Writer-in-Residence: Olena Boryshpolets’s “New Calypso” with Christopher Rivas & Lesya Verba (Book Launch)

In this fresh and vibrant performance, you will embark on a journey through a poem echoing Homer’s Odyssey and passing through the modern Ukrainian city of Odesa to the farthest corners of the earth. Enter the world of Olena Boryshpolets’s New Calypso:

Through the poetic tradition of rhyming comes a tale navigating wars, the hypocrisy of politicians, and the destruction of the world by dictators. Traversing a land haunted by a burning sea and a sky filled with missiles and drones, a new, modern heroine, New Calypso, makes her way. Just an ordinary woman to the untrained eye, her power lies in her persistence of self, conducting her dialogue with the universe and the reality of today with an unshaking belief in the power of love.  

New Calypso’s story comes to life in this musical theater performance at Alphabet City, featuring Olena Boryshpolets as both author and actor, actor Chris Rivas, and bandura musician Lesya Verba. The performance will feature a folk song in the native language of Andy Warhol’s mother, Lemko Yulia Warhol.

For the uninitiated, the bandura is a stringed and plucked Ukrainian folk instrument. A bandura player, or “kobzar,” is a Ukrainian folk singer and musician. They were the creators, keepers, and transmitters of the epic tradition in the form of historical songs, as well as fairy tales and legends, accompanied by the kobza, lyre, or bandura. Their significance for the Ukrainian people can be compared to that of ancient Greek poets in ancient Greece and Arab poets in Arabia.

New Calypso was translated by Writer-in-Residence Oleksandr Frazé-Frazénko and published by Lefty Blondie Press, a local indie publisher. All books are hand-trimmed, hand-bound, and hand-numbered. Copies of New Calypso will be available for purchase at the program. 

This program is made possible in part with the generous support of Irina and Daniel Peris, the Paul D. Schurgot Foundation, and The Bare Life Review, a literary organization supporting immigrant and asylum-seeking writers. The Bare Life Review is a member of Intersection for the Arts, a historic arts nonprofit organization that provides people working in arts and culture with fiscal sponsorship and resources to grow.

About the Artist:

Olena Boryshpolets is originally from Odesa, Ukraine. They say you can leave Odesa, but Odesa will never leave you. Thus, Olena brought Odesa with her when she came to Pittsburgh and is ready to share this incredible city with all of us. Olena is a poet, writer, journalist, actress, cultural manager, and author of the short story book Ukrainian Detox and the book of poetry Orpheus and Eurydice in New York. Olena is also a member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, a co-founder of the public organization Creativity Without Borders, and a member of PEN America. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Olena traveled to Poland, where she spent a year acting in the Polish-Ukrainian play Life in Case of War. Since March 2023, she has been a Research Scholar at the University of Pittsburgh and a Writer-in-Residence at the City of Asylum Fellowship for Ukrainian Writers.

Christopher Rivas is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after multi-hyphenates as an actor, author, podcaster, playwright, and storyteller. His critically acclaimed debut book, Brown Enough, explores what it means to be Brown in America. The book is part memoir and part social commentary, a roller coaster of finding one’s true self while simultaneously having a racial awakening amidst the struggle to be “perfectly” Latinx, woke, and as Brown as possible to make it in today’s America. His next book, You’re a Good Swimmer, is a children’s book that’s due out in the summer of 2024. He’s also the host and executive producer of two podcasts with SiriusXM’s Stitcher: Brown Enough, which explores the parallel themes of this book through interview-style episodes; and Rubirosa, a 10-episode documentary-style investigation of Porfirio Rubirosa, a Dominican diplomat, race car driver, soldier, and polo player who’s believed to be the inspiration for the famous character James Bond. On screen, Christopher is known for his work on the Fox series, Call Me Kat, opposite Mayim Bialik.

Bold and visionary, Lesya Verba is a Ukrainian-American creator whose work fuses wearable art, multimedia performance, and public murals. From fashion-forward paintings on jackets and crowns to commanding murals in Odesa and Kyiv, her voice is unmistakable. She also composes and performs, bringing ritual, history, and emotion into each performance and
visual piece. A catalyst of cultural memory, she lives in Brooklyn and continues to transform the world—canvas by canvas.

About Your Visit: 

The in-house restaurant, Cucina Alfabeto, is open with a limited menu and full bar service from 5 to 10 p.m. Seating in the restaurant and bar is available on a first-come, first-served basis.