Wschodni Express | Book Launch: Wasyl Słapczuk “Tom&Tom” | discussion with: Wasyl Słapczuk – writer, Halina Surowiec – translator, Łukasz Wojtusik – moderator | Workshops of Culture, Grodzka 7 – patio POL, UKR, PJM

About the Book

Vasyl Slapchuk’s novel, “Tom & Tom,” now available to Polish readers, is best understood as a grand metatext. Its significance lies not in its length, but in the intricate, multi-layered engagement with literature itself. Slapchuk elevates literature to the role of protagonist, allowing it to re-express itself through the character of Tom. Notably, in the original Ukrainian, Tom’s name is “Roman,” which directly translates to “novel”—underscoring that this is truly a novel about literature, a powerful cantata dedicated to the written word and the enigma of the creative process.
The symbolism of the house as a fortress, initially introduced, deepens and expands throughout the novel. This motif is crucial for grasping the work as a microcosm of the narrator and his characters. The house transforms into a labyrinth, a voluntary prison for the productive creator, and a sanctuary for healing in a nation scarred by war.

About the authors

Vasyl Slapchuk (born 1961) is a versatile poet, prose writer, literary critic, scholar, and translator from Volhynia. He sustained serious injuries during his military service in Afghanistan.

He has authored numerous poetry collections, as well as several novels and volumes of short stories. In Poland, his published works include the poetry collection Evening Sun (2019, published in Polish under the title “Wieczorne Słońce”) and the novels The Woman of Snow (2012), The Book of Oblivion (2014)—which was shortlisted for the Angelus Central European Literary Award semi-finals—and The Same Dust of the Road (2021, published in Polish as “Ten sam kurz drogi”)

In addition to fiction and poetry, Slapchuk has written collections of literary criticism, essays, and books for children. His contributions to literature have earned him many honors, including the prestigious Taras Shevchenko National Prize. He has also been awarded the Polish honorary badge “Meritorious for Polish Culture.”

Halina Surowiec (born 1981) is a literary historian, Polish philologist, and Ukrainian translator with a deep passion for borderland literature.
She has authored the monograph A Dream of Ukraine, which focuses on the Ukrainian school within Polish literature of the interwar period. Her notable translations into Polish include Oleksandr Kondratyev’s On the Banks of the Yaryna and the novel Slave, adapted from the immensely popular Polish television series. She also co-translated Lydia Chukovskaya’s Notes on Anna Akhmatova, among other works.
Surowiec prepared for publication the correspondence between Yevhen Malaniuk and Jerzy Giedroyc (1948–1963) and a selection of Józef Łobodowski’s journalistic writings, A Poet in the Face of History’s Seismic Movements. Additionally, she penned the afterword for the first collected edition of Podolian Tales. Before Moonrise by Julian Wołoszynowski.