Literature in Translation |
“In the World of Ink,” “See You on the Blank Page,” “Meeting During Lockdown” & “Please”
“I got used to being silent, to digging holes / inside where I bury / frivolous thoughts, unvoiced / impressions after a dumb movie, / untold stories, unimplemented / conversations, unforgettable views. // Wherever I dig, however, / I get to you.”
Literature in Translation |
“Stop Dying”
“There are just one body soap and one shampoo. They smell like herbs. ‘They’re made by a local girl named Aina. She also makes balms for muscle pain and lacerations,’ she tells me. I just look at her. ‘It could be good for your scar.'”
Literature in Translation |
from The Rope in Bloom, cantos & prose poems by Radu Vancu
“The ordeal comes in the morning, when adorable little routines cease being routine — every little thing, however little, carries barbaric resonance.”
Literature in Translation |
“Without its spirit,” “Scream in the grotto” & “The fire crackles”
“The fire crackles / the forest whispers to it / another legend.”
Literature in Translation |
“The Whisper of the Wind”
“They started in the middle of nowhere, heading towards what she supposed was the closest highway. The whole group began to walk, with the last rays of the sun skirting the hills that could be seen in the distance, very small, on the horizon.”
Literature in Translation |
from The Pure and the Impure
“I am revealing a leniency that people will find strange, that people will fault me for. It’s true that these two men whom I have just briefly depicted offered me the tangible expression of union, and even of dignity. A kind of austerity enveloped them …”
Literature in Translation |
“The Old Age of Narcissus,” “Fear,” “Prayer” & “First Communion”
“… from seeing myself so much in this cracked mirror / I’ve lost all sense of my face / or, from talking about it so much, it’s become infinite to me”
Literature in Translation |
“Restanza”
“People my age like to wallow in nostalgia for the town, in a romantic narrative of slow living, of sunshine, sea, and wind. I envy them. I wish I could be more forgiving toward my hometown, and toward myself too.”
Literature in Translation |
“The Gap Between Mountains,” “The Wheat Is Ripe” & “Boundless Snow”
“The sky rises higher every moment. / On top of our heads a tile-blue hat / adds to the weight of Wanxi Basin. / From all directions laborers learn its lessons / and get more ignorant, too.”
Literature in Translation |
“No,” “Talk Less” & “I am tired”
“Slowly. / Yell at me. / So I can really hear you, fully grasp what you say / and determine who is in charge.”
Literature in Translation |
“My City,” “Beginning of a Song,” “My Hands” & “The Smile Grieves”
“From my glance, which seeks a place to anchor, / comes a cloudy gloom overhanging the mirror, / like a harsh frost that lands / its white cold stamp.”
Literature in Translation |
“Traces,” “The Kite” & “Wilderness”
“From inhabiting the body where a third of its days are spent dreaming, traces remain. A feature in an open air theater. A whiff of the neighbor’s flower bed. A forbidden urge.”
Literature in Translation |
“About A Comet,” “Cretan Night,” “Among Debris” & “At Nechrance”
“The calm before the storm will become the storm before the endless calm, / from which you will poke things through a slot to the other side / there, where you lived.”
Literature in Translation |
from Sakura: “I Dare You””
“I guess I’ll start with the ending. My brother and I didn’t manage to find flowers for our new baby sister that day. And we rode in a patrol car for the first time.”
Literature in Translation |
“Regarding Lot,” “The Last Supper” & “Simon the Cyrenian”
“Wine is on the menu, / and some of us plan to order // beer, a salad of legumes, / roast meat and fruit —// mandarins, sufficiently sweet — / to make us utterly aware // of the dispiriting fact / that the world and the invincible years // will surely separate us …”