by Ramūnas Gerbutavičius, Lietuvos rytas

“Vilnius is the city of my youth and I have put down roots in the city. Your mother is the first person in your life, and your hometown is your first love, happy or tragic,” Anna Halberstadt said.

The 68-year-old woman was born in Vilnius, educated in Moscow and lives in New York. She wrote poems as a child but never showed them to anyone. She works as a therapist, helping immigrants adapt to American culture. Poetry returned to her thoughts after many years, following the unexpected death of a friend. In 2014 her first book of poems, Vilnius Diary, was published, and was translated into Lithuanian this year.

“Meeting Russian literature teacher Rosa Glintershick at the Salomėja Nėris Gymnasium [in Vilnius] really affected my literary life. When I was 14 I began attending her Russian literature group.”

Full story in Lithuanian here.