Blurry photo of Wayne Koestenbaum and Nicole Brossard reading "Transcreation." 5/1/09
poem to understand
how people bend
before an idea
their hair barely brushing the depth of silence
Poem(é), Nicole Brossard
5/1: After "Discovering Unbearable Truths," I headed to the Bowery Poetry Club for two events: Poetry Reading and The Translation Slam. This post will address the reading. The slam requires it's own space (you'll soon understand).
What drew me to the reading, honestly, was the opportunity to hear Nicole Brossard, one of my favorite writers, read her work in person. I've heard that she's a charismatic and dynamic reader of her own work and she did not disappoint.
My notes are very fragmentary. I would jot down, quickly, a few observations or lines after each author finished reading. Looking back on my notes, I find myself scratching my head. Why did I write "nice belly" with regard to Brossard? I realize that most of my notes have more to do with the performance of the poems than what the poets actually read. And what they wore. Here you go:
Nicole Brossard (Québec)
-reads from Notebook of Roses and Civilization, published in 2007, translated by Erin Mouré and Robert Majzels
-"people bend before an idea"
-pronounces "tongue" like "tone"
-nice belly
-reads "Transcreation" with Wayne K (bright pink striped shirt, snug teal pants)
-word-crust
-if the seesaw swings back hot to trot
-"a vague smack of the lips"
-"and, of course, you TREMBLE"
-"I don't know if time goes too fast, but I'll try to make it"--finished with 2 poems in French, the last one full of "je" sounds
Narcís Comadira (Catalonia)
-wearing a bright orange silk scarf
-also a translator and painter
-reads from "The Dream" translated by Mary Ann Newman
(The poems Comadira read are all available in the chapbook Triumph of Life and Other Poems, published and edited by PEN and the Institut Ramon Llull--this was one of several publications freely distributed during the festival.)
János Térey (Hungary)
-read a poem in prose, trans. Tim Wilkinson
(attention lapsed, so I can't offer much more but here's a link)
Wayne Koestenbaum (U.S.A.)
-"Proust too in need of sani wipes"
-"the bedwetter and Anna Freud equally up in arms"
"clarion call"--why are Jews the one ethnic group that has not been objectified erotically? (why is there no Jewish porn?)
-titles for Jewish porn: "Tight Jewish Assets," "The Jewish Pizza Boy: He Delivers," "The Jewish Oral Exam," "Jews Beg for Mercy" (from Best Selling Jewish Porn Films (Turtle Point, 2006))
(Salsa playing in the background, coming from the building next door)
Uwe Kolbe (Germany)
-thanks the translators for making it possible for him, and many of the other poets, to read their work.
-"the wonderful gift of several translators" (in attendance)
-"cheers to the translators" (this is so kind--in fact, what I actually wrote was "YAY!")
-reads poems about a sailor
-"only had a single sherry"
-"tearful beer" (?)
-"the nectar/ holy communion wine"
Fuad Rifka (Syria/Lebanon)
-reads English translations of his work
-reads one poem in Arabic and English: "you now that the faraway mountains are always faraway"
-Daniel Scherr (sp?), interpreting for Comadira, is translating Rivka's poems into Catalan. I wish I had a video/audio of this simultaneous translation.
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