Tomaž Šalamun (1941, Zagreb) is a contemporary Slovenian poet. In Western Europe and especially the United States, he is among the best-known Eastern European poets. He graduated in 1965 with a degree in art history from Ljubljana. After working in the city’s Modern Art Gallery as a research assistant, he was hired as an assistant to the Academy of Fine Arts in 1971. He is an independent artist living in Ljubljana, occasionally teaching creative writing at various American universities. In 1964, he published the ironic and provocative poem "Duma". As an editor of the famous opposition publication Perspectives, he was imprisoned for several days. In 1999, he won the Preseren Prize, one of Slovenia’s most important accolades. His 35 volumes of poetry have influenced the younger generation of Slovenians and his poetry has been translated into many languages. A must read is The Selected Poems of Tomaž Salamun (New York).