BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: ALISA VELAJ Alisa Velaj was born in Albania, in 1982. She holds a Ph.D. in Albanian Language and Literature, which she has been teaching as subjects at university level, while writing poetry, prose, essays, articles, and research studies. Velaj was shortlisted for the annual international Erbacce-Press Poetry Award in UK in June 2014. Her work has been published in over 100 international online forums, printed magazines and antholo- gies across many countries (USA, UK, Sweden, Australia, Israel, India). Alisa earned an Artist-in-Residence Scholarship in February 2019 and attended the AIR Litteratur Västra Götaland Program in Villa Martin- son, Jonsered, Sweden. Velaj is the author of the poetry book “With no sweat at all”, (Carvena Barva Press, 2021), translated into the English by Ukë Buçpapaj. In 2020, she won The National Prize in Poetry, awarded by the Albanian Ministry of Culture.
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