Three poems by Slađan Lipovec
***
in this town anxiety bounces
off the porous walls at night
streets wrap around thelong gone
century holding your breath as you walk
you feel darkness just
crumbling under your feet like sand
and who will tell
the milky children
what happened to the sky
where Česmički watched
the swarms of flies reading
them like Latin verses?
Translator's Note:
Ivan Česmički - Janus Pannonius (1434 - 1472) was a mayor Croatian humanitarian
poet. Born in northern Croatia, educated in Italy, he became Bishop of
Pécs, Hungary in 1459. As member of the court of Hungarian King Matias
Corvinus, he witnessed battles with the Turks. He took part in a conspiracy
against the king, fled Hungary and died in Medvedgrad near Zagreb. He is
buried in Pécs cathedral. Best known for his Latin poems (Elegiae, Poemete,
Epigrammata) and for his translations of Homer's Iliad.
sunset
the sun behind burned hills
airplane tracks
we’re scanning the dusk
with the most precise sensors on our skin
searching for any sign
of fresh air streams
along properly traced
concrete paths where buildings hallucinate
meadows like we do we go
out when the asphalt cools
when the cars quieten down
and as I’m running fingers through your hair
streetlights chant
like neurotic crickets
SLAĐAN LIPOVEC
Translated by Miloš Đurđević
1996. just another morning
old men harness horses
spring is coming
that’s certain I feel it
while I’m reading
Emily Dickinson and listening to
Iron Maiden (what do
Emily and Maiden have in common Brane
asks family name Dickinson
could be my answer but
actually everything
in this poem is just as
I say) so
when they called me I turned down
the music put aside
the book and climbed out of
the parentheses and then we drink
coffee and brandy spit
in our hands take up
the pitchforks and load
manure from which
like from sweaty
animals like from our mouths
in meandering paths of
mathematical formulas the mist
spreads down
the fields
sunset
the sun behind burned hills
airplane tracks
we’re scanning the dusk
with the most precise sensors on our skin
searching for any sign
of fresh air streams
along properly traced
concrete paths where buildings hallucinate
meadows like we do we go
out when the asphalt cools
when the cars quieten down
and as I’m running fingers through your hair
streetlights chant
like neurotic crickets
on the roof
we had a crash at the exit
at Križevci in
some godforsaken place rain was
pouring down and Zabranjeno pušenje
was playing at home
you'll be in real trouble
'cause you smashed your car fuck
as long as we are still
alive said Đuka
but I have to admit
it wasn’t all the same to me
sitting in the car turned upside down – the smell
of gasoline and something crackling
and you can’t get
out in the end nothing
happened – it wasn’t like in
an American car
fuck that
explodes
the moment it
slides from the road
Translator's Note: Zabranjeno pušenje - A rock band from Sarajevo which
reached its height of popularity during the late 1980s. Their harsh urban
songs with punk undertones are still very popular among younger generations
across ex-Yugoslavian countries.
News
Word Express writer Ognjen Spahić from Montenegro will be visiting London for events with his UK publisher, Istros Books, from the 15th - 18th of May. See the Istros Books website for more details.
This year's Prague Book Fair - Svet Knihy - is focusing on literature the Black Sea region. Word Express writers Ivan Hristov (Bulgaria), Zaza Koshkadze (Georgia) and Pelin Özer (Turkey) will talk about their Balkan literary journey and read their work at the gala evening. Go to the Literature Across Frontiers website for more details.
Word Express interviews Georgian poet Zaza Koshkadze, and talks to Owen Martell and Milan Dobricic about translating and publishing Owen's novel into Serbian after meeting on the Word Express journey. All on the Travel Blog.