About

SHORT BIO

Khaya Ronkainen is a poet, writer, editor, and independent author. She is the author of three poetry collections: the full-length, The Sheltering (2022), and the chapbooks, From the Depth of Darkness (2019) and Seasons Defined (2018). Her writings appear in various international journals, such as Brittle Paper, Kalahari Review, Spillwords Press and others, as well as in anthologies. Originally from South Africa, Khaya now calls Finland home and where she lives with her husband.

LONG BIO

Khaya Ronkainen is a poet, writer, editor, and independent author. Drawing inspiration from nature, personal history, and cross-cultural experiences, her writing often examines hybrid identity, home, freedom, and the restorative power of the natural world to awaken our senses.

She is the author of The Sheltering (2022), a poetry collection reflecting on the impact of global upheavals, including the pandemic and political unrest. Her publications also include two chapbooks: From the Depth of Darkness (2019) and Seasons Defined (2018). Her poems, essays and reviews appear in various international journals, such as Brittle Paper, Literary Korner Publishing, Kalahari Review, Spillwords Press and more. Some of her poems are included in anthologies such as Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku. Notably, her essay “I am Beautiful” won a third place in the 2022 Body-Positivity Essay Contest hosted at Navigating the Change, a platform for women in their menopausal journey. Khaya is a regular contributor and editorial team member at LIT eZine. She also pens a newsletter, Project Finding Beauty, to encourage an appreciation for everyday beauty.

She holds a business degree, but has also branched out into other areas of study, such as English Philology. Her cross-continental move, though, is what finally spurred her to write the stories she’d always hoped to read. She’s working on a novel about family life during the apartheid era.

In her spare time, and as a hobbyist photographer, she immerses herself in nature, trekking through the wilderness and capturing its wonders through her camera lens. Born and bred in South Africa, Khaya now calls Finland her home and where she lives with her husband.