Rina Shamilov
Program and Social Media Assistant / Yetzirah: A Hearth for Jewish Poetry
Biography
Rina Shamilov is a poet and visual artist from Brooklyn, New York, born to Soviet immigrants. She is the author of My Mother’s Armoire (Bottlecap Press, 2024) and Hungering: Dance of the Figurines, which was named a finalist in Black Lawrence Press’ Immigrant Writing Series in 2025. Her work is either found (or forthcoming) in poets.org, Second Factory, The Talon Review, Antiphony Press, Grotto, ballast, ritual dagger, The Laurel Review, and Ranger, among others. She is the recipient of the 2026 Billy Maich Award from the Academy of American Poets, and her work has been recognized with a nomination for a Best of the Net award. Rina holds an M.F.A from the University of Notre Dame, where she served as the Managing Editor of Poetry of the Notre Dame Review.
What is the relationship between Judaism and/or Jewish culture and your poetry?
I write about motherhood & language — which often coincide with each other and with Judaism. My poiesis is rooted in locating a mother tongue as something taken and longed after — existing in a diaspora. I think, at the moment, my Judaism is rooted in a sense of Otherness.
Published Works
My Mother’s Armoire (Bottlecap Press, 2024)
Links to Sample Works
Burning House Press, FROLIC APERTURE
Poetries in English Magazine, BODY ODE
ballast, L’ORIGINE DU MONDE
