Age: 24
Education: Bachelors in law from Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, masters in law from National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Profession: Cultural manager, lawyer, podcast host
Did you know? Once a month on Saturday she visits a Ukrainian museum with friends. They call it a “Saturday breakfast club.”
Growing up with parents who are both writers, Bohdana Neborak understood the significance of literature early. She always loved reading but never wanted to be an author, so eventually she fulfilled her passion for literature through working at the Ukrainian Book Institute.
The institute was founded in 2016 under the Ministry of Culture, working to promote Ukrainian literature abroad. There, Neborak led the development of the first state-funded translation program, “Translate Ukraine,” designed to connect publishers with translators and spread Ukrainian works around the world.
“A translated Ukrainian book is slow media about the world of Ukrainians, about their stories, anxieties, victories, fictions, passions, adventures,” Neborak told the Kyiv Post. “And we have something to tell the world.”
During her work at the institute, Neborak and her team created large catalogues of Ukrainian poetry and prose, presenting them at major international literary events. They also held their first big competition for foreign publishers.
As a result, by the end of 2020, more than 50 new translations of Ukrainian books will be found on bookshelves throughout Europe, Asia, North and South America.
When the program was up and running, which was the ultimate goal of Neborak, she has moved on to new opportunities.
She has recently joined the team of online media The Ukrainians. There, she is advancing the “Chytanka” (Reading) section, dedicated to promoting literature and critical thinking. It will be a platform for discussing the best Ukrainian-language literary texts, both classic and contemporary, Neborak says.
She is also creating a history of contemporary literature class for an online education platform “Projector. Humanitarium.”
Another focus of Neborak’s attention at the moment is podcast “Vzyala i Prochytala” (Up and Read). She writes and hosts the program herself, releasing it through online Radio Podil and global streaming services.
In the first season of her podcast, she talked about violence, conformism, hate speech, privacy and truth in literature, often incorporating Ukrainian works in her episodes. In the upcoming season, she will discuss literature in the context of freedom of speech, propaganda and censorship.
“I am most interested in reading as a practice that helps to strengthen democracy in society,” Neborak says.
The podcast educates Ukrainians on critical issues, but between the lines, it fulfills another fundamental goal of Neborak — her contagious passion and curiosity about literature encourage more people to read.
Neborak herself swallows about 30 books a year, apart from the literary texts she reads for work. But when it comes to literature, she believes it’s not the figures that matter.
“I am an adept of slow thoughtful reading and never chase quantity,” she says.
