The "Crimean Fig" Literary Contest Has Announced Its Winners

The Ukrainian-Crimean Tatar literary contest “Crimean Fig / Qırım inciri” has announced its winners. Authors from Ukraine, abroad, and the occupied territories participated in the contest.

This was reported by Crimean Fig. 

Winners of the sixth Ukrainian-Crimean Tatar literary contest “Crimean Fig / Qırım inciri”:

• Prose about Crimea in Ukrainian — Viktor Shepelev, “The Legend of Dyusha”
• Prose in the Crimean Tatar language — Qoqlam, “Alma qoquğanda”
• Poetry about Crimea in Ukrainian — Sofia Prysyazhnyuk, poetry collection
• Poetry about Crimea in the Crimean Tatar language — Seyran Albkermenli, “Tilsiz halk…”
• Children’s literature about Crimea — Taz oğlan, a collection of poems
• Essays about Crimea — Anastasia Babash, “Occupied Closeness”
• Translation of a literary work from Crimean Tatar into Ukrainian — Ruslan Matushevsky, translations of works by Umer Ipchi
• Translation of a work of fiction from Ukrainian into Crimean Tatar — Elzara Beşüyli, translation of an excerpt from Artur Dron’s “Hemingway Knows Nothing”
• Special “Words of Freedom” Award — Server Rustem oğlu Bağçasaraylı, Appaz Kurtamet
• Special Award “For Contribution to the Development of Crimean Tatar Literature” — Rustem Dzhelil

Writer Anastasia Levkova spoke about how important it is forUkrainian and Crimean Tatar texts to be heard side by side.

“My dream is for our festival to grow to the point where all the works in the finals are translated, so that they are available in both languages,” she said.

A special highlight of the festival’s opening was Jamala’s performance of a commemorative program—traditional Crimean Tatar mourning songs and minor-key compositions dedicated to the memory of those who perished, victims of deportation, war, and the Russian occupation.

Earlier, the Kharkiv-based publishing houseFolio presenteda book by Odessa-based journalist and editorof the publication Intent,Yevgeniya Genova, titled “Crimean Tatar Families,” in which the journalist compiled the stories of 14 families. In essence, these are the memoirs of ordinary people who recall how historical events affected the lives of their ancestors, their grandparents, as well as their return to Crimea in the 1990s, the Crimean resistance in 2014, and the armed resistance against Russian invaders beginning on February 24, 2022. 

Юлія Калабайда