Two Poems by Grace Cavalieri
Translated by Sílvia Aymerich-Lemos, Zeina Azzam, Zackary Sholem Berger, Sharif S. Elmusa, Danièle Estèbe-Hoursiangou, Danuta E. Kosk-Kosicka, Konstantin Kulakov, Xuhua Lucia Liang, Sabine Pascarelli, Maritza Rivera, and Paul Sohar
INTRODUCTION
On February 27, 2019, Grace Cavalieri’s appointment as Tenth Poet Laureate of Maryland was officially recognized at an event at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, where she has resided for decades. I was there to enjoy the historical moment. The handout presenting Grace, which also listed the esteemed speakers, featured her poem “Tomato Pies, 25 Cents,” which recalled her Italian heritage. It occurred to me to celebrate the choice of Grace Cavalieri as the Poet Laureate by devoting a Loch Raven Review Poetry Translations Section to her. In 2011 I accepted the responsibility of being the Poetry Translations editor and set the course on introducing poets from all over the world writing in languages other than English, side by side with their English-language translators—one language per each bilingual Loch Raven Review issue. I started with Spanish, and 19 languages later showcased the Arabic-language poets. So, then and there, I decided to feature Grace’s poems translated into several languages. The first one was obvious—Polish, the language I translate from and into. I sent out a call to translators, starting with the locals, including the ones I’ve heard during the “Voice as a Bridge” reading, which was organized and presented by Grace, in which I proudly participated in 2017 and 2018. She called it “a ribbon of songs,” poems in English and other tongues performed on stage, with her poetic introduction. I also turned to the translators whose work I’ve featured in Loch Raven Review. And to those who participated in my unique project celebrating Lidia Kosk, the Polish poet and writer, which resulted in the 2017 publication of the multilingual book Szklana góra/Glass Mountain. That book, now in its 2nd edition, has been my inspiration for this project. I’m happy to showcase two poems by Grace Cavalieri, translated into eleven languages, presented below in alphabetical order, from A (Arabic) to Y (Yiddish).
Thank you, Grace, for your wisdom, insight, warmth towards all people, and your unparalleled community service. We wish you fruitful and radiant years as the Maryland Poet Laureate who brings inspiration to people from the youngest to the oldest, and creative happiness to all of us!
Danuta E. Kosk-Kosicka
Loch Raven Review, Translations Editor
Poem by Grace Cavalieri
1952
There you sit in the open cockpit
I never saw such a smile
Goggles pushed up on your head
Shoulders harnessed with a parachute
To keep you safe
This would be before you were on 9 carriers
Before exile to Viet Nam
Before your children surrounded you like stars
Waiting for your kiss
Before the Autumns of our lives
Before there would be no Autumns
Before I said don’t fly away
Before you would become someone else
Then back again
Before there would be so much sun outside without you
Before the winds were light and variable
Before you’d sit on the front step every time
I went to the store waiting for my return
There you are sitting in a cockpit of an SNJ
Smiling at me for all eternity
In a moment that could not last
Cleared for flight
Everything in the whole blue world
Ahead of you.
Translated into Catalan by Sílvia Aymerich-Lemos
1952
Allà ets tu, assegut, amb la cabina de bat a bat
Mai abans havia vist cap somriure semblant
Les ulleres d’aviador al cim del cap
I per a la seguretat
Un paracaigudes ben cordat a les espatlles
Allò era abans que estiguessis en 9 porta-avions
Abans no t’exiliessin a Vietnam
Abans que els fills giressin com estels al teu voltant
Esperant els teus petons
Abans que la tardor ens arribés a les vides
Abans no quedés cap més tardor per viure
Abans que et digués de no envolar-te
Abans no esdevinguessis algú altre
I de nou ara
Abans no hi hagués tant de sol sense tu a fora
Abans que els vents fossin lleugers i variables
Abans que cada cop que me n’anava a la botiga
no t’asseguessis a esperar-me al llindar de casa
Ets allà, guaita, seient a la cabina d’un SNJ
Somrient-me per l’eternitat sencera
En un moment que no podia pas durar
A punt com eres d’enlairar-te ja
Amb aquell món d’absoluta blavor
Amatent al teu davant.
