Olesia Mamchych on Miłosz Festival 06.07.2026
On the final day of the Miłosz Festival, we met with Olesia Mamchych – a Ukrainian writer, poet, and essayist, currently a fellow of the Homines Urbani residency programme at Villa Decius.
During her Homines Urbani residency, Olesia is working on The Return Diary, a book chronicling her return to Kyiv after four years spent in Kraków. The conversation was moderated by Katarzyna Kubisiowska, journalist and editor at Tygodnik Powszechny.
“When I got off the train today, I felt a sense of belonging. I didn’t have to think about how to buy a ticket or which bus to take.”
“When I got off the train today, I felt a sense of belonging. I didn’t have to think about how to buy a ticket or which bus to take.”
Returning to wartime Kyiv was, above all, a return home. Olesia reflected on how her decision was received within literary circles:
“When I moved to Kraków, before the full-scale invasion, I was ostracised for leaving my homeland. […] but when I came back, people asked me: ‘Why would you do this to yourself? Have you gone mad?’”
“When I moved to Kraków, before the full-scale invasion, I was ostracised for leaving my homeland. […] but when I came back, people asked me: ‘Why would you do this to yourself? Have you gone mad?’”
Rather than focusing on grand political narratives, the conversation centred on the poetics of everyday life. The war and the aggressor inevitably remained present, yet far more space was devoted to ordinary experiences. Audience members asked about Kyiv’s cultural scene, while Olesia spoke about the familiar scents of home she had missed during her time in Kraków. With her characteristic lightness, she described her search for routine and normality in a world where even the quiet prose of everyday life has come under attack.
Olesia also shared that, for now, she is unable to return to writing children’s literature. Her books – now part of the primary school curriculum in Ukraine – belong to a world that feels increasingly difficult to access. The language and tools of fairy tales seem powerless in the face of today’s reality.
Olesia Mamchych is spending a month at Villa Decius as part of the Homines Urbani residency programme.
Olesia also shared that, for now, she is unable to return to writing children’s literature. Her books – now part of the primary school curriculum in Ukraine – belong to a world that feels increasingly difficult to access. The language and tools of fairy tales seem powerless in the face of today’s reality.
Olesia Mamchych is spending a month at Villa Decius as part of the Homines Urbani residency programme.