MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION Highlights from the latest issue. Clean Hands: Focus on the Pandemic in Europe. MPT’s spring issue ‘Clean Hands’ focuses on the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, featuring the Stanza/MPT Windowswap Project; a conversation between Simone Atangana Bekono and Jay Bernard about the language of lockdown; and new poems and translations from across the continent including Jan Wagner, Stella POEMS - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION 1 You’re in Vienna and I’m in Offenbach and Author: Safiye Can. Translation: Martin Kratz.

ON THE MOVE

Riedlbauchová’s education and career is outward looking and these poems are pleasingly, vigorously on the move. The book also draws on the European traditions of absurdism and surrealism. This makes for a joyful feast of sometimes surprising images. Riedlbauchová is strongest at imagery, often revealed in, or deepened by, the last

line.

NIJOLĖ MILIAUSKAITĖ Nijolė Miliauskaitė (1950-2002) spent most of her life in the spa town of Druskininkai surrounded by pine and fir forest, where she formed part of a triumvirate of especially strong poets including Kornelijus Platelis and her husband Vytautas Bložė. She only published four books in her short life, but received numerous awards, including the Lithuanian

OUR SMALL UNIVERSE

Our Small Universe, 2019 Number 1. MPT ’s spring issue ‘Our Small Universe’ focuses on the many languages of the United Kingdom – from Romani to Welsh; Shetlandic to BSL; Turkish to Ulster Scots – and features Owen Sheers, Zoe Brigley, Liz Berry, MacGillivray, THE RIVER - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION 1 I am a river, going down over wide stones, going down over hard rocks, my path drawn by the wind. The trees around me are shrouded with rain. I am a river, descending with greater fury, with greater violence, whenever a bridge reflects me in its curves. 2 I am a river,

a river.

DING DOON THA MAIRCH DIKES We aye big mairch dikes for tae houl oor ain, an say: ‘aathin on this side belangs tae me’. Ach, ding doon tha dikes an cowp tha waas o tha bawns for tae keek at ither airts, ootby, oot thonder. Folks’ dwams wull no thole bein cleeked in kists; na, they gie tha braes a POEMS FROM 'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF DEATH' To jump to readings of Kim Hyesoon in this podcast, skip to 42.12. Smell Day Twenty One Grasshoppers, dragonflies, mosquitoes, and beetles hide The sky slipslips away high up The hills roll down to the bo\u0007ttom The frogs leap into the grave The phone rings You receive the pitch-black darkness before the call From the

AN OLD TIBETAN RUG

Your soul and my own are lovers Interwoven in the Tibetan runner. Light in light, enamoured dyes, Stars that wooed each other the length of the skies. Our feet rest on the precious object, Mill-ions-and-mill-ions-of-sti-tches-in-breadth. Sweet lama-son in your abelmosk-shrine, How long now has your mouth been kissing mine And my cheek yours through brightly THE LOST - DANTE'S INFERNO CANTO I, LINES 1-3 - MODERN Half way along the road we have to go. I came to in a gloomy wood. In the midway of this our mortal life. Midway upon the journey of our life. Midway along the journey of our life. I came around and found myself now searching. Through a dark wood, the right way blurred and lost. I found me in a gloomy wood, astray. I found I was in a dark

forest.

MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION Highlights from the latest issue. Clean Hands: Focus on the Pandemic in Europe. MPT’s spring issue ‘Clean Hands’ focuses on the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, featuring the Stanza/MPT Windowswap Project; a conversation between Simone Atangana Bekono and Jay Bernard about the language of lockdown; and new poems and translations from across the continent including Jan Wagner, Stella POEMS - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION 1 You’re in Vienna and I’m in Offenbach and Author: Safiye Can. Translation: Martin Kratz.

ON THE MOVE

Riedlbauchová’s education and career is outward looking and these poems are pleasingly, vigorously on the move. The book also draws on the European traditions of absurdism and surrealism. This makes for a joyful feast of sometimes surprising images. Riedlbauchová is strongest at imagery, often revealed in, or deepened by, the last

line.

NIJOLĖ MILIAUSKAITĖ Nijolė Miliauskaitė (1950-2002) spent most of her life in the spa town of Druskininkai surrounded by pine and fir forest, where she formed part of a triumvirate of especially strong poets including Kornelijus Platelis and her husband Vytautas Bložė. She only published four books in her short life, but received numerous awards, including the Lithuanian

OUR SMALL UNIVERSE

Our Small Universe, 2019 Number 1. MPT ’s spring issue ‘Our Small Universe’ focuses on the many languages of the United Kingdom – from Romani to Welsh; Shetlandic to BSL; Turkish to Ulster Scots – and features Owen Sheers, Zoe Brigley, Liz Berry, MacGillivray, THE RIVER - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION 1 I am a river, going down over wide stones, going down over hard rocks, my path drawn by the wind. The trees around me are shrouded with rain. I am a river, descending with greater fury, with greater violence, whenever a bridge reflects me in its curves. 2 I am a river,

a river.

