The All-Ukrainian Forum of Military Writers is organized for the third time in Lviv region. This year it was held at Lviv Polytechnic. On March 16, the Scientific and Technical Library hosted a meeting with Ilia Titko, Petro Soltys, Petro Bylyna and Oleksii Beshulia, military men who, after demobilization, set themselves the goal of telling the civilian about war in their books.
Their books are a first-hand story, without embellishments and fictions about the life of our compatriots in eastern Ukraine. All the speakers were volunteers, who consciously chose the path of the military, but their literary works were prompted by various reasons:
«I write what I saw with my own eyes, and I want people to know the truth, to realize the reality of war, so that the enemy could not deceive ordinary people», says Petro Bylyna, author of the books «War Calls. Become a winner!» and «My War».
«After a few days in normal reality, you realize that something is wrong with you – you left the East of Ukraine, but your soul remained there, it is still with the guys. But I found a way out – I sat down and started to write what I could not tell my wife and children. When I finished the book with the phrase «my blood formula has changed forever» I was very relieved. I began to feel part of society again, with a heavy burden on my shoulders, but much lighter now», explains Ilia Titko, author of the book «Blood Formula».
«When the decision was made to go to war, I understood that there was a 50/50 chance of returning home, so I decided to keep a diary so that my children and wife would know what was going on and would pass these stories on to my descendants. But in the third week, I saw in my notes something more than just my personal story. I realized that it needed to be made public so that people knew what was going on, under what conditions and circumstances. And so these notes made a book that was published in 2016», says Petro Soltys, author of «370 days in camouflage. Notes of a Gunner».
Oleksii Beshulia set a slightly more difficult goal – he established the publishing house «Propala Hramota», which became famous for its military literature.
«The struggle for our culture is the main thing now. The publishing house is mainly engaged in translations, because it is necessary to expand this field of Ukrainian culture. All our life we can talk about the same things, but that’s not enough. In the 21st century, we also need to borrow a lot, even from the European context», says Oleksii Beshulia about the publishing house’s mission.
The task of the Forum is not only to help the military reflect on their experience, to share their stories, but also to make it clear to the civilian living peacefully that the war is not over and that Ukraine’s sovereignty still needs to be fought for. Their work is a «window» through which we see what our compatriots are going through to ensure peace in our country.
