It is an honor to introduce this conversation with award-winning writer and filmmaker Kalpna Singh-Chitnis about her book, Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava. When asked about her approach to craft in recent interview, Singh-Chitnis says, “the book aims to fulfill a cultural mission. The poems within are written with the hope of building bridges in the hearts of readers, connecting them with Ukraine, and inviting the world to understand its deep longing for love, peace, and freedom.”
While many writers working today call for social justice on the level of content and thematics, Kalpna Singh-Chitnis’s work stands apart, as she goes beyond presenting mere calls to action. Rather, Singh-Chitnis builds a more just society from its very foundations: language itself. As a reader and advocate for the arts, I’m compelled by the ways she upholds style and technique in poetry, and the nuances of translation, as powerful corrective gestures in a time of crisis. Shannon Vare Christine writes, for example, in Tupelo Quarterly: “This book is an act of rebellion launched by Singh-Chitnis and Tymchuk as a means to ‘bridge readers’ hearts’ and to spread hope in a war-torn time, perhaps most importantly to provide strength to Ukrainians living amid the conflict.” Christine rightly calls attention to Singh-Chitnis’s commitment to poetry as an act of both intervention and transformation. For Singh-Chitnis, writerly craft and the act of translation are sites of powerful resistance.
While Singh-Chitnis’s work has been praised widely by critics like Christine, I’m heartened most of all by the ongoing conversation around this stunning volume of poetry. In a recent edition of The Los Angeles Review, for example, Nicole Yurcaba comments on the new avenues that the work opens up for literary translators, “While individual poems capture both the speaker’s passion as well as the Ukrainian people’s fortitude, what makes Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava even more memorable is the way the poems are written in English by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis and translated into Ukrainian by Volodymyr Tymchuk. This experimental translation method is, in many ways, groundbreaking, since the typical practice since the war has been to translate Ukrainian literature into English…Such practices allow Anglophone writers to expand their audiences and bring a new swath of socially and globally conscious to these audiences. The project also opens new avenues for poets in regards to collaboration—a process in which few presses focus.” Yurcaba rightly calls attention to the way Singh-Chitnis fosters cross-cultural exchange through her artistic decisions on every level. Rather than framing the act of translation as a process that centers English language readers, Singh-Chitnis reimagines literary translation as an opportunity for dialogue across the boundaries of culture and geography. Whether we consider the work on the level of poetic craft, or translation theory, Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava is, more than an anything, an invitation to the reader.
The author, Kalpna Singh-Chitnis, is a Pushcart Prize nominated, award-winning Indian-American poet, writer, filmmaker, and actor. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Life and Legends and Translation Editor of IHRAF Literary in New York. She has published four books of poetry, and her works have appeared in notable journals like World Literature Today, Columbia Journal, California Quarterly, Indian Literature, Silk Routes Project (The University of Iowa), Life in Quarantine (Stanford University), etc. Her full-length poetry collection, Bare Soul, was awarded the 2017 “Naji Naaman Literary Prize for Creativity.” Her awards and honors include the “Bihar Rajbhasha Award,” given by the government of Bihar, India, “Bihar Shri,” and the “Rajiv Gandhi Global Excellence Award.” She was also nominated for the “Honor of Yeast Litteraire” by Levure Litterarie magazine in Paris, France, in 2015. She has been recognized by California State Senator Mimi Walter’s office, the Ex-Mayor of Irvine, Steven Choi, and the Irvine Chamber of Commerce for her professional works in the community.
This conversation was conducted via email in May of 2024.
Kristina Marie Darling: Your bilingual poetry collection, Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava, recently launched from River Paw Press. What were some of the rewards and surprises of creating a poetry collection in multiple languages?
Kalpna Singh-Chitnis: First, I want to thank Poetry International and you for the opportunity to have this conversation. Albeit, just for clarification, Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava is primarily an English poetry collection, that has also been translated into Ukrainian by Volodymyr Tymchuk, a poet and Lieutenant Colonel in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Both the English and bilingual editions were published by River Paw Press, and released the same day, which is why I also refer to them as my ‘Twin Books.’ However, I have mainly focused on promoting the bilingual edition because the goal was to deliver the love letters to Ukraine and its defenders in their language and support Ukrainian charities.
The rewards and surprises of creating this book were many, and they all came to me unexpectedly. To begin with, what inspired me to stand in solidarity with Ukraine was itself a surprise. In India, as a student of politics and lecturer of International Relations, I was prone to seeing the dynamics of international politics from the angle of the friendly relationship between the USSR and India, which turned into Russia-India friendship after the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. However, after moving to the USA, my perspective shifted, especially under Vladimir Putin’s leadership in Russia. Unlike other European and Baltic nations also under threat from Russia, I recognized, Ukraine had unique threats to its sovereignty. One may disagree, but European nations and the United States have used Ukraine as a shield to protect their own national interests against Russia but were not ready to commit to what Ukraine needed most—the membership of NATO and the European Union to receive their full-fledged support. It was akin to how insurance companies treat individuals with pre-existing conditions. I felt Ukraine was being treated the same way, especially after the Russia-Ukraine armed conflict which began in 2014, and reignited in 2022. This realization spurred me to support Ukraine in a way I had not expected; which was to advocate for Ukrainian cultural resistance. This led me to initially curate and edit Sunflowers: Ukrainian Poetry on War, Resistance, Hope, and Peace, an anthology of Ukrainian poetry of resistance, featuring 78 poets and translators, in both English and Ukrainian, even before I wrote Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava.