Translated into Chinese by Xuhua Lucia Liang
1952
你坐在敝開的駕駛艙里
我從未見過如此燦然的笑容
飛行鏡推到頭頂
肩繫降落傘背帶
為了安全
這應該是你翱翔於九艘飛行艦之前
在流放越南之前
在孩子們像群星圍繞着你
期待你的親吻之前
在我們生命的深秋前夕
從今再無秋色等待我們
在我來得及叮嚀，別飛了
在你脫變成另一個人
再次歸來
當門外日復一日的陽光失去了你的身影
當風兒輕盈、多變
在我上街時
你坐在屋前的台階把我昐望之前
那裡你坐在SNJ的駕駛艙里
對着我拋灑一生一世的微笑
在那無法駐足的瞬間
在湛藍的天空
呼喚你遠征之前….
Translated into French by Danièle Estèbe Hoursiangou
1952
Tu es là, assis dans le cockpit grand ouvert
Je ne t’avais encore jamais vu un tel sourire
Tes lunettes de pilote remontées sur la tête
Le parachute bien ajusté aux épaules
Pour ta survie
Ce devait être avant ton affectation sur les 9 porte-avions
Avant l’exil au Viet Nam
Avant que tes enfants comme des étoiles ne te tournent autour
En quête de baisers
Avant l’automne de nos vies
Avant qu’il n’y ait plus d’automnes
Avant que je te demande de ne pas repartir
Avant que tu ne deviennes un autre homme
Et avant ton retour
Avant tout ce soleil qui brille dehors sans toi
Avant que les vents ne se fassent légers et changeants
Avant qu’assis sur le pas de la porte
Tu n’attendes jour après jour mon retour du magasin
Là, tu es assis dans le cockpit d’un SNJ
Tu me souris pour l’éternité
Alors que c’était pour un court instant
Puisque tu avais reçu l’autorisation de décoller
Vers ce monde de plein azur
Qui t’attendait.
Translated into German by Sabine Pascarelli
1952
Dort sitzt du im offenen Cockpit
Noch nie sah ich solch ein Lächeln
Die Schutzbrille hochgeschoben
Auf den Schultern ein Fallschirm
Um dich abzusichern
Dies war, bevor du auf 9 Flugzeugträgern warst
Vor dem Exil in Vietnam
Bevor deine Kinder dich wie Sterne umringten
Und auf deinen Kuss warteten
Vor dem Herbst unseres Lebens
Bevor es keinen Herbst mehr geben würde
Bevor ich sagte, flieg nicht fort
Bevor du zu jemand anderem wurdest
Dann wieder zurück
Bevor die Sonne draußen auch ohne dich strahlen würde
Bevor die Winde leicht und veränderlich wären
Bevor du jedes Mal, wenn ich Besorgungen machte,
Auf den Stufen saßest und auf mich wartetest
Dort sitzt du im Cockpit eines SNJ
Und lächelst mich an für alle Ewigkeit
In einem Moment, der nicht dauern konnte
Bereit zum Abflug
Alles in der ganzen, blauen Welt
Vor dir.
Translated into Hungarian by Paul Sohar
1952
Ott ülsz a nyitott pilóta fülkében
Sosem láttam ilyen mosolyt
Napszemüveg homlokodra tolva
Vállak az ejtőernyőbe befogva
Biztonság kedvéért
Ez volt mielőtt 9 anyahajón szolgáltál
Meg a vietnámi számüzetés előtt
Mielőtt a gyerekek mint csillagok vettek körül és
Várták hogy végig pusziljad őket
Mielőtt életünk őszre fordult
Mielőtt kértelek hogy ne repülj el
Mielőtt valaki más lettél
Aztán vissza
Mielőtt olyan sok napfény volt kint nélküled
Mielőtt a szél enyhe és változékony volt
Mielőtt a küszöbön szoktál ülni ahányszor
Elmentem az üzletbe és vártál rám
Ott ülsz a SNJ tanuló gép pilóta fülkéjében
S mosolyogsz rám mindörökké
Egy pillanatban ami nem maradt meg örökké
Szabad az utad
Minden ebben a nagy kék világban
Előtted áll.
