Blog Archives

“The social currency of straight hair”

2/27/2023

Mi Mama. Mi Pelo.

by Marissa Phillips

Mama, I still struggle to grasp our native tongue
Pero, I want to say gracias
For the thankless job you toiled at
At a time when I hated myself
Y mi pelo
--
When you fell in love with papa – his dark skin, coarse hair
Did you ever consider the result?
You weren’t ready for these curls, this frizz
You didn’t quite understand
The social currency of straight hair
In a white rural school
Because you love me
You figured they would too
--
First, we tried to contain it
Hair ties as restraints seemed like a good idea
But only brought me attention
The biggest ponytail that school had ever seen
“Fluffy” the boy called me, with a smile
Deemed me the class mascot, as if it were an honor
--
Next, we tried to hide it
Sulfuric smell filling the room as chemicals killed my curls
Made my hair break off
Burned my scalp
But I was beautiful
For a few months every year I was almost beautiful
--
Remember how mad I’d get when you couldn’t do my hair right?
Right was limp and lifeless
My hair always too big, too full of life
I’d wish boys would say
“Wow, you take up so little space”
Even your best attempts left tiny curls at my scalp
Like dirt I could never wash off
--
My hair is different now
It’s lived a thousand lives
My curls are bent, misshapen
Gnarled by decades of discontent
Pero, I’ve come to accept them
Even embrace what they are
A reminder that, against her better judgement
Mama tried her best
To make me feel beautiful
Despite always knowing
You cannot fix lo que ya es hermoso

Marissa Phillips is a Puerto Rican writer and artist living in Harrisburg, PA. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Wilkes University.

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Leaping Worm and Other Poems

2/14/2023

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Excerpts from
El gusano santarín y otros poemas /
The Leaping Worm and Other Poets

by Isaac Goldemberg

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE
Sasha Reiter

Every act of translation, like every act of witnessing, requires some sort of leap. This is how we enter Isaac Goldemberg’s The Leaping Worm and Other Poems -as a small worm landing “in the socket of the eye” of a corpse. By giving the objects in his poems autonomy over the body, Goldemberg breathes life against the stillness of death, which becomes a backdrop for the movement within this collection. This juxtaposition creates a shifting dichotomy between life and death, the corporeal and intangible, the body and mind itself. In this collection, our setting is a cemetery, or, more specifically, a grave and the surrounding land, which is often in the mind, within the eternal dream of the dead. As these dead speakers bear witness to the life surrounding their graves, we witness their inner death through their dream-like vision.

This collection stands out for the brevity and linguistic simplicity of its poems. This posed another unique challenge when translating Goldemberg’s work, because there is a deep concern for language found in his chosen words. Because minimalist poetry works with the economy of words, it must be thrifty, painting a picture with few brush strokes, almost telegraphically. In his poems, Isaac Goldemberg expresses something more than is implicit in the themes themselves. Words are capable of rescuing the “speech” of the deceased. With them, poets tell death it can be caught, locked away or bottled up. In this book, the words are present to revive dead and buried moments. In this way, Isaac Goldemberg brings us back to the truest subject of poetry, poetry itself.

NOTA DE LA TRADUCTORA
Sasha Reiter

Todo acto de traducción, al igual que todo acto testimonial, requiere algún tipo de salto. Así es como entramos en El gusano saltarín y otros poemas, de Isaac Goldemberg -como un pequeño gusano que aterriza “en la cuenca del ojo” de un cadáver. Al otorgar a los objetos de sus poemas autonomía sobre el cuerpo, Goldemberg insufla vida contra la quietud de la muerte, la cual se convierte en el telón de fondo para la acción dentro de este poemario. Esta yuxtaposición crea una dicotomía cambiante entre la vida y la muerte, lo corpóreo y lo intangible, el cuerpo y la mente misma. En esta colección, nuestro escenario es un cementerio o, mas específicamente, una tumba y la tierra que la rodea, las cuales muchas veces están en la mente, dentro del sueño eterno de los muertos. A medida que estos hablantes muertos dan testimonio de la vida que rodea sus tumbas, somos testigos de su muerte interior a través de su visión onírica.

Esta colección se destaca por la brevedad y la sencillez lingüística de sus poemas. Esto planteó otro singular desafío al traducir la obra de Goldemberg, porque hay una profunda preocupación por el lenguaje, la cual se encuentra en las palabras que ha elegido. Porque la poesía minimalista trabaja con la economía de las palabras, debe ser ahorrativa, pintando un cuadro con unas pocas pinceladas, casi telegráficamente. En sus poemas, Isaac Goldemberg expresa algo mas de lo que está implícito en los temas mismos. Las palabras son capaces de rescatar el “discurso” de los difuntos. Con ellas, los poetas le dicen a la muerte que es posible atraparla, encerrarla o embotellarla. En este libro, las palabras están presentes para revivir momentos muertos y sepultados. De esta manera, Isaac Goldemberg nos devuelve al tema más auténtico de la poesía, la poesía misma.

EL GUSANO SALTARÍN
_______________________________________

El gusano
saltarín
aterriza
en la cuenca
del ojo
que no vela.
Morada
de una sola
pieza,
apretadita.
Espacio
de un único
cuerpo,
decúbito.
Sin vistas
panorámicas
en la cabeza,
calva
por la edad,
bastante
amarillenta.
Le huelgan
el pantalón,
el saco
y la camisa.
Una flor
el pecho
le marchita.
Lo miran
las puntas
de los zapatos.