DING DOON THA MAIRCH DIKES We aye big mairch dikes for tae houl oor ain, an say: ‘aathin on this side belangs tae me’. Ach, ding doon tha dikes an cowp tha waas o tha bawns for tae keek at ither airts, ootby, oot thonder. Folks’ dwams wull no thole bein cleeked in kists; na, they gie tha braes a POEMS FROM 'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF DEATH' To jump to readings of Kim Hyesoon in this podcast, skip to 42.12. Smell Day Twenty One Grasshoppers, dragonflies, mosquitoes, and beetles hide The sky slipslips away high up The hills roll down to the bo\u0007ttom The frogs leap into the grave The phone rings You receive the pitch-black darkness before the call From the

AN OLD TIBETAN RUG

Your soul and my own are lovers Interwoven in the Tibetan runner. Light in light, enamoured dyes, Stars that wooed each other the length of the skies. Our feet rest on the precious object, Mill-ions-and-mill-ions-of-sti-tches-in-breadth. Sweet lama-son in your abelmosk-shrine, How long now has your mouth been kissing mine And my cheek yours through brightly THE LOST - DANTE'S INFERNO CANTO I, LINES 1-3 - MODERN Half way along the road we have to go. I came to in a gloomy wood. In the midway of this our mortal life. Midway upon the journey of our life. Midway along the journey of our life. I came around and found myself now searching. Through a dark wood, the right way blurred and lost. I found me in a gloomy wood, astray. I found I was in a dark

forest.

ISSUES - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION Clean Hands, 2021 Number 1. MPT’s spring issue ‘Clean Hands’ focuses on the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, featuring the Stanza/MPT Windowswap Project; a conversation between Simone Atangana Bekono and Jay Bernard about the language of lockdown; and new poems and translations from across the continent including Jan Wagner, Stella N’Djoku, David Harsent, Safiye Can, David Constantine CLEAN HANDS, 2021 NUMBER 1 Clean Hands, 2021 Number 1. MPT ’s spring issue ‘Clean Hands’ focuses on the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, featuring the Stanza/MPT Windowswap Project; a conversation between Simone Atangana Bekono and Jay Bernard about the language of lockdown; and new poems and translations from across the continent including Jan Wagner, Stella

N’Djoku

THE RIVER - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION 1 I am a river, going down over wide stones, going down over hard rocks, my path drawn by the wind. The trees around me are shrouded with rain. I am a river, descending with greater fury, with greater violence, whenever a bridge reflects me in its curves. 2 I am a river,

a river.

ORIGINS OF THE FIRE EMOJI, 2020 NUMBER 3 Origins of the Fire Emoji, 2020 Number 3. MPT ’s autumn issue, ‘Origins of the Fire Emoji’, has a focus guest-edited by the Dead Poets Society, and will bring voices from all corners of the world back to life. From Enheduanna, a high priestess from ancient Mesopotamia who is the first recorded poet, to Suzannah Evans ’

essay on

ANDREI VOZNESENSKY

urban existence made larger than lifesize Valentina Polukhina, the Guardian Andrei Voznesensky was born in 1933 in Moscow. He found an early artistic passion for painting and architecture, graduating from the Moscow Architectural Institute in 1957 with a degree in engineering before discovering his calling in poetry. While still a teenager he sent drafts of

ARCHILOCHUS

Archilochus (Greek: Ἀρχίλοχος) (c. 680 BC – c. 645 BC) was an Archaic period mercenary and poet, who is taken to be first person in the Western tradition to write lyric poetry in the first person. Although his work now only survives in fragments, he was revered by the ancient Greeks as one of their

CAITLÍN MAUDE

CAITLÍN MAUDE (1941–1982) was an Irish poet, playwright, actress and traditional singer. A volume of her collected poems was published posthumously by Coiscéim. DIS LIFE IS NIVVER ENYOCH There is a small and growing literature in Shetlandic, particularly poetry. This poem, ‘Dis Life is Nivver Enyoch’, is a meditation on our coming to terms with the relative brevity of our lives, both as individuals and in relationship. The three sections, all set in

Reykjavik, span

SARAH KIRSCH

Sarah Kirsch was born in 1935 in Limlingerode in Southern Saxony. One of Germany ’s leading contemporary poets, she received numerous awards, including the Petrarch Prize (1976), the (West) German Critics ’ Prize (1981), and the Georg Büchner Prize (1996). Sarah Kirsch

died in May 2013.

ON TADEUSZ RÓŻEWICZ On Tadeusz Różewicz. The Polish poem that I have chosen to write on is Tadeusz Różewicz’s ‘In the Midst of Life’, translated into English by Adam Czerniawski. I first heard this poem in 2005 during a lecture delivered by the poet and scholar Desmond Graham, who is himself the co-translator of another great Polish poet, Anna

Kamieńska.

MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION Highlights from the latest issue. Clean Hands: Focus on the Pandemic in Europe. MPT’s spring issue ‘Clean Hands’ focuses on the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, featuring the Stanza/MPT Windowswap Project; a conversation between Simone Atangana Bekono and Jay Bernard about the language of lockdown; and new poems and translations from across the continent including Jan Wagner, Stella POEMS - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION 1 You’re in Vienna and I’m in Offenbach and Author: Safiye Can. Translation: Martin Kratz.

ON THE MOVE

Riedlbauchová’s education and career is outward looking and these poems are pleasingly, vigorously on the move. The book also draws on the European traditions of absurdism and surrealism. This makes for a joyful feast of sometimes surprising images. Riedlbauchová is strongest at imagery, often revealed in, or deepened by, the last

line.

