Ukrainian War Poetry & Lithuanian Verse Claim Top Honors at 15min book of the Year Awards
VILNIUS, Lithuania – Maksym Kryvtsov‘s “Poems from the Firing Hole” and a Lithuanian collection were jointly awarded the top prize at the 15min Book of the Year awards ceremony held today. The winning books were selected from works published between September 2024 and October 1st, 2025, by a commission comprised of Audrius Ožalas, Jūratė Čerškutė, Marius Burokas, Jurga Mandrijauskaitė, Lina Buividavičiūtė, Mažvydas Karalius, Neringa Butnoriūtė, Ramunė Brundzaitė, and Rūta Elijošaitytė-Kaikarė.
“Poems from the Firing Hole,” a collection by the Ukrainian poet who died in the war for freedom, resonated deeply with judges. ramune Brunzaitė described the work as “painful to read,” noting its juxtaposition of everyday life – “Rolling Stones songs, a girl holding his hand, weed smoke” – with the brutal realities of war, exemplified by imagery of darkness “swallowing the sun / swallows the clouds / swallows the birds / swallows the man / swallows the sky.” Marius Burokas, upon first hearing the poem read, stated the word “can be our strongest weapon,” adding that in Kryvtsov’s work, “everything becomes a weapon, birds are scouts, the sky is gunpowder.”
The awards, which carry a €500 prize for Lithuanian authors and translators, recognize books demonstrating lasting artistic, cognitive value. The selection process prioritizes original publications in Lithuanian or new translations, highlighting the crucial role translators play in bringing international literature to lithuanian readers.Burokas concluded, “We need to carry our flag…because the message of the warrior poet has already been passed on to us - ‘The world is swinging on wires / don’t scare it like a dove.'”
