After all, the events of that cold February found the author of the books "Mykolaiv 24.02.2022" and "Life as Shards of Glass" at home, in the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. Should she flee or stay? How long will the city be able to resist the enemy? How will she survive the war days with her family? Questions arose in her mind one after another. The woman chose the option of being faithful to her home, her native Mykolaiv. She joined the Red Cross volunteers.

 

All the events that took place in the city passed through her heightened feelings, changing and reshaping the author, transforming her from an ethnic Ukrainian into a conscious one.

 

The Russian-Ukrainian war significantly exacerbated her sense of the need to address the world and her surroundings through literature, which pani Hanna had felt long before these events. And in the summer of 2023, the first edition of the writer and volunteer “Mykolaiv 24. 02. 2022” was published by Iryna Hudym publishing house. At that time, the author seriously thought about continuing her literary activities and began preparing material for the next book.

 

Almost a year and a half passed and Hanna Polovenko invited admirers of her writing talent to get acquainted with her new creation. "Life as Shards of Glass", which was presented at the end of 2024 in the municipal exhibition hall.

 

In the second book, Hanna Polovenko writes about war, volunteering, and the harsh everyday lives of the people of Mykolaiv. There is a lot of life psychology in it. For some, the second edition even became the key to themselves, to building or establishing family relationships in the difficult conditions of modern times. According to the principle of "equals with equals," the author shares with readers moments of family relationships of a couple who have loved each other for many years, after a long separation.

 

“Such books are hardly readable while lying on the couch with a glass of wine, but they are read very quickly and stay with a person for a long time,” says the author.

 

This weekend, the word was heard in the library reading room. During a meeting with friends and library visitors, the author read excerpts from her works.

 

"And it is very important for the author to meet the eyes of those for whom he writes. It is very important to join the dialogue. That it wouldn't not be a monologue. What you write and read to yourself," Iryna Hudym is convinced.

 

Such communication is the key for both the publisher and the author. The experience gained during a meeting in the library is important and interesting for all participants in the literary process.

 

"I am very grateful to Hanna. Because these are truly wonderful texts. This is good literature that will remain. Which will be needed today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. This is a piece of our history, our today, which has already become a historical event," shares Iryna Hudym.

 

Once you start writing, it's impossible to stop, admits pani Hanna. Images continue to be born. Every day, the author works on a new story with the working title "Journey Beyond Life." A series of stories is almost ready for publication. Hanna Polovenko's new works are also united by the theme of war. "We now live next to her. We live in a world where she is. And this is something that cannot be ignored," emphasizes Hanna Polovenko.