Ukrainian poet Natalka Marynchak’s Antidespairant (Відчаєспинне) is a powerful expression of defiance and hope in the face of Russian aggression, written in Kharkiv during the first 365 days of Putin’s invasion – the latest phase of a conflict that has raged between the two countries for four centuries. Composed under fire, Antidespairant – a personal diary in poetic form – is at once a prayer for her own people, a curse on the enemy, and a panegyric to those struggling to defend their homeland. Complemented by Kostiantyn Zorkin’s arresting and evocative graphics, this is an unflinching account of hope preserved in the most challenging of circumstances.
