THE OTHER ROOM
Experimental poetry in ManchesterArchive for Maintenant
Maintenant #85 – Gonca Özmen
Contemporary Turkish poetry looks confidently back upon the iconoclastic individuals who have constituted its genuinely remarkable tradition, and the current cohort of poets emerging from the 21st century possess the unique sensibility in language that marks them from their predecessors and stamps their entire generation with the influence of their work. As the light of poets like Ilhan Berk and Nazim Hikmet begins to fade from view, it is poets like Gonca Özmen who have come into their own. After just two collections and a variety of prizes, Gonca has become one of the most direct, concise and eloquent voices in Turkish poetry and one who has begun to grow a reputation far beyond the borders of her home nation, thanks to last year’s publication of the Sea Within, a collection of translated poems from Shearsman press. In our 85th edition, we are pleased to welcome, our second Turkish respondent, Gonca Özmen.
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-85-gonca-ozmen/
Accompanying the interview are five of Gonca’s poems, translated by George Messo, Ruth Christie, Mel Kenne, Saliha Paker respectively.
Maintenant #84 – Maarja Kangro
Over the last few decades it has become clear that the Baltic is one of the most prolific and energised sources of contemporary European poetry. Nor is this community of poets of a certain style or movement or form. The writers emerging from Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and the surrounding nations are radically individualistic, as innovative as they are classically powerful. Amongst them Maarja Kangro is quite clearly one of the most formidable voices of her generation – effortlessly intelligent, wry, considered, incisive, her relentless output of translations, librettos, prose, poetry and children’s stories have assured her place as a leading light in North Eastern Europe, with a reputation striking deep into Germany and Italy and we hope, as her brilliance continues unabated over the coming years, further into the UK and US. For our 84th edition, we welcome Estonia’s Maarja Kangro.
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-84-maarja-kangro/
To accompany the interview we present five of Maarja’s poems, translated by Richard Berengarten, Mike Horwood, Brandon Lussier, Ilmar Lehtpere and Maarja herself.
Maintenant #81 – Valerio Magrelli
For over thirty years Valerio Magrelli has represented Italian poetry to the world. Inarguably the most influential poet of his generation in Italy, the oeuvre he has thus far established has ensured his place as one of the few poets able to look eye to eye with his nation’s iconoclastic predecessors. And yet, this language of grandeur does not seem apropos in describing a work built on agility of thought, deftness of expression, a modest, good-natured gesturing to the immense power of poetry which, in and of itself, locates that very power. Valerio Magrelli is a poet whose work has the authority to wake his readers, to bring their focus back to the poem itself, as a thing, not as a product of a poet first and foremost. Consistently, it is this eloquent and energetic intellect which resonates through his work and reminds us of the heights that the Italian language and the Italian poetry tradition can reach. For the 81st edition of Maintenant, Valerio Magrelli. Thanks to Jan Wagner, Federico Italiano & Jamie McKendrick.
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-81-valerio-magrelli/
Accompanying the interview are four poems, taken from the book ‘Valerio Magrelli: The Embrace’ Faber & Faber 2009, translated by Jamie McKendrick.
For this remarkable undertaking, Jamie McKendrick won the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize and the John Florio Prize.
Maintenant #80 – Arnoud van Adrichem
A poet whose inventiveness and incisiveness is architectural in its care – witty, adventurous, circuitous and at ease with its own intelligence, the work of Arnoud van Adrichem, one of the most remarkable poets and critics Holland has produced in the last decade, stands as an example of how international traditions, multiple languages and a shift in political culture, will not waylay a brilliant poet from writing brilliant poetry. If anything it will only add context to the work of a poet like van Adrichem, recognised across the Netherlands and beyond as one of the most considered and necessary agents for poetry currently at work, and with no sign of lagging. Editor of the international journal Parmentier and a specialist and translator of L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry, it is hard to look past Arnoud van Adrichem as a fundamental part of the future of Dutch letters. Another exceptional addition to the Maintenant series, edition #80, we are privileged to have his work translated into English for the very first time thanks to the generosity of the Nederlands Letterenfonds with thanks to Jan Pollet.
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-80-arnoud-van-adrichem/
A poem in five sections, Corner, accompanies this interview. This is the first time Arnoud van Adrichem’s poetry has been translated into English and was only made possible by the generous support of the Nederlands Letterenfonds (the Dutch Foundation for Literature) and of Thomas Möhlmann. Translations by Willem Groenewegen, 2011. http://www.willem-groenewegen.nl/
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/five-poems-arnoud-van-adrichem/
Maintenant #79 – Emanuella Amichai
Perhaps Emanuella Amichai represents the ethos of the Maintenant series more succinctly than any of the other 78 poets that have gone before her. The question of what is poetic is akin to the question of what is European. Both are fluid, unanswerable, and all the more essential for that unresolvability. Working in the medium of moving image, of dance, theatre and film, she has taken groundbreaking strides towards what can only be called a video poetry, a form of visual poetry. Working in tandem with some of Europe’s finest writers, including Jan Wagner, she has shown her absolute control of both mediums, both poetry and film, utilising the grammar of motion to remarkable poetic effect. If this places her outside the poetic mainstream, what might be deemed The definition of a poet, then the fact she is the daughter of one of the 20th century’s greatest poets firmly roots her back into the tradition of European letters. For the 79th edition of Maintenant, Israel’s Emanuella Amichai.
