Poetry Expo 26
/ 27 February 2026
Where the Sky Breaks
Poems of War, Memory, and Returning
Poetry Expo 2026
Where the Sky Breaks: Poems of War, Memory, and Returning presents a body of poems written in the reality of the Russian-Ukrainian war, where everyday life is marked by danger. I have written a large number of poems about the war, yet only a small selection of them has been translated into English so far. The texts move between documentary clarity and lyrical surrealism, portraying moments of fear, defiance, domestic tenderness, and the absurdity of geopolitics. They explore how language attempts to hold grief, how ordinary people become symbols of endurance, and how irony becomes a survival tool when the world collapses around you. Through these poems, the project seeks to preserve an emotional archive of a nation living through catastrophe while still insisting on dignity, voice, and the right to imagine a future.
The project is part of the subtheme Writing After – Catastrophe, Memory, and the Archive of Loss.
Author
Svitlana Fiialka
Svitlana Fiialka is an energetic, motivated, open-minded Ukrainian educator, editor, researcher and poet passionate about helping people express complex ideas clearly and creatively. As an Associate Professor at the Department of Publishing and Editing at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, she spent over 20 years teaching, mentoring students, and helping authors to improve their textbooks and scientific papers.
In her doctoral dissertation, “The Scientific Journal as a Socio-Communicative Phenomenon,” she has explored peer reviewing, co-authorship, and research integrity. She currently serves as Director of the “Advertising and PR” educational program, where she collaborates with students, colleagues, and industry partners to make curriculum practical, relevant to today’s communication challenges, and connect academia with industry.
As an editor, she worked across diverse disciplines - from biochemistry and economics to cultural studies and accounting.
Beyond academia, she also writes poetry. She has about 300 poems in Ukrainian. For her creative writing is a way to connect people, ideas, and experiences, and a sort of therapy too. She is also a proud mother of two daughters, who keep her optimistic, curious, and full of stories yet to be told.
