CHANNELDRAW · PORTRAITS, POETRY & RESISTANCE · 2026
Shieldmaiden
Verses That Fight the Silence
THE PROJECT
Fourteen faces.
One single chorus.
Fourteen women poets from Northern and Baltic Europe meet in a series of portraits by Gianluca Costantini.
Two voices from each of seven countries: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Together, they trace a poetic geography through the twentieth century, across languages, censorship, exile and the struggle for emancipation.
Shieldmaiden takes its name from the warrior women of Norse sagas. Here, words become instruments of resistance. The portraits translate poetry into line, bringing a voice into the presence of a face.
The project takes three forms: a series of fourteen portraits, a limited-edition Risograph book and an exhibition in the streets of Ravenna.
01 · THE PORTRAITS
Faces that carry words
Fourteen individual portraits, paired by country. Open a drawing to see it in detail.
01 / 14 · Denmark
Inger Christensen
Born in Vejle, Denmark, in 1935; she died in 2009.A leading experimental voice in modern Danish poetry.Her writing also includes fiction, drama and essays.She explored new possibilities for poetic form and language.Her international honours include the Nordic Prize.
02 / 14 · Denmark
Tove Ditlevsen
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1917; she died in 1976.She grew up in a working-class neighbourhood.A poet and novelist, she published her first poems in her twenties.The Copenhagen Trilogy traces childhood, youth and dependency.Her work brings the experience of becoming a writer into focus.
03 / 14 · Norway
Gunvor Hofmo
Born in Oslo, Norway, in 1921; she died in 1995.She grew up in a working-class family in the city’s east.Her first poetry collection appeared in 1946.War, loss and loneliness run through her writing.She became a major voice in Norway’s postwar poetry.
04 / 14 · Norway
Inger Hagerup
Born in Bergen, Norway, in 1905; she died in 1985.She was a poet, translator and writer for children.Her poem Aust-Vagoy became a voice of wartime resistance.Her lyrical work combines political conviction and intimate feeling.Her playful children’s poems include the classic Sa rart.
05 / 14 · Sweden
Elsa Grave
Born in Gunnarstorp, Sweden, in 1918; she died in 2003.She studied humanities in Lund and art in Stockholm.Her first poetry collection, Inkraktare, appeared in 1943.A modernist poet, she developed a sharp, grotesque irony.She also wrote novels and plays, painted and composed music.
06 / 14 · Sweden
Kristina Lugn
Born in Tierp, Sweden, in 1948; she died in 2020.She made her poetry debut in 1972 with Om jag inte.Her poems and plays mix vulnerability with dark humour.Loneliness and the pressure to appear normal recur in her work.She joined the Swedish Academy in 2006.
07 / 14 · Finland
Mirkka Rekola
Born in Tampere, Finland, in 1931; she died in 2014.Her first collection, Vedessa palaa, was published in 1954.Her writing questions rigid divisions in how we see the world.Initially considered difficult, her poetry gained lasting recognition.Her literary career extended across more than half a century.
08 / 14 · Finland
Eeva-Liisa Manner
Born in Helsinki, Finland, in 1921; she died in 1995.She spent much of her childhood in Viipuri, now Vyborg.A poet, playwright and translator, she debuted in 1944.Tama matka, published in 1956, marked her breakthrough.Her translations brought writers such as Kafka into Finnish.
09 / 14 · Estonia
Kersti Merilaas
Born in Narva, Estonia, in 1913; she died in 1986.She joined the Arbujad circle of young Estonian poets.Her debut collection, Maantee tuuled, appeared in 1938.Love and nature shape her lyrical, often song-like poetry.Soviet censorship interrupted her career but did not end it.
10 / 14 · Estonia
Betti Alver
Born in Jogeva, Estonia, in 1906; she died in 1989.She studied Estonian language and literature in Tartu.Her first novel, Tuulearmuke, appeared in 1927.She later turned to poetry and became a distinguished translator.Her translations include the work of Alexander Pushkin.
11 / 14 · Latvia
Aspazija
Born at Dauksas farm, Latvia, in 1865; she died in 1943.The farm stood in the Zalenieki area of Semigallia.She became a poet, playwright and prominent public voice.Her writing challenged conventions and defended women’s freedom.She helped shape modern Latvian poetry and drama.
12 / 14 · Latvia
Vizma Belsevica
Born in Riga, Latvia, in 1931; she died in 2005.She grew up in a working-class family on Varnu Street.A poet and translator, she faced a Soviet publishing ban.Her collection Annual Rings connects history with oppression.The Bille trilogy draws on her childhood and the years of war.
13 / 14 · Lithuania
Judita Vaiciunaite
Born in Kaunas, Lithuania, in 1937; she died in 2001.She was a poet and translator closely associated with Vilnius.Her first published collection appeared in 1960.City life and urban landscapes gave her poetry a distinctive setting.Her writing brings impressionist detail into modern Lithuanian verse.
14 / 14 · Lithuania
Janina Degutyte
Born in Kaunas, Lithuania, in 1928; she died in 1990.She graduated in Lithuanian studies at Vilnius University in 1955.Her first poetry collection, Ugnies lasai, appeared in 1959.Nature, personal experience and folklore meet in her lyrical work.She also wrote for children and translated Rilke and Tsvetaeva.
02 · THE BOOK
A chorus
on paper
Shieldmaiden – Verses That Fight the Silence gathers the portraits in a signed and numbered edition of 100 copies.
Printed by Tiratura in Ravenna using Risograph, on the occasion of POLIS Teatro Festival 2026. Italian texts appear alongside English translations and the poets’ original languages.
- Artist
- Gianluca Costantini
- Published
- April 2026
- Format
- 17 × 24 cm · 16 pages
- Edition
- 100 signed and numbered copies
- Printing
- Risograph · Tiratura, Ravenna
03 · THE EXHIBITION
Poetry enters
public space
The portraits become an open-air exhibition in Via Zirardini, Ravenna, bringing fourteen poetic voices into the everyday life of the city.
Via Zirardini Open-Air Gallery
Ravenna, Italy · 28 April–19 May 2026
Opening: 30 April 2026, 6 pm
On the occasion of POLIS Teatro Festival.
In collaboration with the Tourism Office of the Municipality of Ravenna.
Exhibition photographs by Dario Bonazza.
WOMEN · WORDS · RESISTANCE
Let their voices
remain present.
Drawing, poetry and public space meet in a project dedicated to women whose words continue to cross borders.