The PORT Festival has announced its lineup

The organizers of the second PORT Literary Festival have announced the names of the participants who will appear in Odesa on September 5–6. Among them are writers, journalists, and a philosopher, who shared what the South means to them.

This was reported by the festival organizers.

Who Will Be Performing at the Festival

Among the participants is writer Svitlana Taratorina, author of the novels *Lazarus*, *Lazarus: The Serpent*, and *The House of Salt*, and a member of Ukrainian PEN . At the festival, she will discuss the South in fantasy literature alongside Yevhen Lir and Oleksiy Vyshnyk.

“The South is a crossroads of cultures. The South is where the elements meet: the sea and the steppe,” Taratorina noted.

Also among the speakers is writer, reporter, and editor Vira Kuriko, who will present her book *Leticia Kuryata and All Her Imaginary Lovers, to Whom She Lied About Her Father* at PORT.

“When I think of the Ukrainian South, I think of boundlessness, where my imagination stops asking for permission. I stop fearing boundaries and become a ‘possibility’ myself,” Kuriko said.

Journalist, co-founder of The Ukrainians Media, and editor-in-chief of Reporters magazine, Marichka Paplauskaite, will join the discussion “Focus on the South: How the Media Shape the Region’s Image.”

“The South is my own point of reference: I was born and raised in Mykolaiv, and it was here that I learned to listen to people and began writing about them. Now, as the South pays a high price for freedom every day, writing about it is my way of repaying my debt to my homeland,” Paplauskaitė noted.

Philosopher and President of Ukrainian PEN Volodymyr Yermolenko will participate in the panel discussion “Stones on the Coast,” a poetic and musical house concert organized by Ukrainian PEN, and a public recording of Kult titled “The Sea, Philosophy, Literature.”

“The South is the cradle of European civilization,” said Yermolenko.

Cultural projects curator Bohdana Laiuk will speak about Lesia Ukrainka’s Crimea at the event “A Forgotten, Unforgettable Paradise on Earth.”

“The South—to use Taras Prokhasko’s terminology—is the open season. The South offers relaxed, flowing movements, vibrant colors, and an incomparable palette of scents. Odessa, as one of the main hubs of southern Ukraine, offers the chance to reconnect with the sea and with yourself, to feel who you truly are right now. When salty water touches a scratch, it stings,” said Layuk.

About the festival

This year’s PORT will bring together dozens of events focused on the South, memory, literature, and culture: discussions, book presentations, poetry readings, a public recording of Kult, a Ukrainian PEN house concert, a pitching session for young authors, a slam, and musical events. The focus theme is “Stones on the Coast,” with special attention given to the Kherson region, Bessarabia, and Crimea.

The festival will take place on September 5–6 at 13–15 Pastera Street, on the grounds of the Odesa National Scientific Library and the Odesa Academic Puppet Theater. Admission to all events is free.

Ірина Глухова