Mantas Balakauskas … so crack open my head from which a new world will grow

Mantas Balakauskas (b. 1989) is a poet, essayist, and literary reviewer. He studied history at the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences. He publishes essays, commentary, and book reviews in the cultural press and on the portal lrt.lt. His poems have been translated into English, Italian, Slovenian, Greek, and other languages.

His debut book Roma (2016) received the Zigmas Gėlė–Gaidamavičius Prize and was shortlisted among the top five poetry books in the Book of the Year awards. His second poetry collection, Apmaudas (2020), was named Poetry Book of the Year in the same awards. Ferrum (2026) is his third book.