Biographies of Contributors
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PAOLO IASHVILI (1894-1937) was, like his best friend Titsian, a founder of the Blue Horn (Tsisperi Qantsebi) movement in Georgian poetry. Like Galaktion and Titsian, he grew up in Kutaisi, in western Georgia. Also like his fellow poets, Paolo migrated to the capital Tbilisi as soon as he reached adulthood, and remained in the urban environment, from where he drew most of his poetic inspiration, for the rest of his life. Of his fellow Georgian poets, all of whom were heavily influenced by the French Romantic movement, Iashvili’s poetry is the most imaginative and experimental. A reader of French literature would likely think of Baudelaire first upon encountering his work. In 1937, Iashvili shot himself in the Writer’s Union office in downtown Tbilisi, faced with the impossible choice of denouncing his friend Titsian or facing torture by the NKVD.
IBN ZAYDUN AL-MAJZUMI (b.384 AH/1003 AD-d.463 AH/1070 AD) is one of the most famous Arab poets of medieval Andalusia. In his youth, Ibn Zaydun was active in politics and as a court poet. Although he wrote a broad range of poetry, he is best known for the poetry he addressed to his lover, princess Wallada bint Al-Mustakfi, an accomplished poet in her own right. In consequence of a dispute with Wallada and court rivalry and intrigue, Ibn Zaydun was imprisoned and exiled. He wrote his greatest poetry in exile, lamenting his separation from Wallada and from his native-and equally beloved-Cordoba. In the poem “Luscious Cordoba,” he speaks to the city as if he were addressing a woman, giving the impression that Cordoba and Wallada are one. Ibn Zaydun’s poetry is widely read and recited throughout the Arabic-speaking world to this day.
IOANA IERONIM the author of eight volumes of poetry, as well as articles, reviews, and translations from English, French, German, and Swedish, has served as Cultural Counselor in the Romanian Embassy in Washington and publicity director for the Soros Foundation in Bucharest; currently she is a Program Director for the Fulbright Commission in Romania. In spring 2000, Bloodaxe published The Triumph of the Water Witch, translated by Ieronim and Sorkin; a volume with narratively linked prose poems based on the poet’s childhood in a Transylvanian Saxon village and the coming of Soviet-style communism, its publication was supported by a Council of England translation grant. The book was shortlisted for the Weidenfeld Prize, St. Anne’s College, Oxford, with a special commendation from the judges. In a review by Fiona Sampson in Thumbscrew, termed “an extraordinary book.” Ieronim is the translator of Andrei Codrescu’s poetry in Romanian in Alien Candor / Candoare straina (Bucharest 1997). These poems are from a volume of Ieronim’s poetry entitled 41, due out in Romania in our joint translation at the end of 2003.
GRACIA IGLESIAS studied Journalism at the University of Madrid and writes for the cultural sections of various media publications. She has published three books of poetry: Sospecho che soy humo (I suspect I am smoke; 2002), which won the Gloria Fuertes Prize for Poetry, awarded by Torremozas; Aunque cubras mi cuerpo de cerezas (Though you cover my body with cherries, 2004), awarded Miguel Hernández National Poetry Prize from the Instituto Alicantino de Cultura Juan Gil-Albert; and Distintos métodos para hacer elefantes (Different methods to make elephants, 2006). Her poetry is linked to her work in painting and theatre. Examples of her recent multimedia and performance work as well as poetry can be found on her webpage and blog.
ANTÓNIO A. IGREJAS is a Teaching Associate and PhD candidate in modern Portuguese literature at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has published articles on Jose Saramago and Joao de Melo. His areas of research include Lusophone African and Brazilian Literature, with a special interest in the short story genre.
OLES ILCHENKO was born in Kyiv on October 4, 1957 where he continues to reside. He is the author of six books of poetry with a seventh book, Certain Dreams, forthcoming. He also writes scripts for the film industry. He recently has penned and published the first in a series of adventure tales for children and is the author of numerous articles on cultural issues. His favorite pastimes include traveling to different countries, swimming and experimenting with the creation of various culinary dishes.
MASAKO INAMOTO Masako Inamoto received her PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures from the Ohio State University. She is Assistant Professor of Japanese and teaches modern Japanese language and literature at Skidmore College.
JOUNI INKALA lives in Helsinki, and has published seven collections of poetry. He is also the author of a radio play published and broadcast by Finnish National Radio in 2001. His poems have appeared in various anthologies and literary magazines in fifteen different languages. In 1992 he received the J.H. Erkko prize for the best first book of the year as well as the Kallioniemi Saatio prize. In 2003 he was awarded a five-year working grant from the Finnish State, and in 2005 he received the Einari Vuorela poetry prize.
YIORGOS IOANNOU (1927-1985) was perhaps the most influential post-war writer of Greek fiction. A collection of his last stories, Good Friday Vigil, is available in English from Kedros Editions. “The Sarcophagus” is the title story of his second book, published in 1971.
MOHAMMED IQBAL (1877–1938) was born in the Punjab and wrote many volumes of poetry in both Persian and Urdu. Iqbal is also celebrated as a philosopher and statesman. He is commonly referred to as Allama Iqbal (Allama meaning “scholar”). Iqbal was a leader in the movement for Pakistani independence and for the revival of Islamic civilization. He is officially recognized as the national poet of Pakistan. The anniversary of his birth, November 9, is a national holiday in Pakistan.
IGLESIAS GALVÃN CLAUDIA IRASEMA is a Mexican poet and translator living in Valpolicella, Verona, Italy. She is originally from Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico and has lived in Italy for almost ten years. Her work is focused on social justice.
TERE IRASTORTZA began her career as a poet at a very young age, when she was still in college, studying Basque and Spanish philology. She has written seven books: Gabeziak (1980), Hostoak. Gaia eta gau aldaketak (1983), Derrotaren fabulak (1986), Osinberdeko kantoreak (1986), Manual devotio gabecoa(1994), Gabeziaren khantoreak (Antología, 1995) and Izen gabe, direnak (2000). She has also translated the work of many prominent writers into Basque. She is the president of the Association of Writers in the Basque Language (Euskal Idazleen Elkartea).
LOBNA A. ISMAIL is Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Cairo University, Egypt. A freelance critic and translator she is the Vice-Chair for International Affairs of the Egyptian Society of Comparative Literature (ESCL) and Editorial Counselor for the Bulletin of the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University.
AKÍNWÙMÌ ÌSÖLÁ, Professor Emeritus at Æbáfêmi Awólôwö University, Nigeria, is one of the most prolific and versatile of contemporary Yorùbá creative writers. Well known for his award winning historical play, Efúnsetán Aníwúrà, written in 1966 and published in 1970, Professor Ìsölá is a seasoned Yorùbá dramatist, novelist, poet, and essayist. Although he is fluent in French, English and Yorùbá, Ìsölá has chosen to write mostly in Yorùbá. His published works include: Ó Le Kú (1974), Kòcceégbé (1981), Àfàìmö Àti Àwæn Àròfö Míiràn (1978), Olú Æmæ and Abê Ààbò (1983), Ogún Æmædé (1990).
VYACHESLAV IVANOV (1866-1949), poet and playwright, was born in Moscow and died in Rome. He studied in Moscow and Berlin before moving to Rome and earning a doctorate in Archeology. He traveled widely, studying and teaching–Classical Philology in Azerbaijan, where he held a University chaired professorship in Baku, Old Church Slavonic in Rome. In St. Petersburg his salon attracted many intellectuals and poets, and had a formative influence on the Russian Symbolists.
SATTAR IZWAINI, whose mother tongue is Arabic, holds MA and PhD degrees from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, and is Assistant Professor of Translation at the American University of Sharjah, UAE. He has worked as a freelance and full time translator in Iraq, Jordan, Sweden, and the UAE for about 15 years, and has translated from English into Arabic works by Herman Hesse, James Holmes, and Virginia Wolf; from Swedish into Arabic, Vilhelm Moberg; from Arabic into English, Amado by Nahidh al-Ramadhani.