Maira Asare

Maira Asare (1960 - 2015) was a Latvian writer, poet and translator. Maira grew up in Limbaži, a small town in Latvia, finished school there and went on to study at the Riga Medical Institute (1978—1981), and later journalism at the Philology Department of the University of Latvia (1988—1990). Her poetry was first published as selected poems in "Avots" magazine in 1988. Asare's first book of poems Kas ar dzeguzi spēlējas/ Who Plays with the Cuckoo was published in 1995 to critical acclaim and was awarded the Poetry Days Award. In 2009, Asare wrote a book of prose Sieviešu zona/ Women's Zone exploring the contoversial subjects of addiction, imprisonment and reality of a women's prison. Maira Asare has worked in cultural sphere and in the Ventspil's Library. Asare has translated poetry from Russian (Sergejs Moreino, poetry group "Orbīta"), and prose by Russian authors. She was nominated for the Latvian Literature Award for her translation of Lena Eltanga's novel "Stone Maples" in 2014. Among her best received works is her collection of poems Ceļš uz Tūju/The Road to Tuja. 

Poetry and Prose
Ceļš uz Tūju [The Road to Tūja]. Riga: Jumava, 2009.
Sieviešu zona [Women's Zone]. Riga: Dienas grāmata, 2009.
Kas ar dzeguzi spēlējas [Who Plays with the Cuckoo]. Riga: Daugava, 1995.

Translations
Akram Aylisli.Sasha Sokolov. Muļķu skola [A School for Fools]. Rīga: Zvaigzne ABC, 2010.
Kena Eltanga. Akmens kļavas [Stone Maples]. Riga: Jānis Roze, 2014.
Mikhail Shishkin. Vēstulnieks [Letterbook]. Rīga: Jumava, 2012.
Milzu sastrēgums. Rīga: Dienas grāmata, 2015.

1996, Poetry Days Award for Kas ar dzeguzi spēlējas/ Who Plays with the Cuckoo