Valzhyna Mort

Valzhyna Mort is a writer, translator, professor. She teaches poetry and literary translation at Cornell University (Ithaca, New York, USA). Born in Minsk (Belarus). The author of poetry books in the Belarusian language I’m as Thin as Your Eyelashes (Logvinov, 2005), Epidemic of Roses (Logvinov, 2017). Since 2005, Valzhyna Mort has been living in the United States, where she published English-language books Factory of Tears (Copper Canyon Press, 2008), Collected Body (Copper Canyon Press, 2011). Factory of Tears was jointly translated from Belarusian by Elizabeth Olkers Wright and the Pulitzer Prize winner Franz Wright. Also, her translated works were published in Germany and Sweden.

She translated the book of poems by Rafał Wojaczek The Dead Season (Logvinov, 2005), Something Indecent Anthology Manager: Poetry Recommended by Eastern European Poets (Red Egg Press, 2013), co-authored with Ilya Kaminsky and Katie Farrys, Anthology of Gossip and Metaphysics (Tupelo Press, 2014).

Laureate of various prizes and awards including: Crystal of Vilencia Award (Slovenia, 2004), Gaude Polonia Scholarship (Poland, 2005), Writing Fellowship from Literarisches Colloquium (Germany, 2006), Hubert Burda Preis for Eastern European Poets (Germany, 2008) , Lannan Foundation Fellowship (USA, 2009), Bess Hokin Prize from Poetry (USA, 2010), Amy Clampitt Fellowship (USA, 2016).

Valzhyna Mort’s poems were published in a number of anthologies and magazines. In Ukraine texts by Valzhyna Mort were published in the magazine Potiah 76, Suchasnist magazine, anthologies of contemporary Ukrainian and Belarusian poetry Suviazrazryv / Zvyazokrozryv and others.