NIJOLĖ MILIAUSKAITĖ Nijolė Miliauskaitė (1950-2002) spent most of her life in the spa town of Druskininkai surrounded by pine and fir forest, where she formed part of a triumvirate of especially strong poets including Kornelijus Platelis and her husband Vytautas Bložė. She only published four books in her short life, but received numerous awards, including the Lithuanian

OUR SMALL UNIVERSE

Our Small Universe, 2019 Number 1. MPT ’s spring issue ‘Our Small Universe’ focuses on the many languages of the United Kingdom – from Romani to Welsh; Shetlandic to BSL; Turkish to Ulster Scots – and features Owen Sheers, Zoe Brigley, Liz Berry, MacGillivray, THE RIVER - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION 1 I am a river, going down over wide stones, going down over hard rocks, my path drawn by the wind. The trees around me are shrouded with rain. I am a river, descending with greater fury, with greater violence, whenever a bridge reflects me in its curves. 2 I am a river,

a river.

DING DOON THA MAIRCH DIKES We aye big mairch dikes for tae houl oor ain, an say: ‘aathin on this side belangs tae me’. Ach, ding doon tha dikes an cowp tha waas o tha bawns for tae keek at ither airts, ootby, oot thonder. Folks’ dwams wull no thole bein cleeked in kists; na, they gie tha braes a POEMS FROM 'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF DEATH' To jump to readings of Kim Hyesoon in this podcast, skip to 42.12. Smell Day Twenty One Grasshoppers, dragonflies, mosquitoes, and beetles hide The sky slipslips away high up The hills roll down to the bo\u0007ttom The frogs leap into the grave The phone rings You receive the pitch-black darkness before the call From the

AN OLD TIBETAN RUG

Your soul and my own are lovers Interwoven in the Tibetan runner. Light in light, enamoured dyes, Stars that wooed each other the length of the skies. Our feet rest on the precious object, Mill-ions-and-mill-ions-of-sti-tches-in-breadth. Sweet lama-son in your abelmosk-shrine, How long now has your mouth been kissing mine And my cheek yours through brightly THE LOST - DANTE'S INFERNO CANTO I, LINES 1-3 - MODERN Half way along the road we have to go. I came to in a gloomy wood. In the midway of this our mortal life. Midway upon the journey of our life. Midway along the journey of our life. I came around and found myself now searching. Through a dark wood, the right way blurred and lost. I found me in a gloomy wood, astray. I found I was in a dark

forest.

MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION Highlights from the latest issue. Clean Hands: Focus on the Pandemic in Europe. MPT’s spring issue ‘Clean Hands’ focuses on the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, featuring the Stanza/MPT Windowswap Project; a conversation between Simone Atangana Bekono and Jay Bernard about the language of lockdown; and new poems and translations from across the continent including Jan Wagner, Stella POEMS - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION 1 You’re in Vienna and I’m in Offenbach and Author: Safiye Can. Translation: Martin Kratz.

ON THE MOVE

Riedlbauchová’s education and career is outward looking and these poems are pleasingly, vigorously on the move. The book also draws on the European traditions of absurdism and surrealism. This makes for a joyful feast of sometimes surprising images. Riedlbauchová is strongest at imagery, often revealed in, or deepened by, the last

line.

NIJOLĖ MILIAUSKAITĖ Nijolė Miliauskaitė (1950-2002) spent most of her life in the spa town of Druskininkai surrounded by pine and fir forest, where she formed part of a triumvirate of especially strong poets including Kornelijus Platelis and her husband Vytautas Bložė. She only published four books in her short life, but received numerous awards, including the Lithuanian

OUR SMALL UNIVERSE

Our Small Universe, 2019 Number 1. MPT ’s spring issue ‘Our Small Universe’ focuses on the many languages of the United Kingdom – from Romani to Welsh; Shetlandic to BSL; Turkish to Ulster Scots – and features Owen Sheers, Zoe Brigley, Liz Berry, MacGillivray, THE RIVER - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION 1 I am a river, going down over wide stones, going down over hard rocks, my path drawn by the wind. The trees around me are shrouded with rain. I am a river, descending with greater fury, with greater violence, whenever a bridge reflects me in its curves. 2 I am a river,

a river.

DING DOON THA MAIRCH DIKES We aye big mairch dikes for tae houl oor ain, an say: ‘aathin on this side belangs tae me’. Ach, ding doon tha dikes an cowp tha waas o tha bawns for tae keek at ither airts, ootby, oot thonder. Folks’ dwams wull no thole bein cleeked in kists; na, they gie tha braes a POEMS FROM 'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF DEATH' To jump to readings of Kim Hyesoon in this podcast, skip to 42.12. Smell Day Twenty One Grasshoppers, dragonflies, mosquitoes, and beetles hide The sky slipslips away high up The hills roll down to the bo\u0007ttom The frogs leap into the grave The phone rings You receive the pitch-black darkness before the call From the

AN OLD TIBETAN RUG

Your soul and my own are lovers Interwoven in the Tibetan runner. Light in light, enamoured dyes, Stars that wooed each other the length of the skies. Our feet rest on the precious object, Mill-ions-and-mill-ions-of-sti-tches-in-breadth. Sweet lama-son in your abelmosk-shrine, How long now has your mouth been kissing mine And my cheek yours through brightly THE LOST - DANTE'S INFERNO CANTO I, LINES 1-3 - MODERN Half way along the road we have to go. I came to in a gloomy wood. In the midway of this our mortal life. Midway upon the journey of our life. Midway along the journey of our life. I came around and found myself now searching. Through a dark wood, the right way blurred and lost. I found me in a gloomy wood, astray. I found I was in a dark

forest.

