In this debut collection by Marie Iljašenko, the poet is both a cartographer and an accomplished guide; she is well versed in a variety of professions. She moves through times and spaces and languages with such ease, almost effortlessly, that it is astonishing. This is not education – rather a search for a place to start from, a place that is always uncertain, elusive. Its both desperation and a wonderful lightness. – Petr Borkovec

Published in 2015 by Host Publishers in the Czech Republic.
80 pages / 11,7 x 17,5 cm

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The central theme of Marie Iljašenko’s second collection is the tension between home and its abandonment. St. Outdoor is the patron saint of those who believe it is better to be “outside” than “inside,” revealing the world to those willing to leave their “rooms” and embrace movement. Writing seriously today about home, courage, and love may seem risky, but this healing journey from self to self ultimately proves its worth. Even in lumps of curd, one can glimpse the ice floes of Antarctica!

Several poems from the book, translated by Nathan Fields and David Vichnar, appeared in Arrowsmith Journal.

Published in 2019 by Host Publishers in the Czech Republic.
64 pages / 12,2 x 18,5 cm

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Not only people live in cities, they are also homes for animals, birds, and plants. It is to these that Marie Iljašenko dedicates her third collection, accompanied by illustrations from Ukrainian artist Mariko Gelman. Here foxes rest in the shadows of London telephone boxes, trout monitor the water quality in a Prague sewage treatment plant, and wild peas flourish between the lanes of a city ring road. But expect no idyll, at best, people ignore their neighbors or are superficially impressed by them and at worst they deny them the right to a home. The poems tell of habitats such as streams, abandoned sites, street canyons and green corridors and of traps in the form of glass surfaces, thorns, skylights and bars. Is it possible to talk about animals and plants, or even speak in their voice, while avoiding simplification, lecturing and anthropomorphizing? One must at least try. Urban, natural and at the same time intimate poetry about the everyday life of a pheasant, about the demon of cuteness, owls, hares, philodendron, cats and tomcats and about coexistence with them.

Published in 2025 by Host Publishers in the Czech Republic.
96 pages / 14,6 x 18,4 cm

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