2024-11-20

ÁLVARO MATA GUILLÉ (Poets of the Planet)

 Poet. Born in Costa Rica.

  •     Frequent guest at festivals, poetry meetings or book fairs, where he has held literary workshops, recitals, talks, conferences, as well as published in various newspapers and magazines around the world.
  •     Columnist of cultural and political criticism, in the magazine Libros y Letras, Literary Magazine of Colombia and Latin America.
  •     Director of the International Poetry Festival En el Lugar de los Escudos (Mexico), which will be held for the ninth time in May 2024.
  •     Some of his books: Scenes of an Afternoon (Costa Rica); Beneath the Wind (Venezuela, Argentina); Beyond the Mist (Mexico); Osip (Spain); A Country without a Name (Mexico).
  •     Upcoming publications: About the Fragments (poetry, Colombia); The Individual in the Shadow (essay, Mexico).
  •     His texts have been translated into English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Macedonian, Arabic, Bengali, Aymara, Greek, Vietnamese, Polish, Russian, Mandarin, and Korean.
  •     He was director of the International Liberty and Poetry Symposium (Costa Rica 1998-2005).
  •     In charge of the literature area of the International Arts Festival (Costa Rica, 2001-2003).
  •     He was a member of the editorial board and editorial secretary of K Magazine 2007-2010 (Mexico City).
  •     Others:
  •     Walls of Timid Brilliance, choreography by the group Diquis Tíquis, based on the poem Triptych. National Dance Award, 1993, Costa Rica.
  •     Altered States, UNA Chamber Dance Company, based on the poem Solveit. National Dance Award, 2016, Costa Rica.
  •     Beyond the Mist, based on the book of the same name, winner of the IBERESCENA Fund (Ibero-American Performing Arts), Costa Rica-Colombia-Mexico co-production, 2023.


«¿Será posible que yo exista realmente,
y que la muerte verdadera llegue?»
se preguntaba Ósip Mandelstam,
en un texto transcrito,
no se sabe por quién,
tampoco cuándo,
en una de las paredes del reclusorio,
bañadas por un sol negro,
en espera de la noche,
de las fosas

“Is it possible that I really exist,
and that true death comes?”
Ósip Mandelstam would ask himself,
in a transcribed text,
no one knows by whom,
nor when,
on one of the walls of the prison,
drenched by a black sun,
awaiting the night,
of the graves


"An fíor go bhfuilimse ann dáiríre
agus go dtagann an bás cinnte?"
ceist a chuir Ósip Mandelstam air féin,
i dtéacs tras-scríofa,
ní fios cé a dhein,
ná cathain,
ar bhalla de bhallaí an phríosúin,
báite ag grian dhubh,
ag feitheamh le hoíche
na n-uaigheanna

2024-11-19

Kon Markogiannis (POETS OF THE PLANET)

 Kon Markogiannis is an existential poet, experimental photographer, collage artist, independent researcher and spiritual seeker with an interest in themes such as memory, mortality, spirituality, the human condition, the exploration of the human psyche and the evolution of consciousness. He sees his work as a kind of weapon against the ephemeral or, as Vilém Flusser would say (Towards a Philosophy of Photography), a “hunt for new states of things”. Kon has been exhibiting his art for many years (mainly in Greece and the UK) and his writings have been featured in various books, journals and magazines. His university studies include a BA in Visual Communication Design, an MA in Photography and a doctorate in Fine Art. He currently lives and works in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Books: Ίσως ο Θάνατος (Greek poetry), Ίχνη Φωτός (Greek poetry), Angelic Flights (poetry in Irish-Greek-Japanese, collaboration with Gabriel Rosenstock, Sarah Thilykou and Maki Starfield), Dysturban (photobook).

