Iryna Leonidivna Shuvalova (; born 1986) is a Ukrainian poet, translator and scholar.

Early life and education

Iryna Shuvalova was born in 1986 in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. She studied at the

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv The Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (; also known as Kyiv University, Shevchenko University, or KNU) is a public university in Kyiv, Ukraine. The university is the third-oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and ...

. In 2014, she completed MA in

Comparative literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, followed by a PhD in 2020 in

Slavonic studies Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics, is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic peoples, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or Slavicist was ...

at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

on the topic of songs of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

created by affected local communities. At Dartmouth she was a recipient of a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

, while at Cambridge she gained a

Gates Cambridge Scholarship The Gates Cambridge Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Cambridge. The scholarship is extremely competitive with around 1.2% of applicants receiving an award in recent years. The Bill ...

and taught Ukrainian. Shuvalova1

Career

Shuvalova debuted in 2011 with her poetry book ''Ran''. Her fourth book, the bilingual publication ''Pray to the Empty Wells'' was strongly influenced by Ukrainian folk culture and nature. Her poems have appeared in various anthologies and have been translated into nine languages. In 2019, she was a coeditor of ''120 pages of "Sodom"'': the first anthology of

queer literature LGBTQ literature may refer to: * Lesbian literature * Gay literature * Bisexual literature * Transgender literature * Intersex literature * Or any other literature featuring the LGBTQ community The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, ...

published in Ukraine. She works as a translator from English into Ukrainian and from Ukrainian and Russian into English. Shuvalova has translated, among others, ''

Life of Pi ''Life of Pi'' is a Canadian philosophical novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist is Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, who explores issues of spirituality and metaphysics from an early age. After a ...

'' by

Yann Martel Yann Martel, (born June 25, 1963) is a Canadian author who wrote the Man Booker Prize–winning novel '' Life of Pi'', an international bestseller published in more than 50 territories. It has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and spe ...

(2016) and ''

Milk and Honey Milk and Honey may refer to: Music * The Milk and Honey Band, an English band * Milk and Honey (album), ''Milk and Honey'' (album), a 1984 album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono * Milk & Honey (Crowder album), ''Milk & Honey'' (Crowder album), 2021 * M ...

'' by

Rupi Kaur Rupi Kaur (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਰੂਪੀ ਕੌਰ; born 4 October 1992) is an Indian people, Indian poet, illustrator, photographer, and author. Born in Punjab, India, Punjab, India, Kaur immigrated to Canada at a young age with her f ...

(2019). Her translations into English have appeared in ''

Modern Poetry in Translation ''Modern Poetry in Translation'' is a literary magazine and publisher based in the United Kingdom. The magazine was started by Ted Hughes and Daniel Weissbort in 1965. It was relaunched by King's College London in 1992. The college published ...

'' and ''

Words Without Borders ''Words Without Borders'' (''WWB'') is an international magazine open to international exchange through translation, publication, and promotion of the world's best writing and authors who are not easily accessible to English-speaking readers. The ...

''. Shuvalova has received a number of awards for her own work as well as translation, including the first prize in the Smoloskyp Literary Competition in 2010 and the Joseph Brodsky/Stephen Spender Prize for translating Sergei Chegra's poem ''The Prayer of the Touch''. Shuvalova is a member of PEN Ukraine and in 2017 became an expert on Ukrainian translations for the

English PEN Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first non-governmental organisations and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' associa ...

Publications

* ''Ran'' * ''Os'' * ''Az'' * ''Pray to the Empty Wells'' - bilingual publication * ''Stoneorchardwoods''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuvalova, Iryna Ukrainian translators Ukrainian women poets 21st-century Ukrainian women writers Alumni of the University of Cambridge Dartmouth College alumni Poets from Kyiv 1986 births Living people English–Ukrainian translators