Radmila Lazic was born in 1949 in the central Serbian city of Krusevac, which is on the Morava tributary of the Danube River, at a time when it was part of Yugoslavia. When Lazic grew older, she moved to the Serbian capitol of Belgrade to pursue a career as a poet, editor, and activist. She has since become a prominent Serbian figure in all three of these areas.

The poetry collection A Wake for the Living (2003), which includes "Death Sentences," is Lazic's first work to be translated into English. She has five previously published successful collections of poetry in Serbian and has received a number of literary prizes. Lazic is also a respected editor and critic. She has published many essays on literature and has edited two anthologies—a volume of women's poetry and a volume of antiwar letters. A celebrated feminist, Lazic is the founder and...