nbrisk winds from the mountain slope carried<br \/>\nthe coolness of the stones resembling the voices<br \/>\napproaching the garden \u2014 fewer than one hundred<\/p>\n<p>where can you hide? behind the trees of the Garden of Gethsemane?<br \/>\nat the foot of the mountain and you become disheartened<br \/>\nand when will they arrive? at half past four?<br \/>\nand if you see in the garden a trampled shadow<br \/>\nit will attest to their presence and their movements<\/p>\n<p>sleep has oppressed His eleven disciples like a stone<br \/>\nwhen the Father passed over in silence and did not reveal: Son<br \/>\nthe traitor had a tormented gaze<br \/>\nwhen he kissed you \u2014 and when they tied His hands behind His back<br \/>\nhe leaned against a shadow darker than the shadow of an olive tree<\/p>\n<p>St. Mark who later will record the events of Gethsemane<br \/>\nas related by Peter meaning from the words of Peter<br \/>\nthat place is important because in the Scripture<br \/>\nit separates life from death \u2014 it is an entreaty<br \/>\nto hang on to this mountain \u2014 to hide in the midst of the grasses<\/p>\n<p>when they will lead Him down the alleys of Via Dolorosa<br \/>\nwith covered arches and well\u2014trodden stones<br \/>\nlife \u2014 the length of the street \u2014 is as fragile as hair \u2014<br \/>\nthe words which pave the way so that all is fulfilled<br \/>\nso that the olive trees remember all in their trunks and seeds<\/p>\n<p>and that which St. Mark will record onto the indestructible paper air<br \/>\nof the Gethsemane Garden \u2014 the olive oil<br \/>\nthe Aramaic words of His nocturnal prayer<br \/>\nthe time of death which cannot be changed<br \/>\nand neither can a single word in the text \u2014 nor the place of the event<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a9Vasyl Makhno<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Translated from Ukrainian by \u00a9Orest Popovych<br \/>\n<\/em>From <em>Jerusalem Poems<\/em> (Krytyka, 2016)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Vasyl Makhno\/\u0412\u0430\u0441\u0438\u043b\u044c \u041c\u0430\u0445\u043d\u043e: Between The Mount Of Olives And The Temple Mount\/\u041c\u0456\u0436 \u041e\u043b\u0438\u0432\u043a\u043e\u0432\u043e\u044e \u0456 \u0425\u0440\u0430\u043c\u043e\u0432\u043e\u044e\" width=\"860\" height=\"484\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cBIXrpzHW4s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Between The Mount Of Olives And The Temple Mount<\/h2>\n<p><em>Vasyl Makhno<\/em><\/p>\n<p>during the night on the French Hill<br \/>\nabove the olive orchards<br \/>\nthe rising rush of air reached<br \/>\nup to the borders of the Palestines<\/p>\n<p>bustling about were lambs and chickens<br \/>\nin the most remote of villages<br \/>\neven the children seemed surly<br \/>\nI could tell that for certain<\/p>\n<p>walking in sneakers into the Kidron Valley<br \/>\nor to the Jaffa Gate<br \/>\nin the aroma of olives and cedars<br \/>\nwith a bag full of years<\/p>\n<p>with the hunger for knowledge above the tents<br \/>\nduring these nomadic times<br \/>\nyou're not likely to agree with the likes of Sartre<br \/>\nabout the key concepts<\/p>\n<p>above the Mount of Olives and the Temple Mount<br \/>\nthe night and a damaskeen sky<br \/>\nand along a somewhat crooked road<br \/>\nthere's the pattering of sheep's feet<\/p>\n<p>in this air steeped in words<br \/>\nin just one breath<br \/>\nthe olive trees have risen like warriors<br \/>\nand have settled on the steps<\/p>\n<p>on the stone terraces of the mountains<br \/>\nlooking out for the shepherds<br \/>\nyou see there on the asphalt road<br \/>\na sheep\u2014like movement of tourists<\/p>\n<p>and the pilgrims on these slopes<br \/>\nin the Garden of Gethsemane<br \/>\nand with air \u2014 as a garment \u2014 of an ascetic<br \/>\nyou swaddle your soul<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a9Vasyl Makhno<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Translated from Ukrainian by \u00a9Orest Popovych<br \/>\n<\/em>From <em>Jerusalem Poems<\/em> (Krytyka, 2016)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Vasyl Makhno\/\u0412\u0430\u0441\u0438\u043b\u044c \u041c\u0430\u0445\u043d\u043e: The Second Psalm\/\u041f\u0441\u0430\u043b\u043e\u043c \u0434\u0440\u0443\u0433\u0438\u0439\" width=\"860\" height=\"484\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6GLljhjyADM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>The Second Psalm<\/h2>\n<p>Vasyl Makhno<\/p>\n<p>Lord \u2014 if every plant is Thy flute<br \/>\neven a thistle and its bumblebee<br \/>\nand the saliva of a silkworm that glues together<br \/>\nthe air of words \u2014 brittle is its chalk \u2014<br \/>\nand even a moth hidden by the shade<\/p>\n<p>how does this cosmos flow along Thy paths?