Book Celebration—CASSANDRA: A Dramatic Poem, by Lesya Ukrainka (1871 –1913)

Book Celebration: CASSANDRA

A Dramatic Poem, by Lesya Ukrainka (1871 –1913)

Lesya Ukrainka^, born Larysa Petrivna Kosach (1871 –1913), is one of Ukrainian literature's foremost writers, best known for her poems and plays. She was also an important political, civil, and feminist activist.

Ukrainka's dramatic poems put Ukraine on the world stage, reimagining classical myths, challenging patriarchal norms and envisioning a sovereign future. Her poem 'Contra spem spero' ('Against all hope I hope') embodies Ukraine's spirit — to fight, to endure and to believe in victory. Lesia was active in the Ukrainian struggle against Tsarism as a member of Ukrainian Marxist organizations.  In 1902, she translated the Communist Manifesto into Ukrainian and was arrested in 1907 for her political activities. Following her release, she was kept under surveillance by The Okhrana, the Tsarist police, for the remaining years of her life. Lesia died, after a long illness, in 1913 in Georgia—shortly after the ban on the Ukrainian language she wrote her entire life in, was lifted. She did not live to see the collapse of the Tsarist Empire.

Written in 1907, Cassandra reimagines the fall of Troy through the eyes of a prophetess cursed by Apollo to never be believed. Ukrainka’s fearless drama, resonates clearly with today’s battles over propaganda, war, and truth. With the unbreakable heroine of Cassandra—one of the daughters of Priam, King of Troy—this classic dramatic poem embodies Ukrainka’s legacy of portraying women not as passive figures but as seers, warriors, and visionaries. The play was presented in 2025 at Tatro LATEA by Eklektika Productions as part of Razom’s Ukrainian Cultural Festival, Against the Grain. The book CASSANDRA, A Dramatic Poem, translated by Nina Murray with an introduction by Marko Pavlyshyn has been published Harvard Library of Ukrainian Literature.

The evening will feature readings of poems and excerpts of Cassandra by Ukrainka with Dominika Handzlik and Jacob Anderson, followed by a talk with director Artemis Wheelock, producer Illia Rebechar, Handzlik, Anderson and others.  

Many thanks to Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI) and the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (UNWLA). who supported the NYC production of Cassandra.