Translated into Italian by Sabine Pascarelli
1952
Eccoti seduto nel cockpit aperto
Mai ho visto un tale sorriso
Occhiali protettivi tirati su
Spalle imbrigliate da un paracadute
Per proteggerti
Questo era prima di essere stato su 9 portaerei
Prima dell’esilio in Vietnam
Prima che le tue figlie ti circondassero come stelle
Aspettando il tuo bacio
Prima dell’autunno delle nostre vite
Prima che non ci fossero più autunni
Prima che ti dicessi di non volare via
Prima che diventassi qualcun altro
Poi di nuovo indietro
Prima che il fuori fosse inondato dal sole senza di te
Prima che i venti fossero leggeri e variabili
Prima di sederti sul gradino dell’entrata ogni volta
Che andavo a fare spesa, aspettando che tornassi
Eccoti seduto nel cockpit di un SNJ
Sorridendomi per l’eternità
In un momento che non poteva durare
Pronto per il volo
Ogni cosa dell’intero mondo blu
Davanti a te.
Translated into Polish by Danuta E. Kosk-Kosicka
1952
Siedzisz w otwartym kokpicie
Nigdy przedtem nie widziałam takiego uśmiechu
Gogle nasunięte na czoło
Ramiona wprzężone w spadochron
Który ma cię chronić
To byłoby zanim byłeś na 9 lotniskowcach
Przed zesłaniem do Wietnamu
Zanim twoje dzieci otoczyły cię jak gwiazdy
Czekając na twój pocałunek
Przed jesienią naszego życia
Nim miało już nie być jesieni
Zanim powiedziałam nie odlatuj
Zaim stałeś się kimś innym
I znów powrót
Zanim miało być tak dużo słońca na zewnątrz bez ciebie
Zanim wiatry były lekkie i zmienne
Zanim będziesz siedział na schodku przed domem
Czekając na mój powrót za każdym razem gdy szłam do sklepu
Oto siedzisz w kokpicie SNJ
Uśmiechając się do mnie na całą wieczność
W chwili, która nie mogła trwać
Już odprawiony do odlotu
Wszystko w całym niebieskim świecie
Przed tobą.
Translated into Spanish by Maritza Rivera
1952
Ahí estas sentado en la cabina abierta
Nunca te había visto tan sonriente
Tus gafas posadas en la cabeza
Tus hombros atrapados en un paracaídas
Para mantenerte a salvo
Esto sería antes de que estuvieses en 9 portaviones
Antes de tu exilio a Viet Nam
Antes de que tus hijos te rodeaban como estrellas
Esperando tu beso
Antes del otoño de nuestras vidas
Antes de acabarse los otoños
Antes de pedirte que no despegaras
Antes de que te convirtieras en otra persona
Después para regresar de nuevo
Antes de que hubiese afuera tanto sol sin ti
Antes de que los vientos fuesen livianos y variables
Antes de sentarte en la escalera de afuera esperando
Mi regreso cada vez que yo iba a la tienda
Ahí estas sentado en la cabina del avión SNJ
Sonriéndote por toda una eternidad
En un momento que no podía durar
Listo para despegar
Con todo un mundo azul
A tu delantera.