THE LEAPING WORM
_______________________________________

The leaping
worm
lands
in the socket
of the eye
no longer watchful.
Dwelling
of one room only,
quite snugly.
Space
of a single
body,
decubitus.
No panoramic
views
in the head,
bald
from age,
quite
yellowish.
His pants,
jacket
and shirt
hang loose on him.
A flower
withers
his chest.
The tips
of his shoes
are watching him.

IDAS Y VUELTAS
_______________________________________

Susurrando
garabatos,
se acercan
los viejos
y las viejas
al centro
de una cuna
hecha
pedazos.
Los viejos
y las viejas
recorren
sus primeros
pasos
en el tiempo
perdido
del olvido.
Silencios
de sordos
borran
el elegíaco
discurso.
Riendo
a pierna
suelta,
se acercan
los viejos
y las viejas
al borde
de una fosa
que se abre
no rauda,
sino deleitable.*

*Fragmento de un verso del poema “Primera aparición”, de Vicente Aleixandre:
“Y pasas despaciosa, no rauda, sino deleitable, pisando muy leve”.

COMINGS AND GOINGS
_______________________________________

Whispering
scribbles,
the old men
and women
approach
the center
of a cradle
shattered
to pieces.
The old men
and women
retrace
their first
steps
in the time
lost
to oblivion.
Silences
of the deaf
erase
the mournful
speech.
Roaring
with laughter,
the old men
and women
approach
the edge
of a pit
that opens
not rushed,
but delightful. *

* Fragment of a line from the poem “First Apparition,” by Vicente Aleixandre:
“and you pass slow, not rushed, but delightful, treading very light.”

Isaac Goldemberg was born in Peru in 1945 and has lived in New York since 1964. He is the author of four novels, a collection of short fiction, thirteen collections of poetry
and three plays. His most recent publications are Libro de reclamaciones (Palma de Mallorca, 2018), Philosophy and Other Fables (New York, 2016), Dialoghi con me e con i miei altri/Diálogos conmigo y mis otros (Rome, 2015), and Remember the Scorpion (Los Angeles, 2015). He is also the author of El gran libro de América judía (The Great Book of Jewish America, a 2240-page anthology, 1998). In 1995 his novel The Fragmented Life of Don Jacobo Lerner was selected by a committee of writers and literary critics as one of the best 25 Peruvian novels of all times and in 2001 a panel of international scholars convened by the National Yiddish Book Center chose it as one of the 100 greatest Jewish books of the last 150 years. His work has been translated into several languages and included in numerous anthologies in Latin America, Europe and the United States. He has received the following awards, among
others: the Nuestro Fiction Award (1977), the Nathaniel Judah Jacobson Award (1996), the Estival Theater Award (2003), the Luis Alberto Sánchez Essay Award (2004), the Order of Don Quijote (2005), the Tumi Excellence Award (2014), and the P.E.N. Club of Peru Poetry Award (2015). In 2014, the House of Peruvian Literature in Lima, presented “Tiempos y Raíces” (Times and Roots), a Homage/Exhibition devoted to his life and works.

Isaac Goldemberg nació en Chepén, Perú, en 1945 y reside en Nueva York desde 1964. Ha publicado cuatro novelas, un libro de relatos, trece de poesía y tres obras de
teatro. Sus publicaciones más recientes son Libro de reclamaciones (Palma de Mallorca, 2018), Philosophy and Other Fables (Nueva York, 2016), Dialoghi con me e con i miei altri/Diálogos conmigo y mis otros (Roma, 2015) y Remember the Scorpion (Los Ángeles, 2015). Es autor también de El gran libro de América judía (antología de 2240 páginas, 1998). En 1995 su novela La vida a plazos de don Jacobo Lerner fue
considerada por un comité de escritores y críticos literarios como una de las mejores novelas peruanas de todos los tiempos; y en el 2001 fue seleccionada por un jurado
internacional de críticos literarios convocado por el Yiddish Book Center de Estados Unidos como una de las 100 obras más importantes de la literatura judía mundial de
los últimos 150 años. Su obra ha sido sido traducida a varios idiomas e incluida en numerosas antologías de América Latina, Europa y los Estados Unidos. Ha recibido,
entre otros, el Premio Nuestro de Novela (1977), el Premio Nathaniel Judah Jacobson (1996), el Premio Estival de Teatro (2003), el Premio de Ensayo Luis Alberto Sánchez
(2004), la Orden de Don Quijote (2005), el Premio Tumi a la Excelencia (2014) y el Premio de Poesía del P.E.N. Club del Perú (2015). En 2014, la Casa de la Literatura Peruana en Lima, presentó “Tiempos y Raíces”, una Exhibición/Homenaje dedicada a su vida y obra.

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POETRY
POESÍA

“The social currency of straight hair”

Mi Mama. Mi Pelo.

Leaping Worm and Other Poems

Excerpts from
El gusano santarín y otros poemas /
The Leaping Worm and Other Poets

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POETRY​POESÍA

“The social currency of straight hair”

Mi Mama. Mi Pelo.

Leaping Worm and Other Poems

Excerpts from El gusano santarín y otros poemas /​The Leaping Worm and Other Poets

Archives

Categories

HOME INICIO

​ABOUT SOBRE

SUBMIT ENVIAR

​SUPPORT ​APOYAR

Donate and Make Literature Happen

POETRY
POESÍA

Excerpts from
El gusano santarín y otros poemas /
The Leaping Worm and Other Poets

ABOUT SOBRE

SUPPORT
APOYAR