Artur Dron Reads Poetry from "Here We Were" at Odesa Bookstore Event

A poetry reading by writer and soldier Artur Dron was held at the Old Lion Bookstore and Coffee House at 2 Evropeiska Street in Odesa on April 12.

According to an international correspondent, Artur Dron read poetry from his book "Here We Were".

As noted by the moderator of the meeting, poet Andriy Hayetsky, the poems included in the collection were written at the front, but they are not about the war.

"They are about people who love more than they fear. Who were here and did not leave. This is the language soldiers use to remember their loved ones, and children write letters on school notebook sheets. It is the language of pain and hope. They say goodbye and love," noted Artur Dron.

Artur Dron's book "Here We Were" is illustrated with works by Kateryna Sad and excerpts of letters the military received from children.

"Perhaps this is the best way to talk about difficult times. By combining our different experiences into a common speech. Putting our pain and hope to names," the author is sure.

The publishing house donates all the profits from the sale of this edition to the Voices of Children charity fund.

Artur Dron is a writer and event manager at the Old Lion Publishing House. With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he volunteered for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is the author of the poetry collections Dormitory No. 6 and Here We Were, and one of the authors of the anthology Between the Sirens: New Poems of War. In February 2023, lines from his poem were quoted by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at a press conference with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

Also on April 12, the Odesa National Art Museum hosted a screening of a film by artist and curator Ihor Husiev about the underground contemporary art gallery NORM, which existed in Odesa in 2008-2011.

And the Odesa Regional Universal Scientific Library named after M. Hrushevsky presented Casey Michel 's book American Kleptocracy, about the largest money laundering scheme in history.

Кирило Бойко