Irene Zabytko

Sun., May 6, 2 p.m., free, Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane.

by Mickey Jou

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Published: May 2, 2007

reading signing

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On April 26, 1986, the fourth reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in Ukraine exploded, leaking radiation into its surrounding areas. Twenty-one years later, the radiation level at Chernobyl is still unsafe and officially, the only residents there are the nuclear plant personnel. But you can't keep people away from their homes. "There are maybe 200 people living [in the area today]," says Ukrainian-American writer Irene Zabytko. "This is where their land was, no matter how horrendous things were before. [Some] can't afford to live elsewhere." The author of The Sky Unwashed (Algonquin Books, 2000) � a fictional story about a peasant family caught up in the events of the real-life nuclear explosion � is currently making a documentary called Living in the Dead Zone. "It's about the women who live in the dead zone [surrounding Chernobyl]," says the Florida-based writer. "People are resilient. Most of them laugh it off. These are women in their 70s who survived Stalinism, Nazism, communism. Chernobyl is just another thing they survived." While making the film, Zabytko plans to confront the workers at the power plant, "hopefully in a Michael Moore sort of way." Moreover, she hopes that her novel and film will help more people to "confront Chernobyl in a realistic way." Says Zabytko, "We are being polluted by [radiation leaking from] Chernobyl still. It's a legacy we must deal with."

Sun., May 6, 2 p.m., free, Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Mount Airy, 215-844-1870, www.lifeinthedeadzone.com

 

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