Alja Adam was born in 1976 in Ljubljana (Slovenia) where she finished two-discipline study at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana: comparative literature and sociology of culture. She continued her studies as a postgraduate student at the Faculty of Arts. In 2007 has successfully defended the PhD thesis and received the title of philosophical doctor in the field of women studies and feminist theory. During the time of her studies she published her poetry in the various slovenian publications. In 2003 she published a book of poems entitled Zaobljenost (Roundness) at the publishing house Aleph. Her poetry was also published in an international publication - it was translated into italian, english, german, croatian and serbian language. She has participated on numerous events and festivals. She often represents her poetry together with other art forms - with dance, video and electronic music. Now she is preparing a new book of poetry with title Zakaj omenjati Ahila (Why mention Achilles). She is working as a postdoctorate researcher at the Institute for postgraduate humanistic studies (ISH) in Ljubljana and she is the member of Liminal, association for social transfusion, creative and applied science.
Bejan Matur was born of an Alevi Kurdish family on 14 September 1968 in the ancient Hittite city of Maras in southeast Turkey. Her first school was in her own village; later she attended the long-established Lycée in the region's most important cultural centre Gaziantep. These years were spent living with her sisters far from their parents. She studied Law at Ankara University, but has never practised. In her university years, she was published in several literary periodicals. Reviewers found her poetry "dark and mystic". The shamanist poetry with its pagan perceptions, belonging to the past rather than the present, of her birthplace and the nature and life of her village, attracted much attention. Her first book, Rüzgar Dolu Konaklar, published in 1996, unrelated to the contemporary mainstream of Turkish poets and poetry, won several literary prizes. Her second book, Tanri Görmesin Harflerimi (1999) was warmly greeted. Two further books appeared at the same time in 2002, Ayin Büyüttügü Ogullar and Onun Çölünde, continuing the distinctive language and world of imagery special to herself and her poetry. Har last book, İbrahim’in Beni Terketmesi, published in March 2008, is considered by the critics to be her best book ever. - Since 2005 she writes articles for the opinion column of daily newspaper called ZAMAN. Bejan Matur, who believes there is no frontier between poetry and life, travels the world like a long-term desert nomad. She stops by Istanbul, a city she sometimes lives in.
Haydar Ergülen (b.1956) graduated from the sociology department at Middle East Technical University in Ankara. He worked as a copywriter in advertising agencies. Among his published poetry books are: Sokak Prensesi (Street Princess, 1990), Eskiden Terzi (Once a Tailor, 1995), 40 Şiir ve Bir (40 Poems and One, 1997- Winner of the 1998 Behçet Necatigil Poetry Award), Ölüm Bir Skandal (Death is a Scandal, 1999), Üzgün Kediler Gazeli (Ghazals to Blue Cats, 2007), Nar (Pomegranate, Collected Poems, 2008). His poems have been translated into many languages. He collected his essays in Düzyazı:100 Yazı (Hundred Essays, 2006). He has a column in a Turkish newspaper, “Birgün”.
Marjan Strojan was born in Ljubljana in 1949; poet, translator, film critic; raised on his uncle's farm in the fifties; studied philosophy and comparative literature in the seventies; in 1979 joined the Slovenian Section at the BBC World Service in London; in 2005 a fellow of IWP at the Iowa University and a resident writer at the Sitka Institute, Alaska. This year he was made resident writer at The Baptist University in Hong Kong. Currently with the Cultural programme of Radio Slovenia in Ljubljana. Strojan published five books of poetry: Excursion into Nature (1990), Small Insomnias (1991), Steamers in the Rain (2000, Veronika Award), The Day you loved me (2004) and The Landscape with the Shadow (2006, nominated for the Veronika and Simon Jenko Award). He also published many translations, among them a selection from The Canterbury Tales and the selections of Robert Frost’s and Sydney Lea’s poetry. He edited and for the most part translated the first comprehensive Anthology of English Poetry in Slovenian; for his translations of Beowulf and Milton’s Paradise Lost he received the Sovrè award for the year 1996 and 2004 respectively. In 2004 he adapted his edition of Milton’s Paradise Lost for radio and CD as well as the stage. Strojan’s poetry appeared in German, Check and Polish, Spanish, Italian and English translations. Marjan Strojan is an honorary fellow of IWP, University of Iowa, and a vice president of Slovenian national committee of PEN.
Primož Čučnik was born in Ljubljana in 1971. He graduated from philosophy and cultural sociology at The Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana. His first collection of poetry, Dve Zimi (Two Winters), was published in 1999 and received Best First Collection Award. His latest books are Ritem v rôkah (Rhythm in hands, 2002), Akordi (Chords, 2004), collaboration book Ode on Manhattan avenue (2003), Nova okna (New windows, 2005), Sekira v medu (Selected poems. 2006). Delo in dom (Work and home, 2007) won a Prešeren Fund prize for 2008. Selection of his poems Zapach herbaty (2002) was published by Zielona sowa, Krakow. His poems were published in A Fine Line: New Poetry from Eastern & Central Europe. He translates mostly from contemporary Polish and American poetry, he puslished books of (co)translations from work of Adam Wiedemann, Marcin Świetlicki, Piotr Sommer, Eugenyusz Tkaczyszyn Dycki, Miron Białoszewski or Frank O'Hara, Elizabeth Bishop, John Ashbery. Many others was published in the Slovenian literary magazines and on the radio. His literary criticism and esays was published in the book Spati na krilu (Sleeping on the wing, 2008). He works as an editor for the magazine Literatura and runs a small press Sherpa. Lives in Ljubljana.
Tuna Kyremytcy (b. February 1973, Eskiţehir) is a contemporary Turkish author. His first poems were published in the magazine Varlýk during his Galatasaray High School years. His book entitled "Ayabakanlar" (Moon Watchers) that won him the "Yazar Nabi Nayýr" Award for Poetry met his readers in 1994. In 1997 he shared the "Erguvan Balkan Poetry Award with the Bosnian poet Izet Sarajlic. This was followed by his second book of poems "Akademi" (Academy) in 1998. Tuna Kyremytcy's first novel "Git Kendini Çok Sevdirmeden" (Leave Before I Fall in) that came out in 2002 excited great interest and was acknowledged as one of the most important literary events of that year His second novel "Bu Ýţte Bir Yalnýzlýk Var" (Way of Loneliness) and "Bazý Ţiirler Bazý Ţarkýlar" (Some Poems Some Songs) a collection of his poems were published in 2003 His books "Yolda Üç Kiţi" (Three On The Road) and "A.Ţ.K. Neyin Kýsaltmasý?" (What is L.O.V.E.?) published in 2005 have met with a wide audience. His latest book called "Dualar Kalýcýdýr" was published in 2007 and has been translated into 6 languages. His books that on the whole treat the tragedies of ordinary people, the impasse of relationships between men and women in today's Turkish society and the melancholy of getting old with an expression that is mournful but that evokes a smile here and there, have been appraised by Professor Gürsel Aytaç as being examples in Turkish literature of "romantic irony" (Hürriyet Gösteri: July-August 2005). Tuna Kyremytcy who studied cinema at the Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, and who has received awards for short films at various festivals is engaged on work as a columnist and in writing scenarios. Besides this in the 1990's he did work on Ethnic Rock with the group Kumdan Kaleler (Sand Castles) and put his name to the albume ("Denize Dođru";1996 Facing The Sea) as composer and soloist.