In October 2025, an event took place in Brazil that went far beyond the literary world. The book “Poems from the Breach” (“Poemas da Seteira”) by the Ukrainian poet, photographer, and Hero of Ukraine Maksym “Dali” Kryvtsov, an artist who died at the front on January 7, 2024, was published in Portuguese.
This publication was not only a cultural event, but also an act of international solidarity. The book was published by the Brazilian publishing house Editora Rua do Sabão with the support of the state program Translate Ukraine, aimed at popularizing Ukrainian literature in the world. Brazil joined this program for the first time – and this step became a symbolic gesture of cultural partnership between the two countries.
The publication was also submitted for the prestigious Drahomán Prize, which honors translators of Ukrainian literature into foreign languages.
A book born of pain and responsibility
Work on the translation began after the author’s tragic death. For the translators and the publisher, it was not just a professional project, but a moral mission — to bring the poet’s voice to the Brazilian reader.
Maksym Kryvtsov was a soldier, a machine gunner, a man of extraordinary inner strength. At the same time, he was a subtle lyricist and thinker. It is the combination of military courage and poetic sensitivity that creates the unique tension of his texts.
His poetry is not just a testimony to war. It is a profound artistic reflection on life, death, love, and the fragility of human existence. In one of his poems, this sudden change in peaceful life sounds particularly poignant:
“with us, like morning
like life
like illness
became cold
like ice
war…”
Ukrainian critics emphasize: the collection is not just a literary phenomenon, but a cultural document of the era.
Word and image: a feature of the Brazilian edition
The Brazilian version of the book contains not only selected poems from the collection, but also texts that the author has published on social networks, including his latest work:
“I wish it were spring already, so that I could finally bloom like a violet.”
The publication is supplemented with photographs and manuscripts by Maksym, as well as QR codes with audio recordings of the poet reading his own poems and songs composed to his words. This format creates a deep emotional immersion and turns the book into a multidimensional artistic project.
Presentations in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro
The presentation took place in São Paulo on February 21, and in Rio de Janeiro on February 26 at the Livraria Travessa bookstores. The events brought together diplomats, scholars, representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora, public figures, and Brazilian readers.
Among the honored guests were:
● Georgy Erman — First Secretary for Consular Affairs of the Embassy of Ukraine in Brazil;
● Oleg Vlasenko — Chargé d’Affaires ai of the Embassy of Ukraine in Brazil;
● Júlio Barbaroto de Araujo — student at the University of São Paulo and researcher of the Ukrainian and Ruthenian languages;
● Ario Nasiri — Director of IPACBR (Iranian Public Affairs Council in Brazil);
● Fabio Bosco — representative of the CSP-Conlutas organization;
● representatives of the Ukrainian community Kateryna Dokuchaeva, Nadiya Dokuchaeva, Alina Tsukanova;
● Albina Mykhralieva — Doctor of Chemistry, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.
In their speeches, the diplomats emphasized the importance of Kryvtsov’s work for modern Ukrainian literature and its role as an honest testimony of the war experience.
Translator Volya Yermalayeva Franko, who worked in collaboration with Paterson Franko Costa, spoke about the challenges of translating directly from Ukrainian and suggested an interactive reading format: guests randomly selected pages for recitation — exactly as the author once did on social networks.
Many present could not hold back their tears.
Photo exhibition as a space of memory
A separate part of the project was the photo exhibition “Dali: Vou trazer minha vida de volta para mim, prometo” (“Dali: I will take my life back, I promise”), consisting of 24 photographs from the artist’s personal archive.
The exhibition has already been presented in Kyiv and several countries around the world, and in Brazil it became an important component of the presentations, creating a strong visual dialogue between poetry and photography.
A symbolic gesture was the photo shoot for the book in Rio de Janeiro on Copacabana Beach, near the monument to the prominent Brazilian writer of Ukrainian origin, Clarissa Lispector. This image combined two cultural trajectories: the Ukrainian word, born in the war, and the figure of the writer, who, having been born in Ukraine, became a symbol of Brazilian literature.
Geography of cultural presence
Book presentations have already taken place in Salvador, Curitiba, Malleta, Ribeirão Preto, Brasilia, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. New cities are coming, including Belo Horizonte.
The events are held with the support of the Embassy of Ukraine in Brazil, the Ukrainian-Brazilian Central Representation, and the Maxim Kryvtsov Foundation.
Literature as a soft power strategy
The story of “Poems from the Loophole” in Brazil is more than a book launch. It is an example of how culture becomes the language of diplomacy.
For the Brazilian audience, this poetry reveals modern Ukraine not through political declarations, but through personal history. Through the lived experience of war. Through a person.
It is stories like these that build true international solidarity.
And this is how a word born on the frontline becomes a bridge between continents.
Author: Olena Zhukova
Photo: Pedro Fratino