Furious Harvests

A poetry reading by Alex Averbuch from his new collection "Furious Harvests" (Harvard UP, trans. from Ukrainian by Oksana Maksymchuk and Max Rosochinsky), in conversation with Benjamin Paloff. "Furious Harvests" brings readers to Averbuch’s homeland in eastern Ukraine and weaves voices from past and present wars, tracing uprooted lives shaped by capture, deportation, and violence, alongside the lingering presence of people and objects left behind in occupied territories. Drawing on family archives and mementos, the poems assemble testimonies to the region’s complex histories, WWII forced labor, and the Holocaust. In a bilingual edition that mixes dialects, registers, and voices, poetry speaks in rage and longing, pressing toward an uneasy reconciliation of self and other.

Branch 50 and the UM Ukrainian Students Club will follow the program with a candlelight vigil leaving the Michigan League at 5:45 pm for the U-M Diag for a moment of remembrance, followed by a brief procession to Burton Tower, where the Ukrainian National Anthem will be played on the carillon.

5:45–6:00 pm Candlelight Vigil, U-M Diag
6:00–6:15 pm Procession to Burton Tower Carillon