More and more people in the US want to read Ukrainian books: translators can not cope with the flow of orders

When Boris Dralyuk was 8 years old, his family moved from the southern port city of Odessa (Ukraine) to the Pacific coast of Los Angeles (California). At first, he wanted to assimilate as quickly as possible. But in the end, he still reconnected with his roots. The World told how Boris is now translating Ukrainian books into English and how the war created a stir in Ukrainian literature.

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Even before reaching adolescence, he began to read, write and translate poetry from Russian into English.

“It felt like it was really my job. Each English word was carefully chosen by himself,” he said. “I was very proud of it.”

Now Dralyuk is a writer from Los Angeles, translating poetry and literature from both Russian and Ukrainian into English.

This, he noted, became even more important after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Some publishers are struggling to keep up with their work, and Ukrainian literary translators are working with might and main - the war is spurring demand for Ukrainian publications.

“Every day an author or publication contacts me with a request for a new translation or to consult about translators. This demand is constant, and it is very encouraging,” he emphasizes.

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Dralyuk defines it as the art of self-expression, but also as diplomacy.

“In addition to using resources as a writer, I also act as a diplomat, an ambassador for this foreign text, for the culture it represents,” explains the translator.

Paulina Lavrova, director and owner of the Kyiv-based Laurus publishing house, said orders for Ukrainian books are also on the rise.

According to her, many people in Ukraine do not have a job, so they look for something to distract themselves and turn to books.

Previously, many Ukrainian books were printed in Russia, but now, according to her, many Ukrainians refuse to buy books published there - they want to buy Ukrainian ones.

Lavrova said publishing houses in Ukraine are struggling to keep up with demand; the supply chain is broken. Some printing houses have been destroyed by Russian missiles, paper costs have risen, and writers, editors and translators are often just trying to survive.

Ukrainian publishing houses outside of Ukraine are also experiencing excitement.

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Zenia Tompkins is a literary translator at the non-profit organization TAULT, The Tompkins Agency for Ukrainian Literature in Translation.

“I am no longer accepting any book projects until 2024. I think stronger translators are in a similar position,” she admitted.

Although publishers are trying to speed up the process, it takes a lot of time and money to properly translate a book.

“Last year, we had two translators who quit their part-time jobs to be able to translate texts full-time,” Tompkins said.

Until recently, publishers were not so interested in Ukrainian literature.

“It seems that for some reason the world did not notice Ukraine as a cultural country,” the translator is surprised.

Tompkins, who grew up in a Ukrainian diaspora community in New Jersey, became close to people from the Ukrainian literary scene.

For her, translation is more than just doing business.

“What motivates me to translate is the knowledge that I am taking the work of someone I greatly admire and respect and expand their audience,” she said. “This is not a strange abstract mission. I do this for my friends, for some of the most important people in my life."

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