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The Theory of Absence
The Hypothesis: I am tense and so are you. We neither meet nor separate. The desired result: We meet in the absence. More
Nothing Here is Enough
I need veiled eyelids, black lines, and ruined puppets to make geography. I need a sky wider than longing, and water that is not H2O to make wings. More
When I Was a Man
When I was a man I lived in San Cristóbal. At the top of the mountains in the south, along the border of Guatemala, in a place where they… More
The War Works Hard
How magnificent the war is! How eager and efficient! Early in the morning it wakes up the sirens and dispatches ambulances to various places swings corpses through the air rolls stretchers to the wounded summons rain from the eyes… More
Greeting, Slippage, and Shaping
As someone specifically interested in the translation of poetry, of the free verse variety, I will come down squarely on the side of occasional long shots, slippages into the… More
International PEN Report on Translation and Globalization
In Act I, scene iii of Richard II, the Duke of Norfolk is banished from England—sent into exile “never to return.” Curiously, his first thought on hearing this harsh… More
Miltos Sachtouris: The Soldier
The SoldierI have written no poemsin thudsin thudsmy life rolledOne day I trembledthe next day I shudderedin fearin fearmy life passedI have written no poemsI have written no poemsI… More