Tomas Venclova has been called “…not only the best living poet of the Lithuanian language, but also the best poet Lithuania has ever had.”

Tomas Venclova is one of Europe’s most important writers and intellectual voices. The author of over twenty-five books, he has been the recipient of numerous international awards and honors for his contribution to European literature and culture, including Germany’s prestigious Petrarca Prize, Italy’s Premio Capri and China’s Qinhai International Prize. Considered Lithuania’s greatest living writer, Tomas Venclova’s work speaks with a moral depth exceptional in contemporary letters. Venclova’s writings address urgent questions of literature, democracy and the ethical constants that allow for hope and perseverance.

Formerly a founding member of the Lithuanian Helsinki group, he was forced by the Soviet authorities, like his close friend, fellow poet and Nobel prize recipient Joseph Brodsky, to leave the Soviet Union in 1977. A long-standing defender of human rights, he is an active participant in discussions of European politics.

This conversation with Tomas Venclova interweaves European postwar history, dissidence and literature. It provides an in-depth account of ethical choices and artistic resistance to totalitarianism.

Venclova’s books have been translated into over fifteen languages, including, German, French, Italian, Russian and Polish.

Ellen Hinsey is the author of numerous books of poetry, prose and literary translation. Her work has appeared in such publications such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Irish Times and Poetry. A former Berlin Prize Fellow of the American Academy in Berlin and a DAAD Kunstler Program Fellow, she has also been the recipient of Lannan and Rona Jaffe Foundation Awards.