Aušra Kaziliūnaitė

Aušra Kaziliūnaitė (b. 1987), one of the brightest poetic stars of her generation, is distinguished by her unique poetic style, which combines visual imagery and precision of form with a philosophical relationship to the world that is an inquiry into the essence of things and phenomena. Kaziliūnaitė is a poet, philosopher, writer. She published five poetry books and has received many prestigious literature awards. Kaziliūnaitė holds a degree in history and religious studies. She earned her PhD in Philosophy from Vilnius University in 2020.
Kaziliūnaitė’s poems have been translated into eighteen languages. In 2018, Parthian Books (UK) published The Moon Is A Pill, a collection of Kaziliūnaitė’s poetry translated into English by Rimas Užgiris. Kaziliūnaitė has read her poetry at international poetry festivals and participated in writers’ residency programs in both Europe and the US. Kaziliūnaitė‘s poems could be placed alongside the literary avant–garde. The author favours surrealist poetics, impressive metaphors, elements of horror and the grotesque, the poetics of dark beauty, and a cinematic eye for detail. Images, captured as if by an anonymous eye, intertwine to form stories and word pictures, whose aim is to reveal what is concealed under the surface of the everyday. It is no coincidence that the reader is frequently encouraged to “look under the skin”. This relates to Kaziliūnaitė’s critique of society and exposure of underlying power structures.