P.S. The Lovely Uselessness of Poetry
Ukrainian-American poet, Ilya Kaminsky, writes in the New York Times, of his desperation to find ways out of Ukraine for his friends – writers, poets, and translators. Many of them do not want to leave their homes, even as Russia continues to bombard their cities:
I ask how I can help. Finally, an older friend, a lifelong journalist, writes back: “Putins come and go. If you want to help, send us some poems and essays. We are putting together a literary magazine.”
In the middle of war, he is asking for poems.