Nucleus (A poet's lyrical journey from Ukraine to Canada)

Ischenko tackles the creative tension between her identity as a Ukrainian poet with deeply Ukrainian sensibilities and an immigrant poet enthused by her adopted country. Readers see through a Ukrainian immigrant’ s eyes as she looks back at the land and traditions of her original country. This collection illuminates Ischenko’ s poetic transformation from a heroic crown of sonnets to freer, lyrical pieces, all within the dynamic of Ukrainian and Canadian subject matter and sensibilities. A powerful collection, made even more profound in light of recent events in Ukraine. Nucleus includes a fascinating introductory essay about Ischenko’ s experience of identity and translation, which explores her translation of self in a new country. By slowly beginning to write in Canada in English, she achieves a sense of centredness beyond language and culture — a nucleus of identity.