Exclusive: Poetry from Europe and other Western locations: Curated by Agron Shele
Dr. Aprilia Zank
is a freelance lecturer in the Department of Languages and Communication at the
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany, where she teaches Creative
Writing and Translation Theory.
She was born in
Romania and studied English and French at the University of Bucharest. She then
moved to Germany where she received her PhD degree in Literature and
Psycholinguistics from the Ludwig Maximilian University for her thesis THE WORD
IN THE WORD Literary Text Reception and Linguistic Relativity. The research for
her PhD thesis was done in collaboration with six universities from Europe, and
as a visiting lecturer at Alberta University of Edmonton, Canada.
Aprilia is also
a poet and a translator and the editor of two anthologies: the English–German
anthology poetry tREnD Eine englisch-deutsche Anthologie zeitgen├╢ssischer
Lyrik, LIT Verlag, Berlin, 2010, and the anthology POETS IN PERSON at the
Glassblower (Indigo Dream Publishing, April, 2014).
She writes verse
in English and German and was awarded a distinction at the “Vera Piller” Poetry
Contest in Zurich. Her poetry collection, TERMINUS ARCADIA, was 2nd Place
Winner at the Twowolvz Press Poetry Chapbook Contest 2013.
Her poetry has
been widely published in anthologies and periodicals in the UK, Germany,
Switzerland, Romania, India, the USA, Canada, Argentina, South-Africa and New
Zealand. Her own volume of poetry TERMINUS ARCADIA is due to come out soon.
As a translator,
she translates from and into German, English, French and Romanian in
collaborative projects with various artists all over the world. In this
respect, she organised the W-ORTE Literary Festival 2010 in Munich, the events
POETS IN PERSON in London in 2012 and 2014, and the event IMAGINE THE BEATS in
Munich, in 2015. These events brought together poets, writers, scholars and
artists from many countries.
Aprilia is also
a passionate photographer. To her, photography means the attempt to get a new
insight into the essence of things. She has organised several photo exhibitions
at the Ludwig Maximilian University and other cultural centres in Munich, and
several of her images are prize winners and have been selected for poetry book
covers.
digging for springs
I had to dig
deeper for springs
this year
the ground dry
rocks and roots
barring my way
dairies
bound in
buckskin
train tickets
for cancelled
journeys
family vows
treasured
