About the event

From 1 to 5 July, Lublin will once again become a meeting place for the most interesting contemporary literature of Central and Eastern Europe, for the 13th time. As part of this year’s edition of the Eastern Express literary programme, Polish premieres of books by authors from Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania, author meetings, a poetry vernissage, and – for the first time – a symposium dedicated to the art of literary translation will take place. The series will be preceded by a special event – a meeting with Serhii Zhadan, taking place on 28 June at the National Museum in Lublin.

This is the 19th edition of Other Sounds organised by Workshops of Culture in Lublin and the 13th edition held as part of Culture of the East, a project implemented by the National Centre for Culture from the funds of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and by three cities in eastern Poland – Lublin, Białystok, and Rzeszów.

Wschodni Express is a series of author meetings, presentations of the latest releases from Workshops of Culture Publishing House, and discussions devoted to the most interesting contemporary literature of Central and Eastern Europe. In the intimate courtyard of a historic townhouse in the Old Town at 7 Grodzka Street, stories of war and everyday life, memory, growing up, loneliness, politics, and love will resonate – told with tenderness, irony, and uncompromising honesty.

This year’s edition brings as many as nine Polish-language premieres of books by writers from Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania. The catalogue also includes a title by Lublin-based author Łukasz Marcińczak, published as part of the “Zakotwiczone” series. The Wschodni Express programme features meetings with such creators as Serhiy Zhadan, Maryna Hrymycz, Alhierd Bacharevich, Tania Malarczuk, Wołodymyr Danyłenko, Dzwinka Matijasz, Ivan Semesiuk, and Hanna Jankuta. For the first time, the festival will also include the symposium “The Power of Translation”, dedicated to the role of translators as guides between cultures and co-creators of literature in times of war and political tension.

Programme

June 28, Sunday, 16.00 | Wschodni Express inauguration | “Walka bez reguł” – meeting with poet Serhiy Zhadan and a new book launch. The event will feature: Serhiy Zhadan – author, Aleksandra Zińczuk – translator, Tomasz Sikora – moderator | National Museum in Lublin – Gallery of 19th–20th Century Polish Painting

July 1, Wednesday, 10.00-14.00 | International Translation Symposium “The Power of Translation” (detailed programme below) | Workshops of Culture, Grodzka 5a – second floor

July 2, Thursday, 14.00 | Wschodni Express | “The Shortest Poem by Benediktas Januševičius” – exhibition opening and artist talk. Hosted by Zuzanna Mrozikowa | Workshops of Culture, Grodzka 7 – ground floor and patio | LT, PL

July 2, Thursday, 16.00 | Wschodni Express | Book launch: Maryna Hrymycz, “Kławka” (translated from Ukrainian by Halina Surowiec). The event will feature: Maryna Hrymycz – author, Halina Surowiec (online) – translator, Aleksander Wójtowicz – moderator | Workshops of Culture, Grodzka 7 – patio | PL, UA, PJM

July 2, Thursday, 17.30 | Wschodni Express | Book launch: Alhierd Bacharevich, “Przeszukanie w muzeum” (translated from Belarusian by Bohdan Zadura). The event will feature: Alhierd Bacharevich – author, Bohdan Zadura – translator, Bogumiła Berdychowska – moderator | Workshops of Culture, Grodzka 7 – patio | BL, PL, PJM

July 3, Friday, 16.00 | Wschodni Express | Book launch: Dzwinka Matijasz, “Mam na imię Warwara” (translated from Ukrainian by Andrij Saveneć). The event will feature: Dzwinka Matijasz – author, Andrij Saveneć – translator, Łukasz Kaczyński – moderator | Workshops of Culture, Grodzka 7 – patio | PL, UA, PJM

July 3, Friday, 17.30 | Wschodni Express | Book launch: Hanna Jankuta, “Konstytucja” (translated from Belarusian by Bohdan Zadura). The event will feature: Hanna Jankuta – author, Bohdan Zadura – translator, Jan Burnatowski – moderator | Workshops of Culture, Grodzka 7 – patio | PL, PJM

July 4, Saturday, 16.00 | Wschodni Express | Book launch: Ivan Semesiuk, “Serce Apaczy” (translated from Ukrainian by Aleksandra Zińczuk). The event will feature: Ivan Semesiuk (online) – author, Aleksandra Zińczuk – translator, Łukasz Orbitowski – moderator | Workshops of Culture, Grodzka 7 – patio | PL, UA, PJM

July 4, Saturday, 17.30 | Wschodni Express | Book launch: Tania Malarczuk, “Bestiariusz” (translated from Ukrainian by Marta Odulińska). The event will feature: Tania Malarczuk – author, Marta Odulińska – translator, Ivan Davydenko – moderator | Workshops of Culture, Grodzka 7 – patio | PL, UA, PJM

July 5, Sunday, 16.00 | Wschodni Express | Book launch: Wołodymyr Danyłenko, “Klatka dla wilgi” (translated from Ukrainian by Andrij Saveneć). The event will feature: Wołodymyr Danyłenko – author, Andrij Saveneć – translator, Ewa Hadrian – moderator | Workshops of Culture, Grodzka 7 – patio | PL, UA, PJM

