Belchenko Natalia
Photo: Serhii Olenych

Belchenko Natalia

Ukrainian poet, translator

Natalia Belchenko is a poet and translator. She was born on January 7, 1973, in Kyiv. She holds a degree in Philology from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and worked at the Oleksandr Potebnia Institute of Language Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

She participated in various poetry forums, such as "Czas poetów" (Lublin, 2014), "Prima vista" (Tartu, 2016), and managed the Poetic map of Kyiv project in Krakow. She was also one of winners (third place, Ukrainian) of the international competition for the best Russian, Belarussian and Ukrainian translations of Wislavwa Szymborska poetry (Wroclaw, 2015).

Besides, Belchenko took part in Translation seminar "Translators Without Borders" (Poland, 2017); Gaude Polonia (2017), scholarship program of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland; Ventspils Writers' and Translators' House (Latvia, 2016, 2018). She worked at the Ventspils House, an international residency for writers and translators (Latvia, 2016, 2018). Participated in an international seminar "TŁUMACZE BEZ GRANIC" (Poland, 2017, 2018). Belchenko is the fellow of Gaude Polonia 2017.

Natalia Belchenko participated in poetry forums in Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and Poland (particularly, VIII Światowy Dzień Poezji (Warszawa), Das Hubert-Burda-Stipendium (Regensburg), International Publishers’ Forum (Lviv), Meridian Czernowitz (Chernivtsi), Arsenal Book Festival (Kyiv).

On top of that, Natalia Belchenko initiated the poetry contest Voices of Kyiv Rivers (2013) to draw attention to ecological issues and the role of water in the urban space.