Ilka is a native New Yorker who has taught poetry in city schools and GED programs; at Parsons School of Design and the State University of New York, New Paltz; and to youth in drug programs and prison sites. Her poetry has recently been published in Poetry in Performance, Vanitas, and LiveMag. Her books include There for the Taking (Four Zoas Press) and Local Sky (Soncino Press). Ilka has read for the Tate Museum in London, at the Bowery Poetry Club, and at La MaMa Theatre, where her GED students present their own annual arts festival. Ilka is a regular contributor to Italian Marie Claire. Recent articles include profiles of the artists Kiki Smith, Chuck Close, and Alex Katz. She writes contemporary art criticism for artnet.com. Ilka has taught poetry for more than 25 years and also works with Lincoln Center’s Nutcracker Project.