Ihor Mitrov

- Ukraine -

Ihor Mitrov is a Ukrainian poet, essayist, and literary critic. He was born on September 1, 1991, in Kerch, Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine, and graduated from the Institute of Philology at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

 

A participant in the Revolution of Dignity, he co-organized the student strike in response to former President Yanukovych’s refusal to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union.

 

Since March 2022, Mitrov has served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He fought as part of an assault group of the 95th Air Assault Brigade and documented military life for his YouTube channel, mitropolia-tv. He is a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

 

He is the author of two poetry collections: The Dutch Angle (2019) and The Voice of Ukraine (2021). His third collection, nation_wide, is forthcoming and will include poems written after February 24, 2022, many of them composed on the front lines.

 

Mitrov’s poems have been translated and published in international anthologies, collections, and periodicals, including in the United Kingdom, the United States, Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Estonia, Spain, and beyond.

 

 


Ihor Mitrov (b. 1991) is a Ukrainian poet and serviceman, born in Kerch, Crimea. A participant in the Russo-Ukrainian war, he is currently based in Kyiv.

 

Mitrov has published two poetry collections: Dutch Angle (2019) and Voice of Ukraine (202). His works have appeared in various anthologies and literary journals in Ukraine and abroad. His poems have been translated into Polish, English, Spanish, and Czech, and are featured in several international anthologies, including Ukraine in the Work of International Poets (2022); Invasion: Ukrainian Poems about the War (2022); Sow the Wheat, Ukraine: Poetry on the War from Ukraine and Georgia (2022); And Blue Will Rise Over Yellow: An International Poetry Anthology for Ukraine (2022).

 

Mitrov’s poetry is characterized by free verse, rich intertextual references, and a tendency to convey personal experience. His poems often refer to urban and bohemian themes, infused with an ironic tone. In a 2020 interview, Mitrov described himself as “the enfant terrible of contemporary Ukrainian literature,” “that guy who got drunk at last night’s literary reading,” and “a postmodernist in the worst sense of the word.”

 

Poet and critic Oleh Kotsarev, reviewing Mitrov’s debut collection Dutch Angle, noted: “In his case, the ‘bohemian’ image doesn’t replace literature, but sharpens certain accents. Dutch Angle brings together ironic plots, imaginative imagery, and a strikingly broad range of themes – from archaeology to everyday adventures, from Crimea to cinema. Metaphorically speaking, Mitrov’s poetry is not ‘dense’ or ‘concentrated,’ but ‘airy’ and nearly free from gravity – even when addressing themes that are far from celestial.” (Chytomo)

 

Mitrov’s second poetry collection, Voice of Ukraine, was included in PEN Ukraine’s list of the year’s best books in 2021. Celebrated Ukrainian writer Oleksandr Irvanets, in his endorsement, wrote that Mitrov himself is “a living answer to the question ‘Who owns Crimea?’” He added: “Ihor searches for his word among millions of well-worn ones – and he finds it. More and more often.” (Luta Sprava Publishing)

 

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Mitrov’s mobilization into the army, his poetry has taken a more explicitly military turn. His recent work includes hyperrealistic depictions of frontline life alongside lyrical reflections on memory and trauma. Often, Mitrov blends these modes within a single piece, making him one of the most compelling voices in contemporary Ukrainian war poetry.

 

In an interview, when asked how the image of a “bohemian poet” fits within military service, Ihor Mitrov replied: “A bohemian poet at war becomes just another soldier. There’s no room for a special image here. Here, we are all the same. That’s why I’ve tucked away my bohemian persona into a distant drawer and will only take it out again after victory.” (Chytomo)

 

According to literary scholar Taras Pastukh, Mitrov’s wartime poetry, written during his mobilization, offers concise snapshots of war, accompanied by emotionally restrained yet deeply resonant reflections.

 

“Playful imagery reflects the shifting focus of the lyrical character and his comrades from the heavy, traumatic experience of war toward something beautiful and joyful, something that brings comfort and solace. <...> Such playful aesthetic imagery is rare in the works of authors who are fighting, yet they show that ‘pure’ poetry can still emerge even in wartime – as a temporary and circumstantial escape from reality,” writes Pastukh about Mitrov’s work (Zbruch).

 

Beyond poetry, Ihor also documents his wartime experience in a video blog titled War and Mitrov. These are brief reflections on the here and now – snapshots of daily life, moments of emotional overload, and spontaneous meditations that together form a personal chronicle of life in the trenches. According to the author, the blog is meant to resonate with thousands of Ukrainian soldiers undergoing similar experiences.

 

In 2022, War and Mitrov became part of One More Day, an online project dedicated to documenting war experiences, organized by the online media outlet Chytomo and the Izolyatsia Foundation. The project featured 20 of the most powerful wartime witness diaries from the early months of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

 

“Literary skill isn’t just about combining words into sentences and sentences into texts — it’s about mastering language at the highest level in order to deliver precisely the right message to your readership. One must know how to speak. One must learn. Empathy is one of the key components,” Mitrov told Suspilne Culture in an interview on writing about war.

 

Ihor Mitrov is the recipient of the Smoloskyp Publishing House Prize (2017) and the Vasyl Symonenko Literary Prize (2019). He has been a finalist in several literary competitions, including Young Republic of Poets (2016) and Crimean Fig (2020, 2021). In 2023, he represented Ukraine at the European Poetry Slam Championship in Antwerp.

 

He is also a co-founder of the ironic Literary Order of Saint Zibert the Bright (named after a Ukrainian beer brand), an informal Kyiv-based collective that hosts open mic poetry readings open to all poets.

 

Today, Ihor Mitrov remains actively present in Ukraine’s literary scene, performing at various literary festivals and events, and sharing his new poems and columns via his social media platforms.

More about the poet

Poetry

  1. w h y i s i m p o r t a n t t o c l e a n t h e t e x t / ч о м у н е о б х і д н о ч и с т и т и т е к с т

  2. "w e r e y o u a p o e t b e f o r e t h e w a r?" – a s k s / “т о т и д о в і й н и б у в п о е т о м ?” – п и т а є

  3. i n s t e a d o f a p o e m / з а м і с т ь в і р ш а

  4. M a r i u p o l / з б и р а л и з к о х а н о ю

  5. t h r e e e x p l o s i o n s o u t s i d e t h e w i n d o w / т р и в и б у х и з а в і к н о м

  6. t h e e i g h t h / в і с і м к а

  7. t h e t e x t i s a l o c k p i c k / т е к с т - в і д м и ч к а

  8. n o t a p o e m / н е в і р ш