About Me

A Belarusian poet, translator, writer, and performer.In my work, I explore what it means to grow up as a girl — and later a young woman — in a strongly patriarchal, authoritarian country. Much of my writing comes from my own experience, trying to give voice to what is often left unsaid or unspeakable.
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I’ve published five poetry collections: “Страх вышыні” (Fear of Heights), the docupoetry book “Мы вернемся” (We’ll Return), “Вызвалі або бяжы” (Set Me Free or Run) in Belarusian, and the bilingual collections Recycled and Ribwort. I’ve also written a non-fiction book, “Калі я выйду на волю” (When I'm Out of Here), which reflects on the collective experience of incarceration for peaceful protest in Belarus, and a play, Body in Progress, about the cruelty of the Belarusian regime, exile, and my journey of healing.
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My work has been translated into Polish, Ukrainian, Swedish, Norwegian, German, Czech, Lithuanian, Slovenian, Danish, Italian, Russian and Slovak. I translate my own poetry into English.
I’m a member of PEN Belarus and an honorary member of English PEN, and in 2020 I received the Freedom of Speech Prize from the Norwegian Authors’ Union.
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I have an MA in Creative Writing: Writing the City from the University of Westminster, and I’m currently doing a PhD at the University of Brighton, where I explore how poetry can support Belarusian women in sharing experiences of gender-based violence and patriarchy.
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