Translated into Yidish by Zackary Sholem Berger
1952
דאָרט זיצסטו אין דער קאַבינע
קײן מאָל אַזאַ שמײכל נישט געזען
ברילן אַרױפֿגערוקט אױפֿן קאָפּ
אַקסלען אײַנגעשפּאַנט אין אַ פּאַראַשוט
זאָלסט בלײַבן זיכער
דאָס אײדער דו ביסט געװען אױף 9 עראָפּלאַן־שיפֿן
אײדער פֿאַרשיקונג קײן װיִעטנאַם
אײדער די קינדער רינגלען דיך אַרום װי שטערן
װאַרטן אױף דײַן קוש
פֿאַר די האַרבסטן פֿון אונדזערע לעבנס
אײדער די האַרבנסטן זײַנען נישטאָ
אײדער איך זאָג פֿלי נישט אַװעק
אײדער זאָלסט װערן עמעצער אַנדערש
און צוריק
װײַל אַזױ פֿיל זון װאָלט געװען אין דרױסן אָן דיר
אײדער די װינטן זײַנען לײַכט און בײַטעװדיק
אײדער דו זיצט אױפֿן פֿאָדערשטן טרעפּ װען נאָר
איך גײ אין קראָם, װאַרטנדיק איך זאָל זיך אומקערן
דאָרט זיצסטו אין אַ קאַבינע פֿון אַ טרעניר־עראָפּלאַן
מיט אַ שמײכל צו מער אױף אַלע אײביקײטן
אין אַ רגע װאָס קען נישט געדױערן
גרײט אָפּצופֿליִען
אַלץ אין דער גאַנצענער בלױער װעלט
װאַרט אױף דיר
*************************************************************************************
Poem by Grace Cavalieri
This Poem Is Asking For Your Love
This poem is not usually like this
I don’t know what came over it
It’s mostly violet under the sun
with a large yellow parasol and a pond
with a center that never freezes
I swear I had no idea
I’m so used to trees of hearts and
cherries within its branches
I can’t imagine
what woke this poem up
with a truth I never wanted
It called out the tower window and said
I was alone
That in itself is a morbid lie
I have long shadows in Autumn and clouds
anytime there is a sky
In fact everything was going so well until
this poem wanted to undress me
and bring back my love
and hold me close and rub
my forehead when I had fever
It had no idea what trouble could come
from this so I wrote it
then I ran from it
now I can erase it
to show I never needed it after all
because don’t you know, Poem,
if you have to ask for something
it’s no gift.
Translated into Arabic by Sharif S. Elmusa and Zeina Azzam
هذه القصيدة تطلب منك ان تحبها
هي ليست كذلك عادة
لا ادري ماذا ألمّ بها
ففي غالبيتها بنفسجية تحت الشمس
بشمسية صفراء وبركة ماء
لا يتجمد وسطها ابدا
اقسم اني لا اعرف
انا معتادة على شجرة العشق
وعناقيد الكرز مُدَلاّة بين اغصانها
لا استطيع ان اتخيل
ما الذي ايقظ هذه القصيدة
بحقيقة لم أرِدْها ابدا
:اذ نادت من شباك البرج وقالت
لقد كنتُ وحيدة
لكن هذا الزعم كذبة مريضة
لي ظلال مترامية في الخريف وغيومٌ
في اي وقت هناك سماء
كان كل شيء يسير على ما يرام
حتّى رغِبتْ هذه القصيدة ان تُعرّيني
وتضمني وتفْركَ
جبهتي حين اكون مصابة بالحمّى
لم يكن عند القصيدةاية فكرة عن المتاعب التي قد تتبع
ولذلك كتبتها
ثم ركضتُ هربا منها
الآن بامكاني ان امحوها
لأبرهن اني بعد كل اعتبار
لم احتجها ابدا
“لانك لا تعرفين ايتها “القصيدة
أنّه إنْ كان ضروريا ان تطلبي شيئا
.فهو ليس هدية
Translated into Chinese by Xuhua Lucia Liang
句句詩行在呼喚你的愛
這些不像平常的詩句
我不明白它們從何而來
應該是陽光下的紫羅蘭
金黃的大陽傘
還有那一襲中間永不封凍的池潭水
我發誓我一無所知
我是如此熟悉心靈的綠樹
那些枝葉間的紫櫻桃
我無法想像
這句句詩行如何哽醒
帶來我不願期待的真實
它們從石堡的窗口向外吶喊
我孤獨一人
但這是丟人的謊言
在蔚藍的天空下，
我永遠有白雲的陪伴和秋天長長的倒影
其實日子一直還是圓滿
直到這些詩行撲來剝去我的偽裝
它們帶來愛
把我緊緊擁抱在懷裡
搓揉我發燒的前額
它們不知道即將惹來的煩惱
所以我執筆把它們一一寫下
轉身逃遁
把它們輕輕擦去
然後告訴自己
我從來不需要它們
因為，天地皆知
詩歌，如果是為了求賜
那就不是蒼天的禮物。
Translated into German by Sabine Pascarelli
Dieses Gedicht bittet um eure Liebe
Dieses Gedicht ist sonst nicht so
Ich weiß nicht, was über es gekommen ist
Es ist meistens violett unter der Sonne
mit einem großen, gelben Sonnenschirm und einem Teich
mit einem Zentrum, das niemals vereist
Ich schwöre, ich hatte keine Ahnung
Ich bin so an Bäume mit Herzen und
Kirschen in den Zweigen gewöhnt
Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen
was dieses Gedicht aufgeweckt hat
mit einer Wahrheit, die ich nie wollte
Es rief aus dem Turmfenster und sagte
Ich war allein
Das an sich ist eine krankhafte Lüge
Ich habe lange Schatten im Herbst und Wolken
immer wenn es einen Himmel gibt
Tatsächlich lief alles reibungslos, bis
dieses Gedicht mich entkleiden und mir
meine Liebe zurückgeben wollte
Es wollte mich halten und über meine
Stirn streichen, wenn ich Fieber bekäme
Es schwante ihm nicht, welche Probleme
sich ergeben könnten, also habe ich es geschrieben
dann lief ich davon
jetzt kann ich es ausradieren
um zu zeigen, dass ich seiner nie bedurfte,
und falls du es nicht weißt, Gedicht,
wenn du um etwas bitten musst
dann ist es kein Geschenk.