SUBMISSIONS

MEXICO ISSUE – Summer 2021 SUBMISSIONS CLOSED The focus of our summer issue will be Mexico. We would love to read new translations of Mexican poets writing in all of Mexico’s languages. Deadline for submitting to the Mexican Focus: April 16th 2021 SUBMISSIONS CLOSED GENERAL SUBMISSIONS We also accept general submissions on a rolling

basis.

CLEAN HANDS, 2021 NUMBER 1 Clean Hands, 2021 Number 1. MPT ’s spring issue ‘Clean Hands’ focuses on the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, featuring the Stanza/MPT Windowswap Project; a conversation between Simone Atangana Bekono and Jay Bernard about the language of lockdown; and new poems and translations from across the continent including Jan Wagner, Stella

N’Djoku

ORIGINS OF THE FIRE EMOJI, 2020 NUMBER 3 Origins of the Fire Emoji, 2020 Number 3. MPT ’s autumn issue, ‘Origins of the Fire Emoji’, has a focus guest-edited by the Dead Poets Society, and will bring voices from all corners of the world back to life. From Enheduanna, a high priestess from ancient Mesopotamia who is the first recorded poet, to Suzannah Evans ’

essay on

ANDREI VOZNESENSKY

urban existence made larger than lifesize Valentina Polukhina, the Guardian Andrei Voznesensky was born in 1933 in Moscow. He found an early artistic passion for painting and architecture, graduating from the Moscow Architectural Institute in 1957 with a degree in engineering before discovering his calling in poetry. While still a teenager he sent drafts of THE RIVER - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION Notes on this poem. The story of Javier Heraud can be quickly told. Born into a well-to-do liberal Limeñan family (his father was a prominent lawyer), at the age of sixteen Heraud became the youngest ever high school teacher in Peru, teaching courses in Spanish and English at two high schools to subsidise his own university studies. AKHENATEN - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION Akhenaten was known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV, a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, ruled for 17 years and died in 1336 BC or 1334 BC. He is especially noted for abandoning traditional Egyptian polytheism and introducing worship centered on the Aten, which is sometimes described as monotheistic VASKO POPA - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION a Universe passing through a Universe Ted Hughes, introducing Vasko Popa’s Collected Poems Vasko Popa was a Serbian poet of Romanian descent. He was born near the town of Vršac in the Banat region of Northern Serbia, then a part of Yugoslavia. In the Second World War, Popa joined Tito’s Communist underground, and he was DIS LIFE IS NIVVER ENYOCH There is a small and growing literature in Shetlandic, particularly poetry. This poem, ‘Dis Life is Nivver Enyoch’, is a meditation on our coming to terms with the relative brevity of our lives, both as individuals and in relationship. The three sections, all set in

Reykjavik, span

SARAH KIRSCH

Sarah Kirsch was born in 1935 in Limlingerode in Southern Saxony. One of Germany ’s leading contemporary poets, she received numerous awards, including the Petrarch Prize (1976), the (West) German Critics ’ Prize (1981), and the Georg Büchner Prize (1996). Sarah Kirsch

died in May 2013.

ON TADEUSZ RÓŻEWICZ On Tadeusz Różewicz. The Polish poem that I have chosen to write on is Tadeusz Różewicz’s ‘In the Midst of Life’, translated into English by Adam Czerniawski. I first heard this poem in 2005 during a lecture delivered by the poet and scholar Desmond Graham, who is himself the co-translator of another great Polish poet, Anna

Kamieńska.

POEMS - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION 1 You’re in Vienna and I’m in Offenbach and Author: Safiye Can. Translation: Martin Kratz. DING DOON THA MAIRCH DIKES We aye big mairch dikes for tae houl oor ain, an say: ‘aathin on this side belangs tae me’. Ach, ding doon tha dikes an cowp tha waas o tha bawns for tae keek at ither airts, ootby, oot thonder. Folks’ dwams wull no thole bein cleeked in kists; na, they gie tha braes a NIJOLĖ MILIAUSKAITĖ Nijolė Miliauskaitė (1950-2002) spent most of her life in the spa town of Druskininkai surrounded by pine and fir forest, where she formed part of a triumvirate of especially strong poets including Kornelijus Platelis and her husband Vytautas Bložė. She only published four books in her short life, but received numerous awards, including the Lithuanian

OUR SMALL UNIVERSE

Our Small Universe, 2019 Number 1. MPT ’s spring issue ‘Our Small Universe’ focuses on the many languages of the United Kingdom – from Romani to Welsh; Shetlandic to BSL; Turkish to Ulster Scots – and features Owen Sheers, Zoe Brigley, Liz Berry, MacGillivray,

CAITLÍN MAUDE

CAITLÍN MAUDE (1941–1982) was an Irish poet, playwright, actress and traditional singer. A volume of her collected poems was published posthumously by Coiscéim.

