Mila Haugová

Foreign Guests at the Vilenica

Mila Haugová (1942) is a Slovak poet who writes both poetry and autobiographical prose.

Among the poetry collections that have had a significant impact on her work are: Premenlivý povrch (Changeable Surface), Čisté dni (Pure Days), Praláska (Primal Love), Dáma s jednorožcom (The Lady and the Unicorn), Krídlatá žena (Winged Woman), Atlas piesku (Atlas of Sand), Pomalá lukostrelkyňa (The Slow Archer), Cetonia aurata, canti..amore, Srna pozerajúca na polárku (Doe Looking at Polaris), Z rastlinstva (From the Plant World), and Dokonalé zvieranie (Perfect Constriction). Her poetry collections have been translated into English, German, French, Russian, and Slovenian (translated into Slovenian by Andrej Perič).

She has taken part in several residencies: in Austria and Germany (Berlin and Edenkoben), in the USA at the International Writing Program in Iowa, and was a recipient of the Visegrad Fellowship in Budapest. She has received numerous awards for her poetry, including the prestigious Dominik Tatarka Prize in 2014, the European Vilenica Prize for Literature in 2020, and in 2023, the Pribina Cross awarded by the President of Slovakia as well as the Tatra Banka Foundation Prize.

In her poetry, she explores the depths of the human soul, heart, and mind—what takes place in our lives between man and woman, between mother and daughter, and across the entire chain of human relationships. She writes about how we all belong together: plants, animals, people, stars… through writing, she seeks to help heal the wounds of the world.