LONG LVIV A LITERARY GIANT
ZUKISWA WANNER OPENS UP THE UKRAINE ’ S MAGICAL CITY OF BOOKS
Our road trip from Denmark to Ukraine was finally coming to an end after almost 24 hours on the road . My friend Peter and I crossed the Polish-Ukraine border at midnight in his trusted Jeep . On arrival in Lviv we went straight to the hotel .
As I closed the door to my hotel room and checked my phone I saw a new message : “ Hello . My name is Ira . I am a volunteer in Publishers ’ Forum . I will be your guide if you need it and I can show you the city . Awaiting your reply .” Aware of the lateness of the hour I did not reply to Ira immediately , but in the morning as I sat for breakfast with the Danish writers who had flown in the day before , I replied to her thanking her for the welcome . A few messages later we had arranged for her to take us to an event that poet and hip-hop musician Aleni Agami was performing in later that day .
Nineteen-year-old Ira – full name Irina – proved to be an invaluable guide through Lviv over the course of the festival . A second-year university student and unpaid festival volunteer , Ira made sure that I was comfortable and got where I needed to be without encroaching on my personal space – and that is a special kind of talent . The day before I left , Ira gave me a present to thank me for hanging out
Rare books are a valuable commodity readily traded in Lviv .
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THE UKRAINE ’ S RESPECT FOR LITERATURE IS NOT BURIED IN THE PAST EITHER . ALL THE EVENTS I TOOK PART IN WERE PACKED , AND IT WAS NOT THE ELITE OR MIDDLE- AGED AND ELDERLY
“ with her . Imagine that . Gifts aside , this stronghold of Ukrainian independence is an interesting city .
While Lviv may not be an overtly wealthy city , it is rich in literary culture and heritage .
© YAROSLAV / ADOBESTOCK
© JEDIES / ADOBESTOCK
The existence of the Cat Café , where lonely people come and stroke cats , could deceive one into believing that the Ukraine is a rich country , but a look at the state of some of the trams and buildings and the number of stray dogs quickly dissuades one from these deceptions . The Cat Café was for the select few . In many ways Lviv is a city in a developing world . There are yellow mashrutkas everywhere , which are not quite as small as South African taxis but not quite as big as buses . In fact , they ’ re remarkably similar to Nigerian molues . They carry standing passengers , too .
I would stand on mashrutkas every day if I could import the literary culture of Lviv to any of the African countries I call home . The largest university in Lviv is named after a writer , Ivan Franko . The writer and journalist Leopold von Sacher-Masoch is honoured by a statue in which he stands in a blasé pose near Lviv ’ s CBD – his name gave the world a psychiatric term now common in the English lexicon : “ masochist ”. Considering this glorification of literary figures I was saddened that in South Africa the late Sol Plaatje is known more as a founding member of the governing African National Congress than as a writer . Or that in Kenya the only place named after a writer that I can remember are a pub and a kiosk in Nairobi West both named Whispers . Or that in Zambia and Zimbabwe everything
40 // MAKE MEMORIES FOR LIFE