Billy Ramsell Q&A on his first book
Billy Ramsell talks about his first book.
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Cursed Death
I thought you got in my way, but no. Like part of the game, like sauce on every dish, like an intrusion, you join, give flavor, of mint, of snow, of tar, you manage to maintain intrigue, you make everything pulsate and ahead you let it be the time. Translated by Curtis […]
Maldita Muerte (in Spanish)
Pensé que me estorbabas, pero no. Como parte del juego, como salsa de todos los platos, como intrusa, acompañas, das sabor, a menta, a nieve, a alquitrán, consigues mantener la intriga, haces que todo vibre y por delante dejas que sea el tiempo. Luis Muñoz “Maldita Muerte” fue publicado en Limpiar Pescado: […]
The Body Changes
Hot water bottles. Wheel axles.Stuffy air. In the end it was true and the transformation is not subtle, although it is given in parts: from cause to consequence, from content to container, from response to question. Translated by Curtis Bauer “The Body Changes” is from Cleaning Fish: Collected Poems (Visor, 2005); […]
El Cuerpo Cambia (in Spanish)
Bolsas de agua. Ejes de rueda. Aire cargado. Al final era cierto y la transformación no es sigilosa aunque se dé por partes: de causa a consecuencia, de contenido a continente, de respuesta a pregunta. Luis Muñoz “El Cuerpo Cambia” fue publicado en Limpiar Pescado: Poesía Reunida [Cleaning Fish: Collected Poems] […]
Leave Poetry
For subtracting when you add. For filling your table with birds. For taking you to a place you don’t know how to leave. For punishing you without speaking. For telling you: you are alone. For preferring that you carry the burden of its centuries-long pain when you feel new. For its preposterous magnet. For […]
Dejar la Poesía (in Spanish)
Por restar mientras que tú sumas. Por llenarte de pájaros la mesa. Por llevarte adonde no sabes salir. Por castigarte sin hablar. Por decirte: estás solo. Por preferir que cargues con su dolor de siglos cuando te sientes nuevo. Por su imán descabellado. Por la sed que produce cuando finge ser agua. Por su […]
Poor Cervantes?
If he breaks his back in the attempt, if he struggles against his limits, if he falls and gets back up, if time sucks him in but he resists , again and again puncturing the dark with light that only words ignite, I don’t feel sorry for him. No more than for you […]