Artur Dron’s poetry as a collective experience of living through war

Abstract

This article analyzes the poetry collection We were here (2023) by the young poet and Ukrainian soldier Artur Dron. The volume presents the author’s initial experiences of war in a subtle and reflective manner, drawing on personal observations and narratives centered on human encounters. The analysis also includes a comparative perspective, juxtaposing Dron’s wartime poetry with his debut collection Dormitory No. 6 (2020) and his later wartime prose work Hemingway knows nothing (2025). The aim of the article is to identify the distinctive features of Droń’s poetic language and to situate his work within the broader context of contemporary war literature, through comparison with other authors who have contributed to this literary tradition.