<br \/>\nhow can they pass without colliding \u2014 how should they move?<br \/>\nwe don't hear the music beneath our feet<br \/>\nstones are breathing with twelve hearts<br \/>\nwith the hillock \u2014 and with Thy golden city<\/p>\n<p>and if one could liberate<br \/>\nthe flute from its voice \u2014 the thistle from its bumblebee<br \/>\nwhat kind of milk must fill up the air<br \/>\nhow to knead fluffy dough in the bakery<br \/>\nso that the earth would swallow the stones<\/p>\n<p>from the beginning conceived by thought<br \/>\nthe point of departure of comets and stars<br \/>\neven if one were to feign being a mouse<br \/>\neven if we both leave these hillocks<br \/>\nwith dust on our sandals<\/p>\n<p>and because Thou art the Lord of each plant<br \/>\nand Thy spirit resides in each sound of the flute<br \/>\nin the bakery chicory smells like smoke<br \/>\nin the golden baked apples<br \/>\nin the bread in the first line of the prayer<\/p>\n<p>and therefore no one will surmise Thy design<br \/>\n\u2014 a transparent ladder and shaky floors \u2014<br \/>\nturtle doves above the olive trees of the Garden of Gethsemane<br \/>\nand the fiery baskets of meteor showers<br \/>\nat the distance of an outstretched hand<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a9Vasyl Makhno<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Translated from Ukrainian by \u00a9Orest Popovych<br \/>\n<\/em>From <em>Jerusalem Poems<\/em> (Krytyka, 2016)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Vasyl Makhno\/\u0412\u0430\u0441\u0438\u043b\u044c \u041c\u0430\u0445\u043d\u043e: A Yacht Sails at Night\/\u041d\u0456\u0447\u043d\u0435 \u043f\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0430\u043d\u043d\u044f \u044f\u0445\u0442\u0438 (Tel Aviv\/\u0422\u0435\u043b\u044c-\u0410\u0432\u0456\u0432\u0456)\" width=\"860\" height=\"484\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7VGj00JXH6Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>A Yacht Sails At Night<\/h2>\n<p>Vasyl Makhno<\/p>\n<p>The ocean licks up the shore's sand<br \/>\nThat dried on the wings of gulls<br \/>\nYachts sail into the bay for the night<br \/>\nIn the logbook\u2014only shallow water<br \/>\nThe sails flap, windmill blades<br \/>\nHurry to arrive<\/p>\n<p>There along the gnawed coast of Sea Gate<br \/>\nOn the ashy garment of sea crests<br \/>\nThere from port cities and villages<br \/>\nMusic and light echo<br \/>\nThere a comet's tail\u2014a broom<br \/>\nOf mother\u2014of\u2014pearl greenery<\/p>\n<p>Among the summer rains and night insects<br \/>\nThe lights go dark in these distant homes<br \/>\nThere, no one waits for yachts or storms<br \/>\nNo one cares for the sailors<br \/>\nWho seek the bay as they arrive<br \/>\nWith the evening tide<\/p>\n<p>At night they increase their speed by several knots<br \/>\nWet and angry from a sleepless night<br \/>\nAs if close to that shore and that village<br \/>\nBut they sail toward light, toward fear and danger<br \/>\nImagining rainbows on the waves<br \/>\nOr in the sky, a star that leads the way<\/p>\n<p>They look up and what are they thinking?<br \/>\nWhen do yachts keep their word?<br \/>\nWhen the bay is covered with warm rains<br \/>\nAnd they need to get to the shore<br \/>\nThey leave traces of their journey on the pages<\/p>\n<p>Of the logbook<br \/>\nAt night<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a9Vasyl Makhno<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Translated from Ukrainian by \u00a9Olena Jennings<br \/>\n<\/em>From <em>Paper Bridge<\/em> (Plamen Press, 2022)<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ukrainian writer Vasyl Makhno traveled to Israel between 23 June and 2 July 2023 to discuss the intersection of Ukrainian and Jewish literature and culture in Ukraine and abroad. His presentations before Ukrainian-, English- and...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":27633,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,146,40,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uje-initiatives","category-encounter-ukrainian-jewish-literary-prize","category-literature","category-culture","primary-category-19","primary-category-uje-initiatives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27632"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27640,"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27632\/revisions\/27640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}