MARIA STEPANOVA

Maria Stepanova is a poet, essayist, journalist and the author of ten poetry collections and two books of essays. She has been awarded several Russian and international literary awards (including the prestigious Andrey Bely Prize and Joseph Brodsky Fellowship). Her current project In Memory of Memory is a book-length study in the

field of cultural

TOON TELLEGEN

Toon Tellegen was born in 1941 on one of the islands in the south-west of the Netherlands. He is one of the best-known Dutch writers, with a long list of awards to his name. In 2007 he received two major prizes for his entire oeuvre. He has published more than twenty collections

of poetry to

DIS LIFE IS NIVVER ENYOCH There is a small and growing literature in Shetlandic, particularly poetry. This poem, ‘Dis Life is Nivver Enyoch’, is a meditation on our coming to terms with the relative brevity of our lives, both as individuals and in relationship. The three sections, all set in

Reykjavik, span

CECILIA ROSSI

Cecilia Rossi was born in Buenos Aires. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from Cardiff University and a PhD in Literary Translation from the University of East Anglia. She has taught literary translation at MA level at both Middlesex University and the University of

SARAH KIRSCH

Sarah Kirsch was born in 1935 in Limlingerode in Southern Saxony. One of Germany ’s leading contemporary poets, she received numerous awards, including the Petrarch Prize (1976), the (West) German Critics ’ Prize (1981), and the Georg Büchner Prize (1996). Sarah Kirsch

died in May 2013.

POEMS - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION 1 You’re in Vienna and I’m in Offenbach and Author: Safiye Can. Translation: Martin Kratz. DING DOON THA MAIRCH DIKES We aye big mairch dikes for tae houl oor ain, an say: ‘aathin on this side belangs tae me’. Ach, ding doon tha dikes an cowp tha waas o tha bawns for tae keek at ither airts, ootby, oot thonder. Folks’ dwams wull no thole bein cleeked in kists; na, they gie tha braes a NIJOLĖ MILIAUSKAITĖ Nijolė Miliauskaitė (1950-2002) spent most of her life in the spa town of Druskininkai surrounded by pine and fir forest, where she formed part of a triumvirate of especially strong poets including Kornelijus Platelis and her husband Vytautas Bložė. She only published four books in her short life, but received numerous awards, including the Lithuanian

OUR SMALL UNIVERSE

Our Small Universe, 2019 Number 1. MPT ’s spring issue ‘Our Small Universe’ focuses on the many languages of the United Kingdom – from Romani to Welsh; Shetlandic to BSL; Turkish to Ulster Scots – and features Owen Sheers, Zoe Brigley, Liz Berry, MacGillivray,

CAITLÍN MAUDE

CAITLÍN MAUDE (1941–1982) was an Irish poet, playwright, actress and traditional singer. A volume of her collected poems was published posthumously by Coiscéim.

MARIA STEPANOVA

Maria Stepanova is a poet, essayist, journalist and the author of ten poetry collections and two books of essays. She has been awarded several Russian and international literary awards (including the prestigious Andrey Bely Prize and Joseph Brodsky Fellowship). Her current project In Memory of Memory is a book-length study in the

field of cultural

TOON TELLEGEN

Toon Tellegen was born in 1941 on one of the islands in the south-west of the Netherlands. He is one of the best-known Dutch writers, with a long list of awards to his name. In 2007 he received two major prizes for his entire oeuvre. He has published more than twenty collections

of poetry to

DIS LIFE IS NIVVER ENYOCH There is a small and growing literature in Shetlandic, particularly poetry. This poem, ‘Dis Life is Nivver Enyoch’, is a meditation on our coming to terms with the relative brevity of our lives, both as individuals and in relationship. The three sections, all set in

Reykjavik, span

CECILIA ROSSI

Cecilia Rossi was born in Buenos Aires. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from Cardiff University and a PhD in Literary Translation from the University of East Anglia. She has taught literary translation at MA level at both Middlesex University and the University of

SARAH KIRSCH

Sarah Kirsch was born in 1935 in Limlingerode in Southern Saxony. One of Germany ’s leading contemporary poets, she received numerous awards, including the Petrarch Prize (1976), the (West) German Critics ’ Prize (1981), and the Georg Büchner Prize (1996). Sarah Kirsch

died in May 2013.

POEMS - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION An Ear on the Wall. As soon as we arrived Our parents convinced us Author: Abdushukur Muhammet Qumtur Translation: Munawwar Abdulla

SUBMISSIONS

MEXICO ISSUE – Summer 2021 SUBMISSIONS CLOSED The focus of our summer issue will be Mexico. We would love to read new translations of Mexican poets writing in all of Mexico’s languages. Deadline for submitting to the Mexican Focus: April 16th 2021 SUBMISSIONS CLOSED GENERAL SUBMISSIONS We also accept general submissions on a rolling

basis.

FIVE POEMS BY YI SANG Five poems by Yi Sang. 13 children speed toward the way. The 1st child says it is scary. The 2nd child says it is scary. The 3rd child says it is scary. The 4th child says it is scary. The 5th child says it is scary. The 6th child says it is scary. The 7th child says it is scary.

TOON TELLEGEN

Toon Tellegen was born in 1941 on one of the islands in the south-west of the Netherlands. He is one of the best-known Dutch writers, with a long list of awards to his name. In 2007 he received two major prizes for his entire oeuvre. He has published more than twenty collections

of poetry to

CAITLÍN MAUDE

CAITLÍN MAUDE (1941–1982) was an Irish poet, playwright, actress and traditional singer. A volume of her collected poems was published posthumously by Coiscéim.