Translated into Hungarian by Paul Sohar
Ez a vers a szeretetedet igényli
Ez a vers általában nem ilyen
nem tudom mi lett vele
Többnyire bíboros a nap alatt
nagy sárga napernyővel és egy tóval
aminek a közepe sohasem fagy be
Esküszöm fogalmam sem volt róla
annyira hozzászoktál a szíveket-termő fákhoz
cseresznyével az ágak között
el sem tudom képzelni
mi ébresztette fel ezt a verset
egy igazsággal amit sohasem vártam el
Kikiabált a toronyablakból és szétkürtölte
Hogy egyedül vagyok
Ami magában is egy beteges hazugság
Nekem hosszú árnyékom van az ősszel és felhők
bármikor is az égen
Tény az hogy minden jól ment addig
amíg ez a vers le akart vetkőztetni
és visszahozni a szerelmet nekem
és ölelgetni szorosan és simogatni
a homlokomat amikor lázas lettem.
Fogalma sem volt arról hogy milyen bajokat
okozhat ezzel és ezért írtam meg
és utána rohanva hagytam el
most ki is törölhetem
megmutathatom hogy sohasem volt szükségem rá
mert, Vers, neked illene tudnod,
hogy ha valamit kérni kell
az sosem ajándék.
Translated into Italian by Sabine Pascarelli
Questa poesia chiede il vostro amore
Questa poesia di solito non è così
Non so cosa le ha preso
È perlopiù viola sotto il sole
con un ampio parasole giallo e un laghetto
con un centro che non gela mai
Giuro, che non avevo idea
Sono così abituata ad alberi di cuori e
ciliegie nei loro rami
non posso immaginarmi
che cosa ha svegliato questa poesia
con una verità che non avrei voluto
Ha chiamato dalla finestra della torre, dicendo
ero sola
Questo di per sé è una bugia morbosa
ho delle lunghe ombre in autunno e delle nuvole
ogni volta che c’è un cielo
Infatti, tutto andava così bene finché
questa poesia ha voluto spogliarmi
e restituire il mio amore
e tenermi stretta e strofinarmi
la fronte quando avevo la febbre
Non aveva idea dei problemi
che potevano nascere, così la scrissi
poi ne scappai
ora la posso cancellare
per dimostrare che non mi serviva, dopotutto,
perché, Poesia, non sai che
se lo devi chiedere
non è un dono.
