Iryna Shuvalova

Poet, translator, born in Kyiv in 1986. Obtained her Master’s degree in Philosophy at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, where she is currently involved as a Ph.D. student. She also studies translation from and into English at the Kyiv Institute for Interpreters and Translators.

Iryna’s poetry has been published in numerous Ukrainian periodicals (such as Ukrajinska Literaturna Gazeta, SHO, Chetver, Literatura i Zhyttia, Kurjer Kryvbasu, Berezil etc.), almanacs and anthologies. In addition to this, her literary critique appeared in the Krytyka journal. Moreover, she co-edited the first anthology of contemporary queer literature in Ukraine (120 Pages of Sodom, Kyiv, Krytyka, 2009). The book featured poetry and prose by 30 contemporary writers from 15 countries.

Iryna took part in numerous literary festivals and literary events, often participating in projects on an international scale. She is a recipient of numerous literary prizes, including Zolota Troyanda (2005), Rukomeslo (2006), 100 Molodykh Poetiv Ukrajiny (2008), Poetychni Majsterni (2008) and Kultrevansh (2008). In 2010 she placed first at the annual Smoloskyp literary competition in poetry (before that, the first prize for poetry had not been awarded for more than a decade). In 2011 Iryna received the Ukrainian-German Oles Honchar prize and a Unified Literary Contest fellowship of Summer Literary Seminars.

Iryna’s poems have been translated into English, German, Polish and Russian. Her works in translation appeared in literary journals, among them Radar (2010), International Poetry Review (2011) and Catch Up (2011).

Iryna’s translations from Russian and English include writings of Percy Bysshe Shelley, William Butler Yeats, Amy Lowell, Carl Sandburg, James Fenton, Charles Simic, Ted Hughes, Timothy Liu, Christopher Whyte, Leland Bardwell, Aleksej Purin. Her translations have been featured in one of the oldest and most respected foreign literature journals in Ukraine, Vsesvit.

Her first book of poems “Ран” (Ran) is to be published in 2011.