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-79-emanuella-amichai/
A video poem of Emanuella’s will soon follow online, so please check http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/
Maintenant #78 – Damir Šodan
Though his work is utterly modern and could only be of the now, Damir Šodan, as a man, recalls a different age. Cosmopolitan, engaged, political, satirically adept and poetically versatile, he is a poet who defines and embodies one of Europe’s great, surging contemporary traditions, that is Croatia since the turn of the millennium. One of the most active and veracious translators and editors on the continent, he has won international awards for his plays and finds employment at the Hague, as a translator for the United Nations War Tribunal. This is beside his reputation as a poet, which is considerable and deservingly ever growing. His work is striking for its elasticity, its precision and its ability to retain power amidst a wit rarely found in modern letters. In a typically generous and eloquent interview, discussing everything from war crimes tribunals to the Croatian poetic tradition, we present a locus of modern European poetry, Damir Šodan.
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-78-damir-sodan/
I’m very pleased to say we have published ten of Damir’s poems in English alongside the interview
Maintenant #77 – Maarten Inghels
It is no exaggeration to say Maarten Enghels’ impact on the Belgian poetry scene has been nothing short of sensational. At an age where poets are just beginning to find their voice, he has become one of the most recognisable and bombastic presences in the entire country and it’s considerable Flemish poetical tradition. Iconoclastic, immediate and passionate, his work has firmly put him at the forefront of a new generation of Belgian poets who will continue to emerge as major writers across central Europe by effortlessly speaking in and about his own time, in his own language. For the 77th edition of Maintenant, we are pleased to introduce Maarten Inghels. With thanks to Jan Pollet
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-77-maarten-inghels/
Accompanying the interview are three poems, translated by Willem Groenewegen. This is the first time Maarten Inghel’s poetry has been translated into English and was only made possible by the generous support of the Flemish Literature Fund and of Patrick Peeters, and Willem Groenewegen himself.
Maintenant Camarade films
Films of the event at the Rich Mix centre near Brick Lane in London on 15th October are now online at the Maintenant site. As a taster, check out Tim Atkins and Marcus Slease.
Maintenant #76 – Kārlis Vērdiņš
One of the most versatile young poets writing in the Baltic, Latvian Kārlis Vērdiņš is a renowned critic and a prize winning poet. Already included in two of the most important anthologies of young poets from Central and Eastern Europe in the English language ‘A Fine Line’ (Arc Publications, 2004) and ‘Six Latvian Poets’ (Arc Publications, 2011), Kārlis Vērdiņš has already begun to establish his legacy outside of Latvia. We are especially pleased that he is one of the five visiting poets to read at our largest event in London yet, Maintenant XI: Camarade. October 15th will see him read along side some of the finest poets in Europe, undoubtedly where he belongs.
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-76-karlis-verdins/
Accompanying the interview are two poems by Kārlis, translated by Ieva Lešinska
Maintenant: the Camarade project
Maintenant: the Camarade project, Featuring Tom Jenks & Chris McCabe; Patrick Coyle & Holly Pester; Sam Riviere & Jack Underwood; Sandeep Parmar & James Byrne; James Wilkes & Ghazal Mosadeq; Iily Critchley & Tamarin Norwood; Sean Bonney & Jeff Hilson; Marcus Slease & Tim Atkins. With an introduction by Steven Fowler.
Out now on Red Ceilings Press.
The book will be launched at The Rich Mix in Bethnal Green, London on Saturday 15th October.
Maintenant #75 – Anna Auziņa
One of the stars of the contemporary Latvian poetry scene, Anna Auziņa, already established as a classically trained artist, has emerged as a constant and resonant force in Baltic poetry over the last decade. Her work maintains a resolute affinity with the organic and perhaps overtly poetic language of her own personal journey as an artist. Gifted in both fields, her work reveals this creative agility in its imagery and tone. One of the five non-British poets visiting for the Maintenant Camarade event in the East end of London this October 2011, we are pleased to welcome our 75th interviewee in the Maintenant series.
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-75-anna-auzina/
Accompanying the interview are four of Anna’s poems.
Maintenant #74 – Ailbhe Darcy
Already considered one of the finest poets of Ireland’s new generation, Ailbhe Darcy has gained international recognition for her vibrant poetry and rapidly growing body of work. Being at the forefront of a tradition as considerable as Ireland’s has required her to maintain the idiosyncracy of her own taste and voice, and though undoubtedly, the lilt of her work, it’s care for being read and for being rhymtical, resounds with the narrative tradition of Irish poetry, it is also true her idiom can be disjunctive, unpretentious and colloquial. More vitally she creates poems that are conceptually often unresolved, an act of humility that sits apart from neat lyricism. Yet it is too far to say she has made a break from the tradition of her nation, and many would say this is the bigger achievement. For the 74th edition of Maintenant, our first Irish poet, Ailbhe Darcy. thanks to Michael Schmidt
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-74-ailbhe-darcy/
Accompanying the interview are three of Ailbhe’s poems.
