The bilingual poetry book Бумажная кожа/Paper-Thin Skin (Russian original and English translation, Zephyr Press, USA, 2019) was released after winning a Fellowship from the US National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The book received numerous positive reviews from US, European, Russian and Kazakhstani critics and was included to "2019's Top Books" by Meduza, to the list of "The most Notable Translations of 2019" by World Literature Today. The collection was also awarded The Käpylä Translation Prize (UCONN).


Here are some quotes from the book's critical reviews:

"Aigerim Tazhi’s Paper-Thin Skin is a work of stunning originality”.

 Elmira Elvazova, Massachusetts Review, April, 2020

"…[Tazhi’s] poetry is enjoyable for the pure inventiveness of her images and observations… What she offers us is challenging poetry which verges on mystifying in places, often challenging the reader to puzzle out some of her riddles".

Belinda Cooke, Poetry Salzburg Review, №35, 2020

"Tazhi’s poems are strikingly imagistic, her syntax shorn of unnecessary appendages. By steering clear of any narrative thread or conceptual utterance, they seem like pure instants of perception… In Tazhi’s seeringly lucid poems, the reader is made to look at the world around them afresh—a world where artificial borders and nation-states have little relevance".

Timothy Walsh, Rain Taxi Review, June, 2020