On April 29, 2026, at 6:30 PM, the Styrian State Library in Graz will host a literary evening as part of the Bibliothek erlesen series, featuring Ukrainian poet Halyna Kruk and her latest collection “Crash Course in Molotov Cocktails. Poems.”

The evening centers on poetry shaped by the experience of war and profound societal change. Halyna Kruk captures the realities of people whose everyday lives have been disrupted — former IT specialists, baristas, and creatives now navigating a completely transformed world. Her writing combines sharp insight, irony, and sensitivity, making both the painful and unexpectedly human aspects of this reality tangible.

The collection gives particular voice to women’s experiences — loss, love, displacement, and return. At the same time, Kruk directly addresses Europe in her poems, opening an honest and urgent dialogue about war and responsibility.

About the book and the author
“Crash Course in Molotov Cocktails” (2025) marks the first publication of Halyna Kruk’s poetry in German, translated by Claudia Dathe and Stefaniya Ptashnyk. Most of the poems were written between 2014 and 2025 and situate the Ukrainian war experience within a broader cultural and literary context — from biblical references to Lesya Ukrainka and Sylvia Plath.
Halyna Kruk is one of the most prominent contemporary Ukrainian poets, as well as a translator and literary scholar. She is a professor at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, and her works have been translated into more than 30 languages. She is the recipient of numerous international literary awards.

The event will be moderated and interpreted by literary scholar Mariya Donska.