SERIES 3 NO.5

Series 3 No.5 – Transgressions. ‘Transgressions’ is a rich and rewarding issue which begins with the editors’ definition of what transgression might mean to a translator: ‘the word might allude to fidelity and infidelity; to the foreignness of the thing they are

bringing in

A DOG IN THE QUARRY

The day was so bright that even birdcages flew open. The breasts of lawns heaved with joy and the cars on the highway sang the great song of asphalt. At Lobzy a dog fell in the quarry and howled. Mothers pushed their prams out of the park opposite because babies cannot

sleep when a dog

CHABUCA GRANDA

Chabuca Granda is the single most important figure in the history of twentieth-century Peruvian music: her most famous ballads (‘La Flor de la Canela’, ‘Fina Estampa’, ‘José Antonio’) are a lyrical celebration of Peru itself, with its Inca heritage and its mixed population of indigenous peoples, mestizos, criollos and

LYUBOMIR NIKOLOV

Lyubomir Nikolov was born in the Bulgarian village of Kiryaevo in 1954. He studied journalism at the University of Sofia, then went on to work for various literary periodicals as an editor and translator. Since 1990, he has lived with his wife and two sons in the United States. He now broadcasts for the Voice ON TADEUSZ RÓŻEWICZ On Tadeusz Różewicz. The Polish poem that I have chosen to write on is Tadeusz Różewicz’s ‘In the Midst of Life’, translated into English by Adam Czerniawski. I first heard this poem in 2005 during a lecture delivered by the poet and scholar Desmond Graham, who is himself the co-translator of another great Polish poet, Anna

Kamieńska.

POEMS - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION 1 You’re in Vienna and I’m in Offenbach and Author: Safiye Can. Translation: Martin Kratz. DING DOON THA MAIRCH DIKES We aye big mairch dikes for tae houl oor ain, an say: ‘aathin on this side belangs tae me’. Ach, ding doon tha dikes an cowp tha waas o tha bawns for tae keek at ither airts, ootby, oot thonder. Folks’ dwams wull no thole bein cleeked in kists; na, they gie tha braes a NIJOLĖ MILIAUSKAITĖ Nijolė Miliauskaitė (1950-2002) spent most of her life in the spa town of Druskininkai surrounded by pine and fir forest, where she formed part of a triumvirate of especially strong poets including Kornelijus Platelis and her husband Vytautas Bložė. She only published four books in her short life, but received numerous awards, including the Lithuanian

OUR SMALL UNIVERSE

Our Small Universe, 2019 Number 1. MPT ’s spring issue ‘Our Small Universe’ focuses on the many languages of the United Kingdom – from Romani to Welsh; Shetlandic to BSL; Turkish to Ulster Scots – and features Owen Sheers, Zoe Brigley, Liz Berry, MacGillivray,

CAITLÍN MAUDE

CAITLÍN MAUDE (1941–1982) was an Irish poet, playwright, actress and traditional singer. A volume of her collected poems was published posthumously by Coiscéim.

MARIA STEPANOVA

Maria Stepanova is a poet, essayist, journalist and the author of ten poetry collections and two books of essays. She has been awarded several Russian and international literary awards (including the prestigious Andrey Bely Prize and Joseph Brodsky Fellowship). Her current project In Memory of Memory is a book-length study in the

field of cultural

TOON TELLEGEN

Toon Tellegen was born in 1941 on one of the islands in the south-west of the Netherlands. He is one of the best-known Dutch writers, with a long list of awards to his name. In 2007 he received two major prizes for his entire oeuvre. He has published more than twenty collections

of poetry to

DIS LIFE IS NIVVER ENYOCH There is a small and growing literature in Shetlandic, particularly poetry. This poem, ‘Dis Life is Nivver Enyoch’, is a meditation on our coming to terms with the relative brevity of our lives, both as individuals and in relationship. The three sections, all set in

Reykjavik, span

CECILIA ROSSI

Cecilia Rossi was born in Buenos Aires. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from Cardiff University and a PhD in Literary Translation from the University of East Anglia. She has taught literary translation at MA level at both Middlesex University and the University of

SARAH KIRSCH

Sarah Kirsch was born in 1935 in Limlingerode in Southern Saxony. One of Germany ’s leading contemporary poets, she received numerous awards, including the Petrarch Prize (1976), the (West) German Critics ’ Prize (1981), and the Georg Büchner Prize (1996). Sarah Kirsch

died in May 2013.

POEMS - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION 1 You’re in Vienna and I’m in Offenbach and Author: Safiye Can. Translation: Martin Kratz. DING DOON THA MAIRCH DIKES We aye big mairch dikes for tae houl oor ain, an say: ‘aathin on this side belangs tae me’. Ach, ding doon tha dikes an cowp tha waas o tha bawns for tae keek at ither airts, ootby, oot thonder. Folks’ dwams wull no thole bein cleeked in kists; na, they gie tha braes a NIJOLĖ MILIAUSKAITĖ Nijolė Miliauskaitė (1950-2002) spent most of her life in the spa town of Druskininkai surrounded by pine and fir forest, where she formed part of a triumvirate of especially strong poets including Kornelijus Platelis and her husband Vytautas Bložė. She only published four books in her short life, but received numerous awards, including the Lithuanian

OUR SMALL UNIVERSE

Our Small Universe, 2019 Number 1. MPT ’s spring issue ‘Our Small Universe’ focuses on the many languages of the United Kingdom – from Romani to Welsh; Shetlandic to BSL; Turkish to Ulster Scots – and features Owen Sheers, Zoe Brigley, Liz Berry, MacGillivray,

CAITLÍN MAUDE

CAITLÍN MAUDE (1941–1982) was an Irish poet, playwright, actress and traditional singer. A volume of her collected poems was published posthumously by Coiscéim.

