Month: March 2016

On Paul Verlaine’s 172nd birthday…

…here — via the very useful Lyrikzeitung & Poetry News — is a translation of Verlaine’s most famous (& famously untranslatable) poem Chanson d’automne into Yiddish by Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger. Born in Czernowitz in 1924, this young woman, a cousin of Paul Celan’s (they would on occasion meet and sing together & talk poetry at Celan’s grandfather’s brother house on Sabbat evenings), wrote poetry in German and died at 18 of typhus in Michailovka on the … Read more On Paul Verlaine’s 172nd birthday…

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Uri Avnery: What Happened to the Jews?

March 26, 2016 SUDDENLY I remembered where I had seen it before. The same kind of face. The same chin thrust forward, to produce an impression of force and determination. The same way of speaking. One sentence and then a pause, waiting for the mob to shout approval. The same combination of monster and clown. Yes. Unmistakable. I saw it in my early childhood. On newsreels. Benito Mussolini. Rome. … Read more Uri Avnery: What Happened to the Jews?

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Homage to Jim Harrison

Seeing the above headline of the cover story in the French daily Libération, I thought I’d offer a poem I wrote some years ago, after lunch, in Paris, in honor of having just eaten an excellent tête de veau, a calf’s head, as homage to the excellent poeta, prosateur, culinary commentator, dégustateur of all things edible, fisher of trout and readers, that was Jim Harrison. May he eat well wherever he is: … Read more Homage to Jim Harrison

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Under Siege in Damascus, ‘A Book Becomes A Person’s Best Friend’

via Arab Literature (in English): BY MLYNXQUALEY on MARCH 24, 2016 • ( 0 ) The BBC recently published an interview with an activist-librarian working in the suburbs of Damascus, identified only as Ahmed: The BBC reporter asked “Ahmed” why — when there is no food, no electricty, and no safety from shelling or barrel bombs — would people want a library. Ahmed answered: Even if you are hungry, and you … Read more Under Siege in Damascus, ‘A Book Becomes A Person’s Best Friend’

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On the Anniversary of Goethe’s Death on this day in 1832

Here a poem by Goethe from his West-Östlicher Divan, a poem addressed to the greatness of the Persian poet Hafiz, and that we can now read as addressing the greatness of the poet Goethe. First in the original, then in my translation. Unbegrenzt Daß du nicht enden kannst, das macht dich groß, Und daß du nie beginnst, das ist dein Los. Dein Lied ist drehend wie das Sterngewölbe, Anfang und Ende … Read more On the Anniversary of Goethe’s Death on this day in 1832

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Miles in Vienna, 1973

For the sheer pleasure of it, this Saturday afternoon, that many years later. Thanks, John. Enjoy. Miles Davis (tpt, org); Dave Liebman (ss, ts, fl); Pete Cosey (g, perc); Reggie Lucas (g); Michael Henderson (el-b); Al Foster (d); James Mtume Forman (cga, perc)

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Happy 70th, Joachim Sartorius!

Joachim Sartorius is one of Germany’s most elegant poets and, besides diplomatic service in New York, Istanbul, Prague and Cyprus, as well as becoming director general of the Goethe Institut in 1996, he also directed the Berliner Festspiele from 2001 to 1011. Sartorius is further the editor of the Collected Works of Malcolm Lowry and William Carlos Williams and has translated, among others, John Ashbery, Wallace Stevens and ee cummings. Below, a poem … Read more Happy 70th, Joachim Sartorius!

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“Alice, the Zeta Cat and Climate Change”: A fairytale about the truth

Unhappily there isn’t an English edition available yet! Somebody translate it, quick! Press release by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) 03/17/2016 “Alice, the Zeta Cat and Climate Change”: A fairytale about the truth On a school field trip to Potsdam’s Telegraph Hill, Alice runs after a white rabbit – and falls into a hole, sliding down the ventilation shaft of a climate research institute’s supercomputer. From … Read more “Alice, the Zeta Cat and Climate Change”: A fairytale about the truth

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al-Hajaya’s Elegy on Rashid az-Zyudi

[audio:https://pierrejoris.com/blog/audio/RashidElegy.mp3] Elegy on Rashid az-Zyudi Rest in peace, you who sold your life And spared it for the homeland’s sake: Zyudi Rest in peace, Rashid, as many times as the wind blows I hope you’re in heaven’s peace and eternity Zyudi, you followed Wasfi, Hazza‘, Salih Shwe‘ir, and all such noble lions A brave man, a lion, from a lion’s pride! Men of noble origin who keep their pledges … Read more al-Hajaya’s Elegy on Rashid az-Zyudi

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The Murder of Syrian Poet Mohammad Bashir al-Aani

by mlynxqualey PEN International has condemned the murder of Mohammad Bashir al-Aani and his son Elyas in Deir al-Zour City “by the armed group calling itself Islamic State (IS)”: Al-Aani’s death was reported last Thursday. The poet, who published three collections, was reportedly kidnapped last fall. From the PEN release: According to media reports, Al-Aani and his son were originally held in an undisclosed locations with 100 others after they attempted … Read more The Murder of Syrian Poet Mohammad Bashir al-Aani

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