January 5 at 17-00 on the Cathedral Square of Ulyanovsk will host the International Literary Skating Rink, timed to coincide with the opening of the Year of the Book in the Ulyanovsk region. During the presentation of the project on the main square, poems by poets from Ulyanovsk and 13 UNESCO literary cities will be performed in their native languages, performed by the authors themselves. Among the participants are the authors of world bestsellers. From January 6 to 10, the voices of poets from different countries can also be heard at other skating rinks in different parts of the city (see the broadcast schedule below).

"International Literary Skating Rink" is a new project of the program "Ulyanovsk - UNESCO City of Literature", the Department of Culture and Leisure of the Population of the Administration of Ulyanovsk and the "Centralized Library System". The event will be held in compliance with the necessary standards to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

 - This is another event that includes literature in the urban space and reminds of the unifying role of literature in the difficult period of the pandemic. Poets from Ulyanovsk, Heidelberg, Baghdad, Dublin, Nanjing, Cambridge, Quebec, Coburg, Manchester, Milan, Kharkov, Reykjavik, Dublin, Wonju will take part in the project. The poets showed great interest in the project, which brings literature out of closed spaces, which is especially relevant today. The poems that will be presented at the skating rinks are texts that are somehow associated with winter, cold and snow. Some authors have prepared musical accompaniment. We think that such a literary session will be of interest both to those who came to the skating rink, and to those who were just walking nearby and suddenly heard, for example, poetry in Icelandic, - said the author of the idea, coordinator of the Ulyanovsk - UNESCO City of Literature program Gala Uzryutova .

On Cathedral Square, it will be possible not only to listen to audio recordings of the authors, but also to learn more about them - a presentation about poets will be shown on the big screen. Ulyanovsk residents will hear poems both in the native languages ​​of the authors and in Russian, read by the poet Sergei Gogin, who translated the texts.

So, the voice of the famous Icelandic writer and poet Hallgrimur Helgason from Reykjavik will sound. His novel 101 Reykjavik became an international bestseller and was filmed. Especially for Ulyanovsk, the author recorded the poem "12/28/14".

Renowned philologist, poet, essayist, translator, laureate of prestigious awards Ralph Dutley will present Heidelberg and read a poem in German and Russian. Four of the author's books have been translated into Russian, he himself translated the complete works of O. Mandelstam, the works of M. Tsvetaeva, I. Brodsky. Heidelberg will also hear the voice of the poet, philosopher, co-founder of the KAMINA poetic group, the TeXtur literary network, Dr. Katharina Duke.

Bestselling author of A Ghost in the Throat, Irish poet and essayist Deerin Ni Grifa, will represent Dublin. She has received several literary prizes and awards, incl. Lannan Literary Scholarship, Ostan Prize, Seamus Scholarship, Hartnet Poetry Prize, Rooney Irish Writers Prize.

The skating rinks will also feature the voice of Canadian author Stuart Ross, a poet and editor from Coburg. He is known for many literary actions that he held on the streets, in bars, art galleries, cafes, shopping centers and schools. A recipient of several literary awards, Ross was awarded The Canadian Jewish Literary Award in 2017 and the Harbourfront Festival Award in 2019 for contributions to Canadian literature.

Another project participant is James Womack, a poet, translator, publisher from British Cambridge. It is expected that in 2021 the author will become a guest of the International Literary Residence in Ulyanovsk. James Womack graduated from Oxford University, studied Russian, translated texts by Mayakovsky, Khlebnikov, Tvardovsky, Vampilov, Kibirov and others. He also founded the Nevsky Prospects publishing house, which translates Russian literature.
In addition, Ulyanovsk residents will hear a poem by Hu Xian, a poet from Nanjing, editor-in-chief of the Yangtze Poetry magazine, winner of prestigious literary awards. Audio recordings of Quebec poets were produced by Le Bureau des affaires poétiques in collaboration with the local radio station CKIA (project Détourner la pub). In French, the voices of poets will be heard: Alex Thibodeau, Laura Doyle Pean, Carol-Anne Belzil-Normand and Carolanne Fouchet.

Milan prepared a new reading of a poem by the famous Italian poet and writer Ada Negri (1870-1945) for the skating rink in Ulyanovsk. The poem of the poet, translator, professor of modern poetry Sadeq Mohammed will represent Baghdad. Citizens will also get acquainted with the poetry of Kim Sun-su, a poet from Wonju (South Korea), the author of 18 collections; the poet from Kharkov Vladislav Petrenko, the poetess from Manchester Shamshad Khan.

Ulyanovsk poetry will be presented by poems by Nikolai Blagov, Sergei Gogin, Danila Nozdryakov, Igor Ulitin, Gala Uzryutova and others.

Schedule of literary broadcasts at the skating rinks of Ulyanovsk from January 6 to 10

Zavolzhsky district, FOK "Leader" - 16.00-16.40 (daily)

Zheleznodorozhny district, Soyuz stadium - 16.00-16.40 (daily)

Zavolzhsky district, Lower Terrace, "Volga" - 17.00-17.40 (daily)

Zavolzhsky district, "Start" - 17.00-17.40 (daily)

Participation in the event is free, registration is required, the number of places is limited (due to the rules for preventing the spread of a new coronavirus infection). Registration is open until 18:00 on January 4. All registered participants will receive an electronic program with poems by poets and information about the authors on the evening of January 4th.

In the design of the poster, an illustration by Yulia Uzryutova was used.