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/3-poems/
Maintenant #73: Lidija Dimkovska
The poetry scene in Europe seems, from the vantage of the UK, to be far more fluid and less divisive than that of the UK. This may not be true, but there certainly seems, through the regular festivals, readings, residencies and academic exchanges, a sense of physical communication between poets who traverse many nations, languages and traditions. In the case of a poet like Lidija Dimkovska, we seem to have an individual whose experience is truly pan-Balkan, traversing Macedonia, Slovenia, Romania … but whose reception is continent wide. She carries her influences with a fidelity that makes them invisible within her explicitly well considered and captivating poetry. A formidable academic, a poetic folklorist, a respected translator and an innovative and elastic lyric poet, we are pleased to introduce Lidija Dimkovska as the 73rd edition of Maintenant (and furthermore, we are very pleased that she will be reading at the Maintenant IX event on October 15th 2011 thanks to Literature across frontiers and Arc publications.)
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-73-lidija-dimkovska/
Accompanying the interview are four poems by Lidija translated by Ljubica Arsovska and Peggy Reid
Maintenant #72: Johannes Göransson
A Swede who is an American, an American who is a Swede. The irrelevancy of the nationhood of Johannes Göransson is never more obvious than in the multifarious and rapacious nature of his work – it calls on traditions too intertwined, too psychological and introverted to make its genesis of much interest. What is of interest is his industry as a translator. As well as being one of the most interesting and acerbic poets and educators currently at large in the US, he is also a vital conduit to the breadth and brilliance of contemporary Swedish poetry. For Maintenant in it’s 72nd guise, the excellent Johannes Göransson
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-72-johannes-goransson/
Accompanying the interview is a significant selection from Johannes’ most recent publication.
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/entrance-to-a-colonial-pageant-in-which-we-all-begin-to-intricate/
CM TJ Maintenant
Chris McCabe and Tom Jenks are collaborating for a project related to the Maintenant series of interviews, readings and publications organised by SJ Fowler. All work is appearing on a WordPress blog. Comments and suggestions are welcome and any input may be woven into the finished piece.
Maintenant #71: Lies Van Gasse
The exceptional nature of the work of Lies Van Gasse, established, formidable and achieved well before her 30th birthday, is clear to all who follow central European poetry and the figures who are now showing themselves as the future of the medium. Emerging from the vivid and remarkable tradition of Flemish poetry, Lies maintains a focus and an exactitude about her work and its direction that well belies her relative youth. Adept and acclaimed at both more traditional lingual poetry and highly original ‘graphic’ poetry, her oeuvre is innovative and confident, straddling the finer points of language and art. Our first Belgian poet to be featured in the Maintenant series, Lies Van Gasse is undoubtedly a figure whose prominence will only increase in the coming decades.
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-71-lies-van-gasse/
Accompanying the interview are 7 of Lies’ graphic poems, translated into English by Trees Van Gasse.
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/seven-poems-oracle-lies-van-gasse/
Maintenant #70: Ilya Kaminsky
Simply one of the few boundless poets on the world scene, and already a centrifugal presence in American poetry, Ilya Kaminsky carries with him the power of the great Russian tradition and the obvious potential to be recognised, in an age where poetry is a reticent presence in the public’s eye, as one of the finest writers of the oncoming century. An activist as well as a poet, his remarkable energy and intellect permeate his earnest, fulsome poetry and his unforgettable, idiosyncratic readings. In an interview which seems typically representative of his generous spirit, Ilya has offered one of the most ebullient accounts featured in the Maintenant series, and we are especially excited to have him read at the next Maintenant event in London, this coming october. To mark our 70th edition, Ilya Kaminsky
with thanks to Nikola Madzirov за многу нешта
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-70-ilya-kaminsky/
To accompany the interview are two of Ilya’s poems.
Maintenant #69: Márton Koppány
Márton Koppány’s opus of visual poetry stands as a remarkable entry into the ledger of post WWII European poetic innovation and expression. Behind him sits a life’s work, denoted by intellectual rigour and brilliance, as he has quietly, but indelibly, edged his medium forward. Producing work of immense quality, consistently, in the field of visual poetry for over thirty years, he has inspired new generations of poets while working from the inside out of his environs in Budapest and with a capacity for profound inflection and wholly accurate understatement (to a level of humorous / satirical reverence so poorly missing from much experimental poetry) he has tackled the nature of his own family history and it’s entwining with the darker days of modern Hungary. His work is thus indicative of the possibilities, and even the necessities, of visual poetry, his fundamental mode one of honesty in expression, led by a suspicion and engagement with the limits of language. Koppány has always maintained an incisiveness that has attracted the plaudits from poets in his field, and his sophicated, intellectual and urbane corpus has rendered him simply one of Europe’s finest poets and an immense contributor to often the most stimulating field of contemporary poetry.
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-69-marton-koppany/
Incorporated into the interview are 13 poems by Marton, selected to display the width and evolution of his work over the last 30 years.