Another surprise was how Ukraine responded to my efforts with warmth. I had never felt such a deep connection with any country before, apart from India and America. This bond deepened further when Volodymyr Tymchuk began to translate some of my deeply emotional poems written for my parents that he found published in magazines and on social media, while I was away on a meditation retreat in Vietnam and Thailand, soon after the death of both my parents. I saw it as an act of kindness which brought me enormous healing. And I, who did not know Ukrainian, began to translate Ukrainian poetry into English, with the help of translation apps and my Ukrainian friend Olena O’Lear, who initially introduced me to Volodymyr Tymchuk, and the poetry of other Ukrainian warriors, and her own poems included in Sunflower: Ukrainian Poetry on War, Resistance, Hope and Peace.
It’s also quite a surprise that I am rewriting Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava in reverse—from English into my native language, Hindi, which once was my first language and, in many ways, still is.
KMD: Relatedly, can you speak to the importance of your choice of translator for this edition?
KSC: I have always believed, Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava wasn’t planned by me, it was planned by the universe (in the aftermath of the Ukraine war). The very same way, the translator for this book was not chosen by me, it was sent to me by the universe. I wrote this in the introduction of my book (Chapter: From Heaven and Earth) and I quote “When wars happen, devils roam the planet in their dance shoes, and angels sing tenderly in the hearts of those who love and are ready to make any sacrifice to save the world. In such a time and place, finding a translator for your poems is something beyond imagination, even for poets. But it did happen. I was fortunate to encounter the greatest admirer of my poetry on the battlefields of Ukraine. Someone who was meant to be the reader and bearer of my love poems for his people and country in his language in the most profound way. It was heartening to learn that the very warrior who manifested from the deepest realm of the universal consciousness was already leading my cultural mission of publishing “Sunflowers: Ukrainian Poetry on War Resistance, Hope and Peace,” an anthology I curated and edited in October 2022. After the launch of “Sunflowers,” all the writers and translators had left, but someone stayed to say thanks and help me clean up after the party.”
That someone was Volodymyr Tymchuk, a celebrated Ukrainian poet and translator with over a dozen books to his credit, who, following commands from above (?), at a time when missiles and drones were striking and fire was raining from the sky asked me for my love poems to translate them. There was no way to question his eligibility. But I had stopped writing love poems long ago, and didn’t want to recycle my old love poems, so I wrote an entire book of new love poems for him, somewhat inspired by the latent memories of a friend who served twice in the Iraq war—whose image I saw reflected in the warriors of Ukraine. It was a powerful feeling that had resurfaced, inspiring me to respond to the unfolding events of the war in poetry, while Volodymyr translated them simultaneously. It was like we were doing war journalism in poetry, simultaneously in two languages.
Due to the language barrier, we spent considerable time discussing the poems I would write to ensure nothing was lost in translation and that they reached Ukrainian readers as intended. We did this almost daily for eight weeks, from a distance of six thousand miles, sometimes in real-time, while I saw snowfall in Lviv on Volodymyr’s phone screen, heard air raid sirens blaring, his drills interrupting, and him receiving alerts to take cover. Who would have thought that such creative work could be done under such unique circumstances? But this book was a mission itself for both the warrior of Ukraine and the Buddha’s warrior.
KMD: For you as a creative practitioner, what is the relationship between translation and social change?
KSC: Translation offers an opportunity to build bridges between languages and cultures, opening windows into worlds we are not familiar with and inviting us to experience the life, languages, cultures, struggles, and existential challenges of people in other parts of the world. It also makes crucial information accessible to individuals and communities worldwide in all areas, thereby facilitating development and spurring social change. This accessibility of knowledge through translation is vital, and we need more translators around the world to help bring about the social changes that are needed and further cultural diplomacy. In my experience, translation not only offers cultural insights but also shares ideologies and knowledge that can revolutionize the world and bring grassroots changes.
Since we are speaking of Ukraine, which was once a part of the USSR, I want to cite an example from that era. I grew up reading Russian Literature that was widely available in India in both English and Hindi. (I do not remember reading anything referred to as Ukrainian literature back then). Russian literature propagated communist ideology in our country. At the same time, we were influenced by Western ideology, which introduced democratic institutions to our newly liberated country from British rule. We also derived influence from the communist ideology of China, creating an ideological divide between the intellectual community and labor class on what ideology was best suited for a new country to adopt, resulting in India constitutionally becoming a socialist democratic country. This demonstrates the strong relationship between translation and social change. Without the literature in translation that was widely read by all classes of the Indian population, the social and political changes we witnessed and continue to see in India would not have been possible. Similarly, in Ukraine, a significant influx of Western literature in translation has opened new windows to the world for Ukrainian readers, writers, and the masses, fueling their inspiration to adopt a free democratic society.
KMD: I’m also intrigued by your work as a filmmaker. For instance, your feature film, “Goodbye My Friend,” includes lyrics inspired by your poetry and Ghazals—a work that you wrote, produced, and directed. What lessons can poets learn from filmmakers about their craft?
KSC: I am a huge supporter of adapting literature into cinema. Novels and short stories can be transformed into adaptive screenplays, while poetry and Ghazals can be turned into lyrics for films. I have personally used my own poems as well as Urdu Ghazals by Mirza Ghalib as lyrics in my feature film Goodbye My Friend. Since cinema is a highly popular form of entertainment, we can allow a taste of literature to audiences. Conversely, poets and writers can adopt cinematic techniques in their writings. While serving as the president of the Silent River Film and Literary Society and director of the Silent River Film Festival, I hosted a workshop on “Literature and the Art of Cinema,” which was very well-received. There is an introductory video for this workshop that elaborates on how to incorporate cinematic techniques into creative writing. This video is now available on YouTube (link below), and is free to use for anyone interested in deepening their understanding of these techniques.
I also encourage writers and poets to give insight into their works through book trailers. After seeing the popularity of my three recent book trailers, Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava, Trespassing My Ancestral Lands and Sunflowers: Ukrainian Poetry on War Resistance, Hope and Peace, (links provided below), I have been asked about how to create cinematic book trailers. Cinematic book trailers are different from the slideshow book trailers that we commonly see. However, this topic is more appropriate to discuss in a workshop, which I may do in the future if the opportunity arises.
KMD: Your film, “River of Songs,” was included in the Lunar Codex, which was sent to the Moon’s south pole with NASA-SpaceX-Intuitive Machine missions in 2024. What was it like to participate in such a groundbreaking initiative?
KSC: I still pinch myself thinking that my poems and poetry film archived in the Lunar Codex have landed on the moon. My personal choice to send to the moon was “The Tree,” an environmental poetry film based on the sequence poem “The Tree” published in World Literature Today. However, I was surprised when Samuel Peralta—a physicist, writer, Golden Globe-nominated and Emmy-winning film producer and founder of Lunar Codex—visited my website and chose “The River of Songs,” poems from my poetry collection Bare Soul (2015), along with my poetry film “River of Songs” based on those poems. When I asked Samuel what made him choose my particular poems and film, he promptly responded, “The lunar mission is committed to taking expansive and hopeful messages to the Moon, worthy of archiving for generations.” That’s why he chose “River of Songs.”
I also believe poetry can serve as self-prophecies destined to be fulfilled. My literary journey began with “चाँद का पैवंद” (Chand Ka Paivand or Patch of Moon), my first collection of poems written in Hindi during my teen years, and published in India in1986. It was awarded the “Bihar Rajbhasha Parishad Award” in 1987 by the government of Bihar, India, making me feel like the Amanda Gorman of my time. Who could have imagined that this journey, which began with Patch of Moon, was destined to literally reach the moon someday?
KMD: Please tell us about your current projects. What else can your readers look forward to?
KSC: As I write, I celebrate the birth of my sixth poetry collection, Trespassing My Ancestral Land (Finishing Line Press, 2024). The book released on May 24th, and Poetry International is the first magazine to be informed. The poems in this collection span from 2014 to 2024. The very first poem of the book, which is also the title poem of Trespassing My Ancestral Land, was written when I joined the “Silk Routes Project,” an International Writing Program (IWP) at the University of Iowa from 2014-2016. This book holds great meanings to me as I see it as my poetic journey through the landscapes of emotions I’ve experienced while exploring my cultural history and quest for self-discovery. Many poems in this collection are born from the complexities of my immigrant experience and the loss of my native identity, intertwining my personal losses and pain with universal human grief, the duality and oneness of universal love, the impact of wars, and the cycles of existence. I hope readers will profoundly engage with the text and find a space for introspection and understanding.
In addition, I have completed a manuscript for another poetry collection, Love Isn’t Audacity, and am seeking a suitable publisher for it. Moreover, after three decades, I am publishing a poetry collection originally written in Hindi titled Jo Tum Ho Wahi Hoon Main’ (I Am Who You Are), forthcoming from Agnipath in 2024. I am also working on translating poetry collections of two major Ukrainian poets from Ukrainian into English and developing screenplays for two feature films, one of which I hope to begin pre-production in 2025. To continue my passion for bringing poetry and cinema together, I am also looking forward to making another poetry film called “The Earth Remembers,” based on a 111-line poem I wrote during the pandemic.
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LINKS TO SHARE
Literature and the Art of Cinema (Workshop Video)
Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava (Book Trailer)
Sunflowers: Ukrainian Poetry on War, Resistance, Hope and Peace (Book Trailer)