Poetry in Cities of Literature

Readings for Odesa

Odesa has established significant connections with other literary cities around the world. This project takes a new step in that direction, introducing Odesa residents to contemporary poetry from international partners, starting with Reykjavík, Iceland — the city that made this cultural exchange possible…

Ambassadors of Odesa Literature

The “Odesa — UNESCO City of Literature” Office project is aimed at promoting Odesa literature abroad. Ambassadors — either Odesa natives or those who have shown special dedication to the city’s culture — receive the Odysseus certificate and become envoys of Odesa’s literary traditions. They share their energy, creativity, and networks, helping to raise global recognition for the city and its writers.

World Librar

curated by AI

We continue our literary journey around the world! Every day, we travel to a new country, select one of its outstanding books, and introduce it to our readers. Using artificial intelligence, we curate interesting works daily and share them on our Facebook page, bringing the world’s cultural and literary diversity to you.

New Odyssey

Poetry Festival-Competition

The poetry festival-competition New Odyssey was established in 2023 for schoolchildren aged 6 to 17.
The festival-competition was initiated by poet Ilya Kaminsky (USA), the “Odesa — UNESCO City of Literature” Office, the Centralized Library System for Children of Odesa, the Children’s Literature Section of the Odesa Organization of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine, with informational partnership from the newspaper Vechirnya Odesa…

Jazz — the Music of Victory

Jazz-Poetry Readings Sing/Talk

The jazz-poetry evening Sing/Talk features poets and jazz musicians from the USA, Germany, Lithuania, Sweden, France, Denmark, and Ukraine.

Here, letters from different languages come together — including the letters used by music itself: notes. Despite their differences, the main purpose of their meeting is to sing and converse about what makes us alive, what makes us human.

PoemsNotBombs

Poetry Studio in Odesa

To nurture children’s curiosity and creativity, we created the Poetry Studio, where they can learn to write and read poetry. Poetry is needed now more than ever — it helps express the most impossible moments. Even when it seems that nothing is left, words and rhythm provide support.

We launched the studio in the summer of 2023. Our first young poet was a child of war refugees. Since then, children from all over the city have joined. Some groups have five participants, while others include more than 25. The children range in age from young kids to high school students…