Grusha Yaryna

Yaryna Grusha (Yampil, Ukraine, 1986) is a Ukrainian writer, translator, journalist and university lecturer, and one of the leading promoters of Ukrainian culture and literature in Italy. Born into a family of teachers in the Vinnytsia region, she began visiting Italy from childhood as part of the ‘Children of Chernobyl’ project.

In 2008, she graduated with a degree in Italian Studies from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv with a thesis on Umberto Eco. After working in the Ukrainian cultural sector across publishing, cinema, television and literary festivals, she moved to Milan in 2015. Since 2018, she has been the lecturer in charge of the Ukrainian Language and Literature course at the University of Milan and has helped to launch courses and seminars in Ukrainian studies at the universities of Bologna and Turin as well.

Alongside her academic work, Grusha is actively involved in translation and cultural outreach, collaborating with leading Italian and Ukrainian publications. Among her most significant works and editorial projects are the anthology *Poeti d’Ucraina* (Mondadori, 2022), the first major collection of Ukrainian poetry published in Italy, *Dimensione Kyiv* (Rizzoli, 2023), a literary guide to the Ukrainian capital; the translation of *Il canto della foresta* by Lesja Ukrajinka (Mondadori, 2024); and her editing of the Italian edition of Victoria Amelina’s posthumous diary, *Guardando le donne guardare la guerra* (Guanda, 2025).

In 2026, she made her debut as a fiction writer with the autobiographical novel *L’album blu* (Bompiani), which explores family memories and the contemporary history of Ukraine. She is also a member of the executive committee of PEN Ukraine and the Italian Association of Ukrainian Studies.