the 12 phobias

1.
I’m afraid
of tomorrow
today
yesterday

2.
I’m afraid
to live
afraid
to die

3.
I’m afraid
I won’t wake up
from the lethargy
of existence

4.
I’m afraid
of dreams
which haunt
my waking hours

5.
I’m afraid
to look
at my own
self

6.
I’m afraid
of my thoughts
my desires
my shadow

7.
I’m afraid
of the beast
which lives
within my gut

8.
I’m afraid
of nothingness
emptiness
and zeroness

9.
I’m afraid
of the darkness
which lies
inside me

10.
I’m afraid
I may be reborn
and repeat
the same mistakes

11.
I’m afraid
but I do not know
why I should
be afraid

12.
I’m afraid
I might find
that fear
does not exist

 an dá fhóibe dhéag  

1.
Tá eagla orm roimh
an lá amárach
an lá inniu
an lá inné
 
2.
Tá eagla orm
roimh an mbeatha
eagla orm
roimh an mbás
 
3.
Tá eagla orm
nach ndúiseod
as spadántacht
an tsaoil
 
4.
Tá eagla orm
roimh bhrionglóidí
a chéasann mé
is mé im’ dhúiseacht
 
5.
Tá eagla orm
breathnú
orm
féin
 
6.
Tá eagla orm
roimh mo chuid smaointe
mo mhianta
mo scáil
 
7.
Tá eagla orm
roimh an mbrúid
a chónaíonn
i m’ionathar
 
 8.
Tá eagla orm
roimh neamhní
roimh an bhfolús
roimh nialas
 
9.
Tá eagla orm
roimh an dorchadas
atá
istigh ionam
 
10.
Tá eagla orm
go n-athshaolófaí mé
is na dearmaid chéanna
a dhéanamh arís
 
11.
Tá eagla orm
ach níl a fhios agam
cén fáth a mbeadh
eagla orm
 
12.
Tá eagla orm
go bhfaighinn amach
nach ann
don eagla




Haiku in four languages.

ANGELIC FLIGHTS is a collection of haiku written originally in Irish (Gaelic) by Gabriel Rosenstock, translated into English by the poet, Greek transcreation by Sarah Thilykou, and Japanese transcreation by Maki Starfield), and photographically complemented by Kon Markogiannis.

"These glimpses caught in words or images are each so weightless and so shifting that you could think they have no substance...that is, until the moment when like curling smoke and light they touch each other in the darkness, and a bright perception takes form, looks back at us, comes alive."

Philip Gross

"The exquisite fusion of image and word renders a deeply satisfying aesthetic experience, whereby we are transmuted by its profundity, exquisiteness and light. Indeed, accomplished artists in their own right, photographer and poet have melded their talents to produce a visceral and ethereal monograph on the flights of angels and in turn have lifted up our souls to the very gods."

    Paula Marvelly (Editor The Culturium)

"The initial experience of flicking through the pages reminded me of seeing the films of the American filmmaker Kenneth Anger whose work was a blend of surrealism, eroticism and the occult . . . For those who like the ambitious and iconoclastic, and also mingle a taste for the horror channel with a penchant for the shadow side of the psyche, this would make a great gift."

Diana Webb, review in Blithe Spirit, Journal of the British Haiku Society, Vol. 32, No.2

2024-11-18

Díbirt Deamhan

 Exorcism
 
Is America in need of an exorcism?
Say after me, 50 times daily:
50 for all 50 states of the USA–
 
In the Name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen.
Most glorious Prince of the Heavenly Armies,
Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us!
Our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers,
against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world
and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms.
 
The English version (above) only serves as a guide.
It has no power in itself to drive out evil spirits!
How could it?
Is it not the chosen tongue of the Great Shaitan himself!
 
Recommended languages:
Irish, Nahuatl.
 
 
Díbirt Deamhan
 
An bhfuil gá ag Meiriceá le díbirt deamhan?
Abair im' dhiaidhse, 50 uair sa lá:
50 a sheasann do 50 stát Mheiriceá–
In ainm an Athar,
agus an Mhic,
agus an Spioraid Naoimh.
Áiméan.
 
A Phrionsa shárghlórmhair na nArm Neimhe,
Naomh Mícheál Ardaingeal,
cosain sinn!

Mar ní le naimhde daonna atáimid i ngleic
ach le tiarnais,
agus cumhachtaí
agus rialtóirí
domhain seo an dorchadais,
agus le hainspridí
na bhflaitheas.

Níl sa Bhéarla (thuas) ach treoir.
Níl ar a chumas ainspridí a ruaigeadh.
Conas a dhéanfadh?
Nach é a rogha teanga ag Sátan Mór féin é!
 
Teangacha a mholtar:
Gaeilge, Nachuáitlis.

2024-11-16

Dino Siotis (Poets of the Planet)

Born in Tinos, Greece in 1944, Dino Siotis has published thirty five books of fiction and poetry in Greek, English, French and Spanish. His poems have been translated into many languages, including Arabic and Chinese. He is the founder of Wire Press and Society of (de)kata and the publisher and editor of sixteen political and/or literary magazines in San Francisco, Ontario, New York, Boston, and Athens. He regularly contributes articles on communication, the arts and book reviews in newspapers. He studied Law at Athens University and Creative Writing at San Francisco State University, following which he entered the diplomatic corps for the Hellenic Republic and served abroad a number of years in Canada and the U.S. as director of Press and Communication. In 2007 he received the Greek State Poetry Award for his poetry collection Autobiography of a Target. In 2011 he started Poets Circle in Athens. He is director of the Athens World Poetry Festival and the Tinos International Literary Festival and spends his time between Athens and Tinos, Greece.