Translated into Polish by Danuta E. Kosk-Kosicka
Ten wiersz prosi o twoją miłość
Ten wiersz zazwyczaj nie jest taki
nie wiem, co mu się stało
pod słońce jest na ogół fioletowy
z dużym żółtym parasolem i stawem
który w środku nigdy nie zamarza
Przysięgam, nie miałam pojęcia
jestem tak przyzwyczajona do drzew z sercami i
czereśni w ich gałęziach
Nie wyobrażam sobie
co obudziło ten wiersz
z prawdą, której nie pragnęłam
Zawołał z okna wieży i powiedział
jestem samotna
Samo w sobie to jest straszne kłamstwo
Mam długie cienie jesienią i chmury
zawsze gdy tylko jest niebo
Właściwie wszystko szło tak dobrze, aż
do momentu, gdy ten wiersz chciał mnie rozebrać
i przywrócić mi moją miłość
i przytulić mnie i rozcierać
mi czoło, gdy miałam gorączkę
Nie miał pojęcia, jakie kłopoty mogą wyniknąć
z tego, więc napisałam go
potem uciekłam od niego
teraz mogę go wymazać
by pokazać, że przecież nigdy go nie potrzebowałam
bo, czyż nie wiesz, Wierszu,
że jeśli musisz o coś prosić
to nie jest podarunek.
Translated into Russian by Konstantin Kulakov
Эта поэма просит твоей любви
Эта поэма обычно себя так не ведёт
Я не понимаю, что с ней происходит
Она в общем фиолетовая над солнцем
с огромным жёлтым зонтом и с прудом,
который посредине никогда не замерзает
Я обещаю, что понятия я не имела
Я так привыкла к деревьям сердец
и к вишни в их ветвях
Я не могу представить
Что эта поэма разбудила меня
с правдой я никогда не хотелa получить
Она показала мне с башни и сказалa
Я была одна
что ужасная ложь
У меня есть длинные тени осени и облака
каждый раз, когда есть небо
На самом деле все шло так хорошо, пока
эта поэма хотела раздеть меня
вернуть мою любовь
и притянуть меня ближе,
когда у меня была температура
Онa понятия не имелa, какие проблемы могут возникнуть
из этого, так что я написалa это
потом убежалa
теперь могу стереть
чтобы показать, я никогда не нуждалacь во всем этом
Потому что, что ты не знаешь, Поэма,
если нужно попросить подарок у кого-то
это не подарок.
Translated into Spanish by Maritza Rivera
Este Poema Está Pidiendo Tu Amor
Este poema nunca se comporta así
No sé lo que le pasa
Casi siempre es violeta bajo el sol
con una sombrilla amarilla y un lago
con el centro que nunca se congela
Juro que no tenía idea
Estoy tan acostumbrada a los árboles con corazones
y cerezas dentro de sus ramas
no pude imaginar
que despertó este poema
con la verdad que nunca quise saber
Llamó desde la ventana de la torre y dijo
Estaba sola
Eso en sí es una mentira morbosa
Tengo sombras largas en el otoño y nubes
cada vez que hay cielo
En verdad todo iba muy bien hasta que
este poema quiso desnudarme
y devolverme mi amor
y abrazarme fuerte y frotar
mi frente cuando tuve fiebre
No tenía idea del problema que causaría
de esto así que lo escribí
después hui de el
ahora puedo borrarlo
para mostrarle que nunca lo necesité
porque no sabes, Poema,
que si tienes que pedir algo
no es regalo.
Translated into Yiddish by Zackary Sholem Berger
דאָס ליב בעט דײַן ליבשאַפֿט
דאָס ליד איז געװײנטלעך נישט אַזױ
איך װײס נישט װאָס איז מיט דעם
ס׳איז געװײנטלעך לילאַ אונטער דער זון
מיט אַ גרױסן געלן זאָנטשיק און אַן אָזערע
מיט אַ צענטער װאָס װערט קײן מאָל נישט פֿאַרפֿרױרן
כ׳האָב באמת קײן אַנונג נישט געהאַט
כ׳בין צוגעװױנט צו בײמער מיט הערצער און
קאַרשן אין די צװײַגן
איך קען זיך נישט פֿאָרשטעלן
װאָס האָט דאָס ליד אױפֿגעװעקט
מיט אַן אמת װאָס כ׳האָב קײן מאָל נישט געװאָלט
ס׳האָט אַרױסגערופֿן פֿון טורעם־פֿענצטער און געזאָגט
איך בין אַלײן
דאָס איז שױן אַ קרענקלעכער ליגן
איך האָב לאַנגע שאָטנס אין האַרבסט און װאָלקנס
װען נאָר ס׳איז פֿאַראַן אַ הימל
אײגנטלעך גײט אַלץ גאַנץ גוט ביז
דאָס ליד האָט מיך געװאָלט אױסטאָן
און צוריקברענגען מײַן ליבשאַפֿט
און צוטוליִען און רײַבן מיר דעם שטערן
װען איך האָב אַ היץ
ס׳איז קײן מאָל נישט אײַנגעפֿאַלן װאָסערע צורת קענען קומען
