Kai Aareleid is an award-winning Estonian prose writer, poet and literary translator. She graduated from the Theatre Academy Helsinki, Finland with a master’s degree in dramaturgy, and studied literary translation and editing at Tallinn University. She has had a career in publishing as well as teaching and mentoring. A prolific literary translator from the Spanish, Finnish, and English, she has translated into Estonian works by Bruce Chatwin, David Mamet, Javier Marías, Roberto Bolaño, and Jorge Luis Borges, among others. Aareleid has published two collections of poetry, two novels and a collection of short stories. Her latest novel, Burning Cities was published by Peter Owen Publishers in 2018 (translated by Adam Cullen). Her poems were included in the anthology New Baltic Poetry, published by Parthian Books in 2018. She is currently a freelance writer, translator, performer, and lecturer.

photo to: ©Tomi Kontio