Ilma Rakusa

Ilma Rakusa was born in 1946 in Rimavská Sobota, then part of Czechoslovakia, and spent her childhood in Budapest, Ljubljana and Trieste. She studied Slavic and Romance languages and literature in Zurich, Paris and St. Petersburg, earning a doctorate in 1971. Rakusa worked as a literary scholar, writer, critic, translator and journalist. Her translations included works by Anton Chekhov, Marina Tsvetaeva, Marguerite Duras, Danilo Kiš, Imre Kertész and Péter Nádas. Her notable books include the memoir Mehr Meer, Aufgerissene Blicke, Mein Alphabet and the poetry collection Impressum: Langsames Licht. Her awards included the Petrarca Translation Prize, the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize, the Swiss Book Prize, the Berlin Literature Prize and the Kleist Prize.