Ilma Rakusa

Ilma Rakusa was born in 1946 as the daughter of a Slovenian and a Hungarian in Rimavská Sobota (Slovakia). She spent her early childhood in Budapest, Ljubljana and Triest, in 1951 she then moved with her parents to Zürich. After studying Slavic and Romance studies in Zurich, Paris and Saint Petersburg she completed her Ph.D. in 1973 on the “Theme of loneliness in Russian Literature”. In 1977 she made her debut as an author with the collection of poems “Wie Winter” [Like Winter]; since then she has published numerous volumes of poetry, short stories and essays. Ilma Rakusa also works as a translator and journalist (Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Die Zeit). She is a member of the German Academy for Language and Poetry, her work has been awarded well-known prizes and grants.  Ilma Rakusa now lives in Zurich.

Website