Ana Blandiana is one of Romania’s most admired and popular poets. Her delicate, subtle and pointed poetry has gained her a large readership at home, where she has received the highest literary awards. Her poetry is direct, personal and uncompromising in its vision; it has strong traditional roots, both literary and spiritual, yet is acutely responsive to present-day concerns.

Ana Blandiana’s poetry and prose have been widely translated in Europe, but `The Hour of Sand’ is the first selection of her poems to appear in English. It introduces a fresh and distinctive voice in Eastern European poetry.

Ana Blandiana was born in Transylvania in 1942. The first of her eleven collections of poetry, `First Person Plural’, appeared in 1964. She has also published children’s books, fiction and essays, and wrote a regular column in Bucharest’s leading literary paper from 1974 to 1988.

Peter Jay’s collection of poems `Shifting Frontiers’ appeared in 1980. He edited `The Greek Anthology’, a Penguin Classic, and his translations include selections from several Romanian poets.

Anca Cristofovici was educated in Bucharest. She taught French at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina from 1987-9.