Runa Svetlikova

I hear myself suggest with care/ that reality’s a fluid concept
                          First Aid for the Innocent          

Life and its ups-and-downs are the focus of Svetlikova’s poetry. Although it is often dark in her brain, and her poetry is raw and direct, the poems also make room for brightness and an irony which is directed at the poet herself. The poems draw from her personal life, but, paradoxically, they are not at all autobiographical. As she states on her website: "The best literature has the same relationship with reality as ordinary life does to that of Paris Hilton in [her reality tv show] The Simple Life”.
                       
In 2014 her debut book This Padded White Room was published to critical acclaim. In fact, she says she was startled by all the compliments, and it took her four years to write a new collection. This Padded White Room was granted the Herman De Coninck Debut Prize, the Jo Peters Poetry Prize and the European Bridges of Struga Debut Prize and nominated for the C. Buddingh’ Prize and the Hugues C. Pernath Prize.

Svetlikova is a poet and performer and lectures in Creative Writing at different academies. Her latest collection Twenty-three Tips to Keep the Dog and Your Demons on a Leash saw the light just a few weeks ago. BOOKS in Dutch
Deze zachte witte kamer (This Padded White Room). Uitgeverij Marmer, Baarn, 2014.
Drieëntwintig tips om de hond en je demonen aan de lijn te houden (Twenty-three Tips to Hold the Dog and Your Demons on a Leash). Uitgeverij Marmer, Baarn, 2018

LINKS in Dutch
The poet's website
Marmer