July 5, Sunday, 17.30 | Zakotwiczone | Book launch: Łukasz Marcińczak „Odyseusze z Maisons-Laffitte. Duchowe portrety autorów „Kultury” paryskiej” . The event will feature: Łukasz Marcińczak – author and Aleksandra Zińczuk – moderator | Workshops of Culture, Grodzka 7 – patio | PL, PJM

Wschodni Express inauguration

“Walka bez reguł” – meeting with poet Serhiy Zhadan and a new book launch

June 28, Sunday, 16.00 | The event will feature: Serhiy Zhadan – author, Aleksandra Zińczuk – translator, Tomasz Sikora – moderator | National Museum in Lublin – Gallery of 19th–20th Century Polish Painting

“Walka bez reguł” (fight without rules) is the latest bilingual poetry collection by Serhiy Zhadan, currently one of the most prominent voices in Ukrainian literature, as well as an artist and community leader. This author-curated selection brings together poems from various volumes, written between 1993 and 2020, alongside short pieces of poetic prose.

The book can be read as a hymn to the city of Kharkiv, but also, more broadly, as a celebration of the world itself. Zhadan’s writing is multisensory, overwhelming the senses with images of the sea, the steppe, and bustling city streets. Within this world resonate the voices of Ukrainian literary classics, mysterious nature, and railway tracks. Among its gallery of archetypes and characters, we encounter Jonah and Jesus, workers and smugglers, sinners and saints, lovers and rebellious youth.

The first reader of this collection before publication, the acclaimed Polish writer Andrzej Stasiuk – who, together with his wife Monika Sznajderman, introduced Zhadan’s prose to Polish readers through Czarne Publishing House – summed up the texts gathered in this volume with the words: “These poems are shockingly beautiful.”

This book was published as part of the Literary Eastern Express project, implemented with the support of the European Union under the Creative Europe programme.

International Translation Symposium “The Power of Translation”

This year’s edition of the Eastern Express meetings will also feature a new addition—the symposium “The Power of Translation”, dedicated to the role of translators as guides between cultures, witnesses to history, and co-creators of literature. In times of war, crisis, and political tension, translation becomes not only work with language but also a means of building understanding and reimagining the world through words.

Programme

• Opening of the Translation Symposium “The Power of Translation” on the 457th Anniversary of the Union of Lublin
• Opening Remarks – Grzegorz Rzepecki, Director of Workshops of Culture in Lublin
• Anna Lewicka-Koksanowicz – 16 Translations of Ukrainian Literature: A Summary of the LEE Project
• Magdalena Nowakowska – Georgian Poetry in the Face of Totalitarianism and Authoritarianism
• Agnieszka Rembiałkowska – Lithuanian and Latvian Literature in Polish in the 21st Century (Who, What, and Where)
• Bartosz Wójcik – Decolonial Practices in the Translation of Contemporary Poetry
• Benediktas Januševičius – Ukraine at War in Lithuanian Translations
• Bella Szwarcman-Czarnota – How to Translate from Yiddish When There Is No Yiddishland
• Andrij Saweneć – The Translator of Ukrainian Literature as Editor: Practical Experiences
• Discussion: “The Social Status of Translators and Socio-Economic Aspects” – a discussion with invited speakers and participants

When: July 1, Wednesday, 10.00-14.00
Gdzie: Workshops of Culture, Grodzka 5a, auditorium
Admission free
Accessibility: PJM (Polish Sign Language), certificates of participation in the event will be available on site.

About the East of Culture – Different Sounds

The East of Culture – Different Sounds festival is a tribute to musicians who choose authenticity over popularity built on artistic compromise. At a time when culture is increasingly becoming a luxury commodity, Different Sounds serves as a reminder that quality should never be a privilege. It is an event for those who believe that music can be a space for encounter, reflection, and a sense of community—not merely consumption. For seekers who understand that the greatest revelations emerge where there are no ready-made answers. In a world where everything seems to have a price, Different Sounds offers something beyond value: a moment when sound becomes a language of communication and the audience becomes a co-creator of the experience.

This year’s line-up features Backengrillen, Therapy?, Sun Ra Arkestra, Dead Bob, Kap Bambino, Dälek, Tramhaus, Leila Bordreuil & Drew McDowall, Mats Gustafsson & Kimmo Pohjonen, Drank, Furia Plays Cinema, Marcin Masecki & Boleros, YANA, Hinode Tapes, Only Mess & Guests, Grupa Torpedo, AcidSitter, Nina Eba, Heinali & Andriana—Yaroslava Saienko, and The B17. The organisers will also host the renowned Vienna-based record label Trost Records.

The East of Culture – Different Sounds festival is not only about music. It is also a meeting place for some of the most compelling voices in contemporary Central and Eastern European literature. These encounters will take place within the Eastern Express series, featuring conversations with authors, translators, and literary professionals, as well as presentations of the latest releases published by Workshops of Culture Publishing House.

The programme will also include exhibitions, talks, music workshops for children, and the return of last year’s audience favourite–the Sound Resets.

As always, admission to all festival events is free of charge, with more announcements coming soon.

More information about the festival can be found at innebrzmienia.eu and nck.pl/projekty-kulturalne/projekty/wschod-kultury.

East of Culture – Different Sounds
July 2-5, 2026, Lublin
Admission free

Organisers: Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland, The National Centre for Culture Poland, The City of Lublin, the Workshops of Culture in Lublin.

The East of Culture – Different Sounds festival is committed to promoting gender equality in the music industry as part of the Keychange network.