MARIA STEPANOVA

Maria Stepanova is a poet, essayist, journalist and the author of ten poetry collections and two books of essays. She has been awarded several Russian and international literary awards (including the prestigious Andrey Bely Prize and Joseph Brodsky Fellowship). Her current project In Memory of Memory is a book-length study in the

field of cultural

TOON TELLEGEN

Toon Tellegen was born in 1941 on one of the islands in the south-west of the Netherlands. He is one of the best-known Dutch writers, with a long list of awards to his name. In 2007 he received two major prizes for his entire oeuvre. He has published more than twenty collections

of poetry to

DIS LIFE IS NIVVER ENYOCH There is a small and growing literature in Shetlandic, particularly poetry. This poem, ‘Dis Life is Nivver Enyoch’, is a meditation on our coming to terms with the relative brevity of our lives, both as individuals and in relationship. The three sections, all set in

Reykjavik, span

CECILIA ROSSI

Cecilia Rossi was born in Buenos Aires. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from Cardiff University and a PhD in Literary Translation from the University of East Anglia. She has taught literary translation at MA level at both Middlesex University and the University of

SARAH KIRSCH

Sarah Kirsch was born in 1935 in Limlingerode in Southern Saxony. One of Germany ’s leading contemporary poets, she received numerous awards, including the Petrarch Prize (1976), the (West) German Critics ’ Prize (1981), and the Georg Büchner Prize (1996). Sarah Kirsch

died in May 2013.

POEMS - MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION An Ear on the Wall. As soon as we arrived Our parents convinced us Author: Abdushukur Muhammet Qumtur Translation: Munawwar Abdulla

SUBMISSIONS

MEXICO ISSUE – Summer 2021 SUBMISSIONS CLOSED The focus of our summer issue will be Mexico. We would love to read new translations of Mexican poets writing in all of Mexico’s languages. Deadline for submitting to the Mexican Focus: April 16th 2021 SUBMISSIONS CLOSED GENERAL SUBMISSIONS We also accept general submissions on a rolling

basis.

FIVE POEMS BY YI SANG Five poems by Yi Sang. 13 children speed toward the way. The 1st child says it is scary. The 2nd child says it is scary. The 3rd child says it is scary. The 4th child says it is scary. The 5th child says it is scary. The 6th child says it is scary. The 7th child says it is scary.

TOON TELLEGEN

Toon Tellegen was born in 1941 on one of the islands in the south-west of the Netherlands. He is one of the best-known Dutch writers, with a long list of awards to his name. In 2007 he received two major prizes for his entire oeuvre. He has published more than twenty collections

of poetry to

CAITLÍN MAUDE

CAITLÍN MAUDE (1941–1982) was an Irish poet, playwright, actress and traditional singer. A volume of her collected poems was published posthumously by Coiscéim.

SERIES 3 NO.5

Series 3 No.5 – Transgressions. ‘Transgressions’ is a rich and rewarding issue which begins with the editors’ definition of what transgression might mean to a translator: ‘the word might allude to fidelity and infidelity; to the foreignness of the thing they are

bringing in

A DOG IN THE QUARRY

The day was so bright that even birdcages flew open. The breasts of lawns heaved with joy and the cars on the highway sang the great song of asphalt. At Lobzy a dog fell in the quarry and howled. Mothers pushed their prams out of the park opposite because babies cannot

sleep when a dog

CHABUCA GRANDA

Chabuca Granda is the single most important figure in the history of twentieth-century Peruvian music: her most famous ballads (‘La Flor de la Canela’, ‘Fina Estampa’, ‘José Antonio’) are a lyrical celebration of Peru itself, with its Inca heritage and its mixed population of indigenous peoples, mestizos, criollos and

LYUBOMIR NIKOLOV

Lyubomir Nikolov was born in the Bulgarian village of Kiryaevo in 1954. He studied journalism at the University of Sofia, then went on to work for various literary periodicals as an editor and translator. Since 1990, he has lived with his wife and two sons in the United States. He now broadcasts for the Voice ON TADEUSZ RÓŻEWICZ On Tadeusz Różewicz. The Polish poem that I have chosen to write on is Tadeusz Różewicz’s ‘In the Midst of Life’, translated into English by Adam Czerniawski. I first heard this poem in 2005 during a lecture delivered by the poet and scholar Desmond Graham, who is himself the co-translator of another great Polish poet, Anna

Kamieńska.

