What We Are When We Are Kaj smo, ko smo

Working within a postmodern style, this rhythmic and melodious collection of poems originally written in Slovenian by Cvetka Lipuš and translated here by Tom Priestly, blends the real with the surreal, dull urban lives with dreams. Lipuš, known for the lexical beauty of her work, dwells on topics of time and space which she handles in an almost revolving, irreverent manner. Priestly captures the maze-like characteristic of her verse and carefully reconstructs the sonoric beauty of the work in its original language.

About the Author

Born in Austria, Cvetka Lipuš is the author of seven collections of poetry in Slovenian. Kaj smo, ko smo (2015), for which Lipuš received the Prešeren Foundation Award, was short-listed for the Veronika Prize, the most prestigious poetry prize in Slovenia. Tom Priestly is professor emeritus in the Department of Modern Languages and Culture Studies at the University of Alberta and the author of numerous translations including Jani Virk’s The Last Temptation of Sergiy (2016).

Reviews

Lipuš’s work is intense and philosophically inclined. It aims not at pyrotechnics or confession, or at history or politics, or at morale or morality. But it feeds the brain, in every positive sense, as well as fills the heart; this is because its ends and means are, arguably, so enmeshed and coordinated. This is poetry that is powerful and erudite (in the right, procedural and not encyclopedic way) and quiet, even patient: arguably what we are hearing is supreme, supple artistic confidence, and the silence arises from our reading, thinking, and rereading.

John K. Cox, World Literature Today

Table of Contents

1. Foreword by Donna Kane
2. Odprti konec | Open End
3. Regrets | Regrets
4. Jutranja vožnja | Morning Journey
5. Kaj bi | What If
6. Zaposlitev | Employment
7. Sanje | The Dream
8. Dediščina | Inheritance
9. Vdova | The Widow
10. Deseti januar | January Tenth
11. Koncert za glas in nebo | Concerto for Voice and Sky
12. Težki od časa | Heavy with Time
13. Naj sonce ne zaide nad jezo | Let Not the Sun Go Down on Your Anger
14. Slovo | Saying Goodbye
15. Nespečnost | Sleeplessness
16. Novi naslov | The New Address
17. Poglej nas, kako lebdimo | Watch Us Float
18. Obisk | The Visit
19. Noč z grozo v gobcu | A Night with a Threat in Its Muzzle
20. Vodič | Guide
21. Gibalo | Perpetuum Mobile
22. Kje si, ko si | Where You Are When You Are
23. Negovanje | Caring
24. Prehod | Passage
25. Počitnice | Holidays
26. Lake Mendota | Lake Mendota
27. Pogled zavesti | The Look of Consciousness
28. Dreams Limited | Dreams Limited
29. To-Do List | To-Do List
30. Prijavni urad | The Registration Office
31. Na levem boku dneva | On the Port Side of the Day
32. Drago življenje, | Dear Life,
33. Čakanje | Waiting
34. Afterword by Tomaž Toporišič
35. About the Author and Translator

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). It may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that the original author is credited.