Gelashvili Naira

Naira Gelashvili (born October 28, 1947, in the village of Nukriani, Sighnaghi Municipality), is a writer, translator, and literary scholar. She graduated from the Faculty of Eastern European Languages and Literature at Tbilisi State University (TSU) in 1970, and later completed her graduate studies in Eastern European and American literature (1973). From 1975 to 1981, she taught the history of foreign literature at TSU. Since 1982, she has served as the chief editor of the main editorial board for artistic translation and literary relations at the Union of Georgian Writers.

Her literary career began with translating German poetry and philosophy. She published her first short stories in 1981 ("Mnatobi," No. 4). In 1982, her story “Mivemgzavrebi Madrids” (I am Traveling to Madrid) won the Union of Georgian Writers' prize for the best short story of the year. In 1983, her first collection of short stories was published, along with a book of fairy tales titled The Mustang with Dots and the Little Rain (published as a single book in 2019). In 1986, her novel “Ambrni, Umbrni da Arabni” was published, followed by her novel Mother’s Room in 1987 (second edition in 2018).

In 1991, her collection of literary and journalistic essays titled Tragic Gradation was published. In 1991, her novel Shards of the Mirror was published in the journal Mnatobi (published as a book in 2018). In 1993, her book Georgia – Paradise in Ruins, written in German, was published in Berlin. Since 1993, she has been the director of the Georgian Center for Cultural Relations, “Caucasian House,” and the president of the International Rilke Society (since 1994).

Literary works: ამბრნი, უმბრნი და არაბნი, თბ., 2020; ბაღის ბოლოში, ლექსები, თბ., 2020; მე ის ვარ (ძველებური ამბავი მოზარდებისათვის), რომანი, თბ., 2020.