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CLEAN HANDS: FOCUS ON THE PANDEMIC IN EUROPE MPT’s spring issue ‘Clean Hands’ focuses on the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, featuring the Stanza/MPT Windowswap Project; a conversation between Simone Atangana Bekono and Jay Bernard about the language of lockdown; and new poems and translations from across the continent including Jan Wagner, Stella N'Djoku, David Harsent, Safiye Can, David Constantine, Agnès Agboton, and many more. Also: an introduction to Uyghur poetry curated by Munawwar Abdulla, Naush Sabah’s version of ‘Qasida Burda’, and climate change poems by Marion Poschmann, translated by Jen Calleja. All this and more in the groundbreaking magazine dedicated to poetry in translation: for the best in world poetry read MPT.

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CITY

JIMENA GONZÁLEZ

At night

I am a city ablaze

and only red bricks

witness the flames.

All the kids

of my city cry out.

At night I am Sodom

burning with judgement,

visited by angels

that only fuel my fire. TRANSLATED BY CHARLOTTE COOMBE

*

LOVE IN LOCKDOWN

SAFIYE CAN

1

You’re in Vienna

and I’m in Offenbach and we can’t fly to be with one another

or take the train

even the 15-hour drive on the Megabus the only other possibility is no longer possible.

Or that I

happily wave at you at Frankfurt central station

or that you

hold me longingly at the airport in Vienna. TRANSLATED BY MARTIN KRATZ | AUTHOR PHOTO © ALI MALAK

*

BEING TAME

GIULIA SCIALPI

The hand of an evil god twisted our wrists and froze time. The day before, in one of your fits, you bought me white gloves for touching things. You said: ‘It could be fun’, but it’s not fun. Day one you said, ‘I knew it’, and we looked at each other, upset, and we organized the dishes in the closets. Day two, we fought. My fault. Day three, I tidied my bookshelf, finally, just like I wanted. It came out nice. I thought of all the stuff I read and desired in these past few years, and how I wanted these years to never end. TRANSLATED BY RACHELE SALVINI

*

UNCLOAKED

AL-BŪṢĪRĪ

Do memories of who was by your side between the two sanctuaries | cause claret-tinted tears to make your eyes this blurry? Or is it cool levanters blowing into them? Or the lightning strike | you see illuminate the mountain near his city where you’d hike? TRANSLATED BY NAUSH SABAH

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NEWS AND EVENTS

PODCAST: MPT CLEAN HANDS: FOCUS ON THE PANDEMIC IN EUROPE

13TH MAY 2021

This podcast accompanies the spring 2021 MPT: Clean Hands: Focus on the Pandemic in Europe. MODERN POETRY IN TRANSLATION’S 2021 WRITERS IN RESIDENCE

13TH MAY 2021

We’re delighted to introduce Sam Riviere and Cătălina Stanislav as Modern Poetry in Translation’s 2021 Writers in Residence.

FEATURES

CHOGWA ISSUE 5: REVISITATION

30TH SEPTEMBER 2020

‘I felt like saying yes for some reason.’ Variations of this statement flooded the chogwa inbox… IF MY POETRY IS LIKE A GUN: A CONVERSATION WITH LEE SOHO PT. I

14TH AUGUST 2020

2020 Writer in Residence So J. Lee interviews Korean poet, Lee Soho NOT EXACTLY A SISTER

11TH JUNE 2020

An essay on 언니 / unni, by So J. Lee – Modern Poetry in Translation’s 2020 Writer in Residence

REVIEWS

LIVING IN THE IN-BETWEEN

11TH MAY 2021

Jennifer Langer reviews Café by Wren’s St James-in-the Fields, Lunchtime / Kawiarnia przy St James’s Wrena w porze lunchu, by Anna Blasiak (poetry) and Lisa Kalloo (photography). WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS MAN

20TH APRIL 2021

Belinda Cooke reviews El Bosque de Birnam / Birnam Wood by José Manuel Cardona, translated by Hélène Cardona, Salmon Poetry, 2019. THICKETS OF INTERIOR LUSHLUSH

19TH MARCH 2021

Annie Fan reviews Some Girls Walk Into the Country They Are From by Sawako Nakayasu, Wave Books, 2020.

ON THE MOVE

18TH FEBRUARY 2021

Charlotte Wetton reviews Paris Notebook by Tereza Riedlbauchová, translated by Stephan Delbos, The Visible Spectrum, 2020.

A STORY TO TELL

9TH FEBRUARY 2021

Devina Shah reviews Ribka Sibhatu’s Aulò! Aulò! Aulò! translated by André Naffis-Sahely, Poetry Translation Centre, 2020. NO LONGER ACCOMPLICES

11TH DECEMBER 2020

Martin Kratz reviews ‘Point of Honour: Selected Poems of Maria Teresa Horta’, translated by Lesley Saunders, Two Rivers Press,

2019.

LATEST ISSUE

ISSUE NUMBER 1 2021

MPT’s spring issue ‘Clean Hands’ focuses on the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, featuring the Stanza/MPT Windowswap Project; a conversation between Simone Atangana Bekono and Jay Bernard about the language of lockdown; and new poems and translations from across the continent including Jan Wagner, Stella N'Djoku, David Harsent, Safiye Can, David Constantine, Agnes Agboton, and many more. Also: an introduction to Uyghur poetry curated by Munawwar Abdulla, Naush Sabah’s version of ‘Qasida Burda’, and climate change poems by Marion Poschmann, translated by Jen Calleja. All this and more in the groundbreaking magazine dedicated to poetry in translation: for the best in world poetry read MPT.Subscribe for just £23__

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