An anthology dedicated to a Ukrainian writer who died during the war will be published in the United States.

The US publishing house Arrowsmith Press will publish an anthology of works dedicated to Victoria Amelina. The book is called Nothing Bad Has Ever Happened: A Bouquet for Victoria Amelina (“Nothing Bad Has Ever Happened: A Bouquet for Victoria Amelina”). Writes about this Suspilne.Media.

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The compiler of the anthology is Askold Melnichuk, an American writer of Ukrainian origin and founder of Arrowsmith Press.

In the preface, he recalls that he met Amelina in August 2022, when they taught an online creative writing course together for Ukrainian students at the University of Iowa. Then, among other things, she was involved in documenting Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

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Melnichuk's foreword is called "Those Who Remain in Omelas" - a reference to the work of the American writer Ursula Le Guin. The author depicts fairs and entertainment in the fictional city of Omelas, whose prosperity depends on the eternal misfortune of one child. The work raises the question: is the welfare of the majority worth the sacrifice of the minority?

Ukrainian students actively responded to the story. For them, the child in the basement was none other than Ukraine. And Europe and the so-called free world were ready to sacrifice it in order to maintain relative stability and prosperity.

The title of the anthology is the same as Amelina’s essay, in which she reflects “on two genocides - the Holodomor and the Holocaust.”

Victoria Amelina died while accompanying writers from Colombia in the Donetsk region, in Kramatorsk, to show life under Russian aggression.

“Victoria died so that Ukrainian democracy and the original culture that gave birth to it could survive. She died to avoid a repeat of that horror. Walking through Harvard Square on a sunny morning, I was surprised by the contrast: blue sky, students approaching, autumn in the air. In the riot of normal life, I thought about the price that others pay for such a life,” writes Askold Melnichuk.

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Along with two essays by Amelina, the book contains memories of the writer from her colleagues and friends, including:

• John Lee Anderson;
• Peter Balakian;
• Sofia Chelyak;
• Evgenia Dubrova;
• Héctor Abad Faciolinse (he was with Amelina on June 27 when the writer was wounded);
• Carolyn Gil;
• Elena Guseinova;
• Michael Judge;
• Joanna Kakissis;
• Oksana Lutsyshina;
• Jackie Liden;
• Megan Marshall;
• Christopher Merrill;
• Leah Mills;
• Alexander Mikhed;
• Tatiana Teren;
• Keith Tsurkan;
• Vladimir Ermolenko.

The book is available at website free in PDF format, pre-order for a paperback book already available.

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