Ąžuolynas Readers' Club LEARNS: a meeting with translator Donata Rinkevičienė

“Ąžuolynas Readers' Club Learns” is an open series of meetings with professionals in the literary field (translators, literary scholars, book restorers). For the first event on November 27 at 5:30 PM in the Ąžuolas Hall (Radastų St. 2, 2nd floor), we have invited Donata Rinkevičienė, laureate of the “Translator of the Year Chair” and “Best Translated Book” awards, and titled the Most Inventive Translator of the Year. We look forward to welcoming not only club members but everyone who wants to learn how translations help us understand another culture, how the translator's connection with Ukrainian authors is forged, and how their works begin to speak in Lithuanian. We will also listen to excerpts of Ukrainian literature. When asked what translating Ukrainian literature means to her personally, Donata replied: “It is my job, which I love very much.” And while accepting the “Translator of the Year Chair” award this summer, D. Rinkevičienė said: “I am a translator from the Ukrainian language. Therefore, I accept this award not only as a personal recognition but also as a sign that Ukrainian literature is heard, read, and needed in Lithuania. Today, when stories are born from the wounds of war and a torn daily life, to be translated means to be heard; it means that your voice, your testimonies have overcome geographical and linguistic borders.” The meeting will be moderated by Donata Bocullo, coordinator of the Ąžuolynas Readers' Club, who has been writing regularly about Ukrainian literature in the press since 2023. We invite you not to disperse after the talk, as the evening will conclude with “A Word Seeks Meaning” – we will creatively and bibliotherapeutically look for common meanings of Ukrainian and Lithuanian words, or perhaps create new ones from them. Since 2020, Donata Rinkevičienė has been translating prose, essays, and children's and youth literature from Ukrainian. She has translated Tania Pyankova's book “The Age of Red Ants”, Andriy Lyubka's “Carbide” and “Something Is Wrong with Me”, Artem Chekh's novel “Who Are You?”, Oleksandr Mykhed's “Call Sign Job”, the children's book “36 and 6 Cats”, the publication “How the War Changed Rondo” by Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv, and texts in the anthology “Between Being and Non-Being. State of War. Essays”. In 2024, several more books by famous Ukrainian authors appeared, which Donata Rinkevičienė brought to life in Lithuanian: Artur Dron's “Hemingway Doesn't Know Anything”, Sofia Andrukhovych's “Amadoka”, and Illarion Pavliuk's “I See You're Interested in Darkness”. You can view the full list of Donata Rinkevičienė's translations here. THE CLUB LEARNS to read between the lines on January 20, March 17, and May 19 at 6:00 PM in the Ąžuolas Hall (Radastų St. 2, 2nd floor). This is a program of reading and writing curiosities (with guest lecturers) curated by club coordinator Donata Bocullo, accompanied by bibliotherapeutic creative meetings led by senior methodologist Ala Volkova. You can find more information about the club here. The event visual uses a photo by Regimantas Tamošaitis. The event will be photographed and/or filmed, so you may be visible in event photos or videos that may be published in various media outlets.