פֿון דעם. האָב איך דאָס אָנגעשריבן
© Grace Cavalieri, Sílvia Aymerich-Lemos, Zeina Azzam, Zackary Sholem Berger, Sharif S. Elmusa, Danièle Estèbe-Hoursiangou, Danuta E. Kosk-Kosicka, Konstantin Kulakov, Xuhua Lucia Liang, Sabine Pascarelli, Maritza Rivera, and Paul Sohar
Grace Cavalieri, Tenth Poet Laureate of Maryland, is the award-winning author of 23 books and chapbooks of poetry, and 26 produced plays. Sabine Pascarelli’s Italian translation of Grace’s book Cosa farei per Amore: Poesie dalla voce di Mary Wollstonecraft came out in 2013. Her latest collections are Showboat (2019) and Other Voices, Other Lives (2017). Her most recent play, Quilting the Sun, was staged in 2019 at the Dream-Up Festival in New York City. She produces and hosts “The Poet and the Poem,” via the public radio from the Library of Congress, now in its 42nd year on the air. Grace has lectured and taught throughout the United States at several colleges and universities, and was, for 25 years, visiting poet at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. She was resident writer at the Word Works annual retreat in Tuscany, 1996-2003. She was book editor of The Montserrat Review until 2011. She is a poetry columnist for MiPOradio and on the staff of MiPOesias. She writes a monthly poetry feature entitled “Exemplars” for the Washington Independent Review of Books (2011–present). Grace’s honors include the George Garrett Award, the Pen-Fiction Award, the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Award, the inaugural Columbia Merit Award from the Folger Shakespeare Library, THE MANDATE OF HEAVEN Bordighera Press Paterson Award for Literary Excellence, the Annie Award, and many more. Governor Hogan, appointing Grace as Poet Laureate of Maryland, called her dedication to the arts “nothing short of astounding.” In an interview, she stated that she will continue to lecture, give workshops, review books and teach as a way to “spread the word that everyone is invited to the party.”
Sílvia Aymerich-Lemos, poet, translator and prose writer with a degree in Biology, has translated into Catalan the work of Isaac Asimov, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and others. Her work appears in poetry anthologies, and she has contributed self-translated poems into French, English, and Spanish to several literary publications. Her latest contributions of poetry translation into Catalan include Preludio e corrente per Antoni by Gilberto Isella, Szklana góra/Glass Mountain by Lidia Kosk, and Murmur by Menna Elfyn. She is the founder of Multiple Versions, a project of literary cooperative translations.
Zeina Azzam is a Palestinian American poet, editor, and community activist. Her poems are or will be published in Pleiades, Cordite Poetry Review, Heartwood Literary Magazine, Sukoon Magazine, Mizna, Split This Rock, The Fourth River, and the edited volumes Bettering American Poetry, Making Mirrors: Writing/Righting by and for Refugees, and Gaza Unsilenced, among others. Azzam earned an MA in Arabic literature at Georgetown. Recently she co-translated, with Sharif Elmusa, 14 poems by Arab writers for Loch Raven Review.
Zackary Sholem Berger lives multiple literary lives. He is a poet and translator working in Yiddish, Hebrew, and English. His work has appeared in multiple venues, including Poetry magazine, the Yiddish Forward, and Asymptote; themes of his verse range from the philosophical and medical to the immediate problems of his adopted city Baltimore. In the Yiddish world, he might be best known as a regular contributor to the Forverts and the translator of Dr. Seuss’s Cat in the Hat into Yiddish. His translations of prose poetry by Avrom Sutzkever are due to appear in book form in 2020.
