‘A Guide to the Precipice and its Surroundings’: poet Maryna Ponomarenko has released a collection of poems born on the road and to the sounds of war 

Contemporary Ukrainian poet Maryna Ponomarenko has released her second poetry collection, ‘A Guide to the Precipice and Its Surroundings’, with all the poems written during the period of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The book appeared ahead of the Book Arsenal festival and became a top seller at the Old Lion Publishing House’s stand.

This was discussed during the book’s presentation at the Media Center Ukraine.

Maryna Ponomarenko explained that the collection is divided into three sections that reflect life, the war’s impact on worldviews, and global perceptions of Ukraine’s struggle.

“It seems to me that war is a theme that will remain in literature for many years to come, perhaps forever, as it will define our generation. We can no longer distance ourselves from this experience — it’s too vast, and there is too much of it,” the author noted.

The book’s title is symbolic. Ponomarenko emphasised that she wanted it to evoke motifs of journey and movement, as many poems were written ‘on the road’ — during travels across Ukraine or abroad. 

The poet’s works have also been translated into other languages, with the most translations currently available in English and Spanish. However, the author noted that there have been no specific offers yet for publishing the book abroad.

Despite all the poems from the collection having been shared on the author’s social media previously, readers are still buying the printed edition.

“The visibility of poetry on social media encourages people to later buy the physical book,” the author observed.

The collection first reached its readers at this year’s Book Arsenal festival. The poet now plans to tour Ukrainian cities to give presentations and to hold an event in Poland.

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news