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Signals of Being, or Verbum Caro Factum Est

A Play in Three Acts
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( 61 ratings, 13 reviews)
Brief Description
In the early days of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the residents of a small co-op community outside of Kyiv find themselves in increasingly desperate circumstances, surrounded by occupying Russian forces. Pinched between Bucha and Borodianka, cut off from aid, and unable to escape, their attempts... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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Volodymyr Rafeyenko’s Signals of Being: A Play in Three Acts stages a captivating dramatic interpretation of a country at war today. Set in the early days of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, residents of a small community outside Kyiv rely on connection to survive as they are cut off from aid and unable to escape.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In the early days of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the residents of a small co-op community outside of Kyiv find themselves in increasingly desperate circumstances, surrounded by occupying Russian forces. Pinched between Bucha and Borodianka, cut off from aid, and unable to escape, their attempts at survival rely on connection: a cellphone signal in the forest, their bonds with each other, and, ultimately, new understandings of what it means to be Ukrainian.

Weaving Shakespeare with both Ukrainian literary classics and contemporary works, Volodymyr Rafeyenko's Signals of Being stages a captivating dramatic interpretation of a country at war.

Series: Harvard Library of Ukrainian Literature

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780674302662

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 11 November 2025

Country: United States

Imprint: Harvard University Press

Contributors:

  • Translated by Mark Andryczyk

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 127.0mm

Height: 203.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 156

About the Author

Volodymyr Rafeyenko is an award-winning Ukrainian writer, poet, translator, and literary and film critic. Although he initially wrote and published in Russian, his novel Mondegreen: Songs about Death and Love was his first written in Ukrainian. It was nominated for the Taras Shevchenko National Prize, Ukraine’s highest award in arts and culture. Among other recognitions, he is the winner of the Volodymyr Korolenko Prize for the novel Brief Farewell Book and the Visegrad Eastern Partnership Literary Award for the novel The Length of Days. Mark Andryczyk teaches Ukrainian literature and is Associate Research Scholar in the Ukrainian Studies Program at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University. He is the author of The Intellectual as Hero in 1990s Ukrainian Fiction and has published translations of numerous Ukrainian poets and writers.

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