In New York, the Ukrainian Institute of America hosted a profound and emotionally charged presentation of the books of Artem Chapai, a Ukrainian writer, reporter, soldier, and symbol of Ukraine’s moral resistance, who spoke about the power of words against the backdrop of war. The event took the form of an open conversation with author Megan Baskey, the 2024 AAUS Book Award winner.
This was reported by the Ukrainian Institute of America.
“His new book opens a window into the minds of Ukrainians, showing people who decided to fight – each for different reasons, but all against the same evil,” said the First Department of the Ukrainian Institute of America, who also attended the event. Першому відділі СУА, які також відвідали подію.
The evening will focus on the books “Ukraine” and “Ordinary People Don’t Carry Machine Guns,” which “combine fiction and reportage to show the depth of Ukrainian life during the war.”
Thus, “The Ukraine” is a collection of 26 fiction and documentary-fiction stories written in 2010-2018 and translated by Zenia Tompkins in 2024. Through the stories of ordinary people – a tax collector, a former hooligan, an old woman at the market – Chapai conveys the human face of Ukraine. The story “The Ukraine” criticizes the foreign perception of the country as an “object” through the article “the” and at the same time offers a sensory, vivid portrait of Ukrainian everyday life. A new preface, written at the front in 2024, gives the collection a special relevance.
“Ordinary People Don’t Carry Machine Guns” is a personal, honest and poignant memoir in which Chapai describes his transformation from a pacifist, father and writer to a soldier defending Ukraine. In three parts, the author reflects on how war changes a person and society, what moral compromises arise, and how to preserve oneself against the backdrop of the horrors of war.
“It was extremely moving to hear a soldier talk frankly and without embellishment about the devastating changes that war brings, about his love for his children and tenderness for his brothers. Before the war, Artem was a pacifist, one of the first known “dads on maternity leave” in Ukraine and a feminist… a true example of courage: thoughtful, loving and brave in the face of incredible violence,” shared Anna Shelest, a participant in the event.
“It was a fantastic evening. I felt intellectual pleasure, although sometimes psychological discomfort, listening to Chapay's reflections on a man at war and a country at war,” wrote one of the participants, Volodymyr Kulyk.
The evening ended with a queue of people wanting to get an autograph from the author. One of the guests bought an English-language book for his American friends, “so that they could learn about our war through this book.”
Background
Artem Chapay was born in Kolomyia, and has lived in Kyiv for the past two decades. Author of two novels, four books of non-fiction, co-author of a book of war reportage. Four-time finalist for the BBC Book of the Year award, finalist for the Kurt Schork international journalism award. His works have been translated into seven languages, published in Best European Fiction, Refugees Worldwide, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Foreword Reviews, etc. A former CEI Fellowship recipient in Slovenia and Paul Celan Fellowship in Austria,
For over 15 years, Artem Chapai has been one of the most insightful chroniclers of Ukrainian social and political life. His books cover themes of migration, class struggle, and the paradoxes of modernity. In his travelogues and fiction—including the novella “Strange People,” written by Surzhyk—Chapai gives voice to ordinary and marginalized Ukrainians, shattering stereotypes.
A lifelong anti-imperialist and left-wing intellectual, Chapai has participated in major protest movements in Ukraine, co-founded the Save Old Kyiv initiative, and translated works by Mahatma Gandhi and Edward Said into Ukrainian. During the war, he continued to speak internationally—challenging Western perceptions of Ukraine and calling for global solidarity.
Megan Baskey is the author of the documentary book Ukraine Is Not Dead Yet: A Family Story of Exile and Return (2023). Her writing focuses on the history, culture, and politics of Ukraine.
Photo: UNWLA, Honorary Branch 1 – Ukrainian National Women’s League of America
Author: Inna Mikhno