Stepping through the Mirror: Identity, Choice, and Dismantling Preconceptions, Seen through the Prism of an Expat American Living in Ukraine during the 1990s

KS (Kara) Lack moved to Kyiv in 1994 to help launch one of Ukraine’s first independent newspapers—Dzerkalo Nedeli (ZN,UA)—when she was 22. Now a writer and letterpress artist, she is interested in the interplay between presswork and poetry and in transcending constraints by working with them. KS is a founding member of the Introspective Collective consortium of artists. A native New Yorker, she received degrees in Post-Soviet Studies from Columbia University (B.A.) and the London School of Economics (M.Sc.). KS has been living with chronic pain and disability since childhood.

Her talk will draw from two projects she is currently spearheading to raise awareness and funding for Ukrainian humanitarian aid: her hybrid chapbook, Kyivsky Waltz—a love story | Київський Валь—любовна історія, published in February 2024 by Finishing Line Press, and its companion piece Sunflower Variations—this is Ukraine | Соняшникові Варіації – це Україна, a multimedia exhibition scheduled for public viewing this Fall. While Kyivsky Waltz is a memoir, Sunflower Variations addresses the current invasion and ongoing humanitarian crisis.