Rūta Mikulėnaitė-Jonuškienė (Lithuania)

Rūta Mikulėnaitė-Jonuškienė was born in 1958 in Kloviniai, Utena District. She studied Lithuanian language and literature at the Vilnius State Pedagogical Institute, completed professional journalism studies at Vilnius University and the Open Lithuania Foundation Journalism Center. She also pursued interdisciplinary studies in mental health jointly organized by Hedmark University College in Norway and Utena College, and obtained a National Vocational Qualification in Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom. She has lived and worked in Scotland for the past twenty years. She published six poetry books, one of them jointly with two other authors. Her book Smilgos paukštis (The Bird of Feather Grass, 1996) received the Utena District Department of Culture and Education Prize for the best debut of the year. She has also published the collection Papartynų aitvaras (The Kite of the Fern Groves, 2015, winner of the Antanas Miškinis Literary Prize). Her book Mėlynų naktų vieškeliai (Blue Night Highways, 2025) received the Salomėja Nėris Literary Prize. She is a folk artist and creates traditional straw gardens in her spare time. Smilgos paukštis (1996) įvertinta Utenos rajono Kultūros ir švietimo skyriaus premija už geriausią metų debiutą; rinkinys Papartynų aitvaras (2015) pelnė Antano Miškinio literatūrinę premiją, knyga Mėlynų naktų vieškeliai (2025) apdovanota literatūrine Salomėjos Nėries premija. Tautodailininkė, laisvalaikiu veria šiaudinius sodus.

Photo from personal archive