Launched by the Odessa UNESCO City of Literature and made possible through generous funding from Reykjavík City of Literature, the project “Poetry in the Cities of Literature” began on February 24, 2024, as part of the “Not Just Words” reading initiative initiated by Milano City of Literature. This new cultural endeavor aims to connect Odessa’s vibrant literary community with its sister Cities of Literature across the globe.
As a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network since 2019, Odessa has built meaningful relationships with fellow literary cities worldwide. This project marks a fresh step in that journey by introducing Odessans to contemporary poetry from these international partners, starting with Reykjavík, Iceland — the very city that made this exchange possible.
Reykjavík was designated a UNESCO City of Literature in 2011, becoming the first non-native English-speaking city to receive the title. Literature has been at the heart of Icelandic culture for over a thousand years, from the medieval sagas to today's exuberant literary scene.
Beyond promoting literary art, the initiative highlights the crucial support UNESCO Cities of Literature provide: from festival invitations and translation assistance to artist residencies. These connections help Ukrainian authors cross borders, find new audiences, and preserve their creative voices on the global stage. At its core, “Poetry in the Cities of Literature” is about mutual cultural enrichment — fostering an open exchange where books, ideas, and traditions travel freely, inspiring and uniting people worldwide.
Poet of the Reykjavik City of Literature:
BrynjaHjálmsdóttir is a poet and author from Iceland. Brynja is the 2022 recipient of the LjóðstafurJónsúrVör poetry prize, and of the VigdísFinnbogadóttir Encouragement Award. Her work has been translated into six languages and appeared in various literary journals and anthologies. Okfruman (The Zygote), her first book of poetry, was nominated for The Icelandic Women’s. Literary Award (Fjöruverðlaunin) and was awarded Poetry Book of the Year by The Icelandic Bookseller’s Choice Awards. Brynja’s second book of poetry is Kona líturvið (A Woman Looks Over Her Shoulder) came out in 2021 and is now out in English translated by Rachel Britton. Brynja’s newest book is the novel Friðsemd (The Perished Land).
REASONING(RÖK)
Translated by Rachel Britton
A woman draws
the lines
Says:
You know I can’t stand
when you empty teeming pails of fish guts
on the parking lot nor
when you splatter your chamber pot from the third floor
knowing that I stand
below the window and have not braced
myself at all I am not
finished the soup is not finished
though it’s been ladled
and the problems don’t disappear
just because you ask me to hold
the pail
to catch the poison
while you lie there
like a slug
Answered:
with a sigh
the kind that lifts
ladles to lips
drains into open mouths
stretches tongues down chins to prove
all of it
has been swallowed