Gaza

Once upon a time there was Gaza, once upon a time long
ago it was a city with streets, squares with palm trees and
public buildings and schools and houses with doors and
 
shuttered and glazed windows, once and for all long ago
there was water and electricity and public administration,
once upon a time there were trees with birds, coffeehouses
 
with people drinking tea and coffee and talking, once upon
a time there was a wind that came from river to the sea even
if the wave was closed it would reach to Rafah, once upon a
 
time the inhabitants of Gaza lived beautifully and peacefully
and laughed and danced and they moved around and fell in
love and married and they prospered and the children went
 
to school too their joys (which had no end) were recycled to
the moon, once upon a time all of Gaza was a vast light that
reflected beauty and the liveliness of the moment, once upon
 
a time the expected one could not describe it or to predict it,
once upon a time Gaza was all one district, a neighborhood,
then flood came, and Gaza became a plane lost in its flight
 

 Tinos, May 25, 2024


Γάζα

Μια φορά κι έναν καιρό ήταν η Γάζα, μια φορά κι έναν
καιρό ήταν μια πόλη με δρόμους, πλατείες με χουρμαδιές
και δημόσια κτίρια και σχολεία και σπίτια με πόρτες και
 
παράθυρα με μπετούγιες και τζάμια, μια φορά κι έναν
καιρό υπήρχε νερό και ρεύμα και δημόσια διοίκηση, μια
φορά κι έναν καιρό υπήρχαν δέντρα με πουλιά, καφενεία
 
με ανθρώπους που έπιναν τσάι και καφέ και συζητούσαν,
μια φορά κι έναν καιρό υπήρχε άνεμος που έφτανε απ’ το
ποτάμι ώς τη θάλασσα κι αν το κύμα ήταν κλειστό έφτανε
 
ώς τη Ράφα, μια φορά κι έναν καιρό οι κάτοικοι στη Γάζα
ζούσαν όμορφα και ειρηνικά και γελούσαν και χόρευαν
και κυκλοφορούσαν και ερωτεύονταν και παντρεύονταν
 
και ευημερούσαν και τα παιδιά πήγαιναν σχολείο κι οι
χαρές τους (που δεν είχαν τελειωμό) ανακυκλώνονταν
ώς το φεγγάρι, μια φορά κι έναν καιρό ολόκληρη η Γάζα
 
ένα απέραντο φως που αντανακλούσε την ομορφιά και
τη ζωντάνια της στιγμής, μια φορά κι έναν καιρό το
προσδόκιμο δεν μπορούσε κάποιος να το περιγράψει ή
 
να το προβλέψει, μια φορά κι έναν καιρό η Γάζα όλη μια
συνοικία, μια γειτονιά, μέχρι που ήρθε ο κατακλυσμός,
κι η Γάζα έγινε αεροπλάνο που χάθηκε στην πτήση του
 

Τήνος, 25 Μαΐου 2024


Gaza

Bhí Gaza ann uair amháin, uair amháin fadó
ba chathair é agus sráideanna ann, cearnóga le crainn phailme agus
foirgnimh phoiblí agus scoileanna agus tithe ar a raibh doirse agus

fuinneoga is comhlaí is gloine ghlónraithe, uair amháin bhí uisce
ag cách agus leictreachas agus riarachán poiblí
uair amháin bhí crainn agus éanlaith ann, siopaí caife

agus daoine ag ól tae agus caife, ag cabaireacht, uair
amháin bhí leoithne a tháinig ón abhainn go dtí an mhuir agus fiú
má ba dhúnta í an tonn, shroichfeadh sí Rafah, uair

amháin mhair pobal Ghaza go hálainn agus go síochánta
is gháireadar is dhamhsaíodar is bhogadar thart is thiteadar
i ngrá agus phósadar agus bhí rath orthu agus chuaigh na páistí

ar scoil agus dá lúcháir (gan teorainn) rinneadh athchúrsáil
chun na gealaí, uair amháin solas fairsing ab ea Gaza
scáthán ar áilleacht agus ar spleodar an nóiméid, uair
 
amháin an té a raibh coinne leis ní fhéadfadh sé cur síos air ná é a thuar,
aon cheantar amháin ab ea Gaza uair amháin, comharsanacht,
tháinig tuilte ansin, agus deineadh eitleán de Ghaza a cailleadh i lár eitilte

 

2024-11-15

Ní Linn Féin Atáimid /We Are Not Alone

 

Baisteadh Chríost /The Baptism of Christ
Aert de Gelde (1710)

Ní Linn Féin Atáimid

Ní linn féin atáimid
ní fhéadfaimis a bheith linn féin
mar shampla
daoine eile
na billiúin díobh
na beo is na mairbh
do shinsir romhat san áireamh
ainmhithe éisc is éanlaith
nithe a dhéanann turlabhait istoíche
ní linn féin atáimid
pláinéid is cóiméid
(agus bruscar spáis ar ndóigh)

I mí an Mheithimh, 1949,
thug Albert II
aghaidh ar an gcianspás
ach cailleadh é ar athiontráil dó
(ag tagairt atáim ní dá Mhórgacht, Prionsa Mhonacó,
ach do mhoncaí saotharlainne)
ar an 16 Meán Fómhair, 1959
cailleadh ceithre cinn déag de lucha spáis
nílimid linn féin
madra strae Rúiseach ab ea Laika
thug na Meiriceánaigh Muttnik uirthi
chuaigh sí trí thine
í féin agus Sputnik 2
d’fhéadfá dul ar aghaidh is ar aghaidh
damháin alla, éisc, toirtísí
Timothy O’Leary, Ollamh in Harvard
a chuir LSD i mbéal an phobail (!)
ba dhuine de na luaithspásairí é
a thug aghaidh ar an gcianspás i ndiaidh a bháis
ní fhéadfá a rá gur linn féin atáimid!

Δεν Είμαστε Μόνοι

Δεν είμαστε μόνοι
δεν θα μπορούσαμε να είμαστε μόνοι
για παράδειγμα
υπάρχουν κι άλλοι άνθρωποι
δισεκατομμύρια από δαύτους,
οι ζωντανοί και οι νεκροί,
συμπεριλαμβανομένων των προγόνων σου
ζώα, ψάρια και πουλιά
πράγματα που χτυπάνε τη νύχτα,
δεν είμαστε μόνοι
πλανήτες και κομήτες
(και πολλά διαστημικά σκουπίδια)

Τον Ιούνιο του 1949, ο Άλμπερτ ΙΙ
βγήκε στο διάστημα
αλλά πέθανε κατά την επανείσοδο στην ατμόσφαιρα
(Δεν αναφέρομαι στην Αυτού Γαληνότατη Υψηλότητα,  
τον Πρίγκιπα του Μονακό,
αλλά σε ένα εργαστηριακό μαϊμουδάκι)
στις 16 Σεπτεμβρίου 1959
δεκατέσσερα διαστημικά ποντίκια χάθηκαν,
δεν είμαστε μόνοι
Η Λάικα ήταν ένα ρωσικό αδέσποτο σκυλί
οι Αμερικανοί την ονόμασαν «Μάτνικ».
Η Λάικα κάηκε στο διάστημα
μαζί με τον Σπούτνικ 2
θα μπορούσε κανείς να συνεχίσει και να συνεχίσει . . .
αράχνες, ψάρια, χελώνες
Ο καθηγητής του Χάρβαρντ Τίμοθι Ο’ Λίρι
που έκανε δημοφιλή το LSD
ήταν ένας απ’ τους λεγόμενους «αστροσταχτοναύτες»
που τα υπολείμματά τους εκτοξεύτηκαν στο διάστημα
σίγουρα δεν είμαστε μόνοι!

Leagan Gréigise:

Πέτρος Γκολίτσης
Petros Golitsis
Thessaloniki, Greece

We are Not Alone

We are not alone
we could not possibly be alone
for instance
other people exist
billions of them
the living and the dead
including your ancestors
animals fishes and birds
things that go bump in the night
we are not alone
planets and comets
(and lots of space junk)

In June 1949, Albert II
went into outer space
but died on re-entry
(I refer not to His Serene Highness, the Prince of Monaco,
but to a laboratory monkey)
on September 16, 1959
fourteen space mice perished
we're not alone
Laika was a stray Russian dog
the Americans called her Muttnik.
Laika burned up in space
along with Sputnik 2
one could go on and on . . .
spiders, fish, tortoises
Harvard Professor Timothy O'Leary
who popularised LSD
was one of a bunch of so-called 'ashtronauts'
whose remains were rocketed into space
we're most definitely not alone!

2024-11-14

Mimi German (POETS OF THE PLANET)

 Mimi German is an American poet and peace activist living in the wilderness of Oregon. She has published two books of poetry, Where Grasses Bend (EyePublishEwe Press, 2023), and Beneath the Gravel Weight of Stars (Poetry Box Press, 2022). Her books, War Poems and Flowers of the Litter will be out in 2024.

 

WAR POEM #96

All leaves eventually fall
From the tree
Allowing light
To expose the branch
We do not fear
The tree’s way
But open our hearts to it
Like a lotus blossoming
In the warmth of the sun
Teaching us once more
How to live like a leaf
Falling from its tree

DÁN COGAIDH #96

I ndeireadh na dála
Titeann gach duilleog den chrann
Is ligeann don solas
An ghéag a nochtadh
Ní heagal linn
Slite an chrainn
Osclaímid ár gcroí dó
Ar nós na loiteoige a bhláthaíonn
Faoi theas na gréine
Agus a mhúineann dúinn arís
Conas maireachtaint mar dhuilleog
Ag titim den chrann