Pray to the Empty Wells 

From one of Ukraine’s most distinct female voices in poetry, Pray to the Empty Wells is Iryna Shuvalova’s first book-length collection of poems in English. Deeply rooted in Ukraine’s folk culture, Shuvalova’s poetry re-mixes traditional spirituality with pulsating eroticism and acute awareness of the natural environment. Presented in dual-language format, the poems in this collection offer a poetic meditation on memory and life’s natural cycles.

 

Each word, like a life force, forms a connective substance that weaves between lines and verses. Though the wells are empty, Shuvalova’s language overflows with rich images, corporeality, and a metaphoric sensibility that reaches across place and time and reverberates as a prayer against ancient stone.