Valzhyna Mort is an Belarusian poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 who now lives in the United States. Her first book of poetry, I'm as Thin as Your Eyelashes, came out in Belarus in 2005. In 2004 in Slovenia she received a Crystal Vilencia Award for best poetry performance. She was the recipient, in 2005, of a Gaude Polonia scholarship in Poland, and, in 2006, of a writing fellowship from Literarisches Colloquium Berlin, Germany.

Her first American publication, Factory of Tears (Copper Canyon Press

Copper Canyon Press

Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, specializing in the publication of poetry and located in the picturesque town of Port Townsend, Washington. Since 1972, the Press has published poetry exclusively and has established an international reputation for its commitment to...

, 2008), the first Belarusian/English poetry book published in the U.S., was co-translated from the Belarusian by Elizabeth Oehlkers Wright

Elizabeth Oehlkers Wright

Elizabeth Oehlkers Wright is an American translator.- Biography :Elizabeth Oehlkers Wright translates texts of contemporary German authors, especially Lyric poetry, into English language. In 1996 she got a MFA for literary translation at the University of Arkansas...

 and Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

-winning poet Franz Wright

Franz Wright

-Background:Wright graduated from Oberlin College in 1977. He and his father James Wright are the only parent/child pair to have won the Pulitzer Prize in the same category....

. The poems juxtapose youthful coming-of-age to the struggles of a nation’s emergent vitality.

Mort studied at the State University of Linguistics in Minsk. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from American University. Known throughout Europe for her live performances, Mort works explicitly to reestablish a clear identity for Belarus and its language. Mort is the youngest poet to be featured on the cover of Poetry & Writers magazine.. Mort now teaches in the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Publishing Arts program at University of Baltimore.

Poetry

• I’m as Thin as Your Eyelashes, (2005)
• Favourites for accordion, Translator Franz Wright, 2006
• Factory of Tears, Copper Canyon Press
  Copper Canyon Press
  Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, specializing in the publication of poetry and located in the picturesque town of Port Townsend, Washington. Since 1972, the Press has published poetry exclusively and has established an international reputation for its commitment to...
  
  , 2008, ISBN 9781556592744
• Collected Body, Copper Canyon Press, 2011, ISBN 9781556593727

Anthologies

• Ilya Kaminsky, Susan Harris (eds), The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry, HarperCollins, 2009, ISBN 9780061583247

External links

• http://www.pw.org/content/poet_valzhyna_mort_american_debut
• http://www.blueflowerarts.com/booking/valzhyna-mort
• ]
• http://www.ubalt.edu/cas/faculty/alphabetical-directory/valzhyna-mort-cortese.cfm