Zviad Ratiani (; ka, ზვიად რატიანი; born 5 January 1971, in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

) is a Georgian poet and translator. Zviad Ratiani was born in 1971 in

, Georgia. He has been contributing to the Georgian literary printed media since 1992. , he has published five poetry collections and simultaneously has intensively worked on translations of English and German poetry. Among numerous translations Zviad Ratiani has introduced to Georgian readers are poetic works by

T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

, E. Pound, R. Frost, M. Rilke, and Paul Celan; for the last one, Ratiani received the Goethe Institute Prize for the best translation of the year. Ratiani's poems have been translated into English, German, French, Russian, Azerbaijani, Ukrainian, Latvian, and other languages. His poetry has been published in several anthologies among them: Ich aber will dem Kaukasos zu... - Pop Verlag 2015, Germany; Aus der Ferne (Neue Georgische Lyrik), Corvinus Presse 2016, Germany. Ratiani has been the recipient of numerous literary awards.

Police harassment and arrests

On 29 November 2024, during the

2024 Georgian post-election protests 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

, Ratiani was dragged through the street, taken into a police car and repeatedly beaten during both the dragging and in the car. After his release, he was attacked close to his home by unidentified individuals. On June 23, 2025, Ratiani was again arrested during a pro-democracy protest. Various international organizations, including the PEN Centre Georgia and the

PEN Centre Germany PEN Centre Germany is part of the worldwide association of writers founded in London in 1921, now known as PEN International. One of over 140 autonomous PEN centres around the world, PEN Centre Germany is based in Darmstadt, Hesse. Work PEN Ce ...

expressed their alarm over the renewed detention in June 2025. PEN Germany stated that it is "very concerned about Ratiani's physical and mental well-being, also in view of the serious abuse he suffered during his last arrest."

Works

Books

* ''Only You are Allowed'', Diogene Publishing, 2015 * ''The Negative'', Diogene Publishing, 2009 * ''The Roads and the Days'', Arete Publishing, 2005 * ''The Pocket Air'', Bakur Sulakauri Publishing, 2000 * ''The Whisper Tutorial'', Lomisi Publishing House, 1994 * ''Invent Me'', Lomisi Publishing House, 1993

Translations

* T.S. Eliot - The Waste Land, Tbilisi, Intlekti Publishing House, 2013,

Prizes and awards

* Literary prize LITERA in the category The Best Poetry Collection for ''Only You are Allowed'', 2016 * Literary Award SABA in category the best poetry collection for ''The Negative'', 2010 * VAZHA PSHAVELA festival prize for the book ''Roads and Days'', 2005 * ARILI magazine prize for book-length poem ''Moving Target'', 2000 * Literary prize BESTSELLER for the poem ''Fathers'', 1999 * Georgian Writer’s Union prize in 1996 and 1998 in the category The Best Poetry Publication of the Year

References

External links

RATIANI ZVIAD

ONLY YOU ARE ALLOWED

Ratiani, Zviad

to Tadeusz Dobrowski
{{DEFAULTSORT:RAtiani, Zviad Male poets from Georgia (country) 21st-century poets from Georgia (country) 1971 births Living people Translators from Georgia (country) Prisoners and detainees from Georgia (country) Prisoners and detainees of Georgia (country)