Monday, November 10, 2008

Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir's Fairish World


I have confessed that I believe in Fairies. As a matter of fact, I do believe in more: somewhere, perhaps next door, there is a different world, FairyLand, where fairies and other magical creatures live and prosper.
Once upon a time the boundaries between our world, The Gray World, and FairyLand were somewhat more porous.
Not anymore.
Yet, every now and then, some terse eyes can sometimes cross those boundaries and take a glimpse of that enchanted land.
Such are the eyes of Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir. I have nothing more to say, but this:
click and watch

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Poetry Readings VIII: Stef Grassi's Frosty Trap


This fragment is from the notebook of Stefania Grassi, a contemporary tuscan poet, from her 2006 visit to Russia. It was not intended for publication, at least in this preliminary form, but I find it nonetheless extremely powerful as it is, a speck of burning heat in the midst of Moscow's frost.

A minimal metrical editing has been done by myself.

TRAPPOLA

Sapesse
la neve
ricalcare
la striscia
di desideri
non formulati
E il fuoco
starmi
dentro
con meno
danno.
Preparerei
io stessa
cumuli
di carta
per farlo
divampare

Ingoiando
calore liquido
dalla bocca
finalmente
aperta.

Ma troppo
a lungo
è stato
freddo
per poter
sciogliere
i capelli
e vedere
ciò che
stavo
guardando.
*******************************************
TRAP
If only the snow knew
to trace the footprints
of unformulated desires
And the fire follow me
with less damage.
I would prepare
myself
heaps of papers
'to make it blaze
Swallowing
liquid heat
from the mouth
finally open.
But all too long
it has been cold
to untie
my hair
and see
what
I
was
watching
(translation by PolyMathicus 2008)
Stefania Grassi retains all the rights of the above. No copy or redistribution is allowed without explicit permission of the author. She can be contacted at her blog Aobliquo.