Marie Iljašenko, a creative immersion at Vil·la Joana

Marie Iljašenko, born in Ukraine and of Czech nationality, spent three weeks last summer in a literary residency in Vil·la Joana, Barcelona. She explains that during the residency she took advantage of the peaceful environment to make significant progress on her work, a poetic project dedicated to animal and plant life in cities.

The author completed ten texts she had pending for a poetry competition and wrote five new ones. In addition, she did research and worked on the preparation of her website. ‘The residency helped me a lot,’ she says. She adds that she found ‘a source of inspiration’ in Barcelona, observing oceans and visiting the Aquarium.

Apart from the literary work, the experience was also enriching for her on a personal and professional level. Iljašenko highlights the interaction with other resident writers. She also enjoyed various cultural activities, such as book presentations and guided tours of Park Güell and other parts of the city.

For Iljašenko, this was her first visit to Barcelona, a city that, she confesses, she liked very much: ‘I’ll definitely want to come back.

For more information about the Vil·la Joana literary residencies, click this link.