Sharif S. Elmusa is a Palestinian American scholar, poet, and translator. He co-edited Grape Leaves: A Century of Arab American Poetry and authored the poetry collection Flawed Landscape. His poems and essays are published in numerous periodicals in the United States and internationally. His translations of Arabic poetry have appeared in Modern Arabic Poetry and The Literature of Modern Arabia (ed. Salma Khadra Jayyusi). Elmusa, who holds a PhD from MIT and is an Emeritus at the American University in Cairo, also taught at Yale University and Georgetown University in Qatar.
Danièle Estèbe-Hoursiangou is a poet, journalist, writer, and translator in Occitan and French. Director of the literary journal Oc. She is the author of Le Jardin, a book of short stories (Éditions In8, 2006) and Parçans esconuts/Territoires cachés, bilingual, Occitan/French, poetry collection (Edicions Jorn, 2013). “Fuir jusqu’à l’eau mate” and “Ô mon peuple” appeared in Europe. She has contributed her Occitan translation and audio to Szklana góra/Glass Mountain by Lidia Kosk.
Danuta E. Kosk-Kosicka is a prize-winning poet, translator, and photographer. Her two collections are: Oblige the Light (2015) and Face Half-Illuminated (2015). She is the translator for two bilingual volumes by Lidia Kosk Niedosyt/Reshapings (2003) and Słodka woda, słona woda/Sweet Water, Salt Water (2009); the multilingual Szklana góra/Glass Mountain (2017 & 2019), which she edited, featuring Lidia’s poem in twenty-two languages; and Meadows of Memory: Poetry and Prose by Lidia Kosk (2019). Her translations of poems by Maryland Poets Laureate—Lucille Clifton & Linda Pastan—as well as Josephine Jacobsen, were published in Poland.
Konstantin Kulakov is a Russian-American poet born in Zaoksky, former Soviet Union. He is the recipient of the Greg Grummer Award judged by Brian Teare and his debut chapbook, Excavating the Sky, was published by Dialogue Foundation Books in 2015. His work has appeared in Spillway, Phoebe, Christian Century, and Harvard Journal of African American Policy, among others. Currently, he is an MFA candidate at Naropa University’s Jack Kerouac School in Boulder, Colorado.
Xuhua Lucia Liang, pen name Cao Yu, was born on a beautiful island in southern China-Amoy, Fujian Province. In 1986 she went to study at State University of New York at Stony Brook where she received her Ph.D. in Latin American Literature. She was the first female Ph.D. in Latin American Literature in China. In the U.S. while dedicating herself to the teaching and research of Spanish language and literature, she wrote poems in Chinese, Spanish and English. In her poetry, she developed a unique style which echoes the voices of Chinese, Hispanic and American cultures.
Sabine Pascarelli grew up in Germany and earned a degree in German language and literature at Dortmund University. She’s a published poet, children’s literature author, and a translator of English, German and Italian. Recent books of translated poems include The Alchemy of Grief by Emily Ferrara, winner of the Bordighera Poetry Award 2007 (Bordighera Press); Repubblica by Dr. J.H. Beall, (Toad Hall Press); and Cosa farei per amore by Grace Cavalieri (The Bunny & the Crocodile Press) and Szklana Góra/Glass Mountain by Lidia Kosk (Komograf Press). Pascarelli lives in Tuscany, near Florence, where she teaches at a language school.
Maritza Rivera is a Puerto Rican poet and US Army veteran who has been writing poetry for over 45 years. She is the publisher of Casa Mariposa Press, hosts the annual Mariposa Poetry Retreat and the annual Mariposa Poetry Reunion Reading at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, where she also teaches poetry workshops. She is the author of About You, A Mother’s War, A Baker’s Dozen, Twenty-One Blackjack Poems, and the Blackjack Poetry Playing Cards. Her work appears in literary magazines, anthologies, and online publications.
Paul Sohar has been writing and publishing in every genre, including seventeen volumes of translations, the latest being The Conscience of Trees (Ragged Sky, 2018) and The Refugee (Syergebooks, 2019). His own poetry: Homing Poems (Iniquity Press, 2006) and The Wayward Orchard (Wordrunner Press Prize winner, 2011). Prose works: True Tales of a Fictitious Spy (Synergebooks, 2006) and a collection of one-act plays from One Act Depot (Saskatoon, Canada, 2014). Magazines: Agni, Gargoyle, Rattle, etc.
The Loch Raven Review 