Ukrainian poet Natalka Marynchak’s Antidespairant (Відчаєспинне) is a powerful expression of defiance and hope in the face of Russian aggression, written in Kharkiv during the first 365 days of Putin’s invasion – the latest phase of a conflict that has raged between the two countries for four centuries. Composed under fire, Antidespairant is at once a prayer for her own people, a curse on the enemy, and a panegyric to those struggling to defend their homeland. Complemented by Kostiantyn Zorkin’s arresting and evocative graphics, this is an unflinching account of hope preserved in the most challenging of circumstances.

Natalka was born in 1981 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and studied at the V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. In addition to writing, Natalka runs a project on Ukrainian radio station Nakipilo called Unhurried Morning, aimed at protecting the mental health of her fellow citizens and with a view to rebuilding the state after victory over the invader.

Kostiantyn Zorkin was born in 1985, also in Kharkiv, and studied Culturology at the Kharkiv Academy of Culture. His output spans performance art, installations, puppet theatre, graphics, sculpture, land art and more. In his work, he uses natural materials (wood, metal, ink, paper) and traditional manual techniques associated with their production. He reinterprets the magical and mythological function of art by creating his own system of signs and symbols.

Natalka and Kostiantyn both continue to live in Kharkiv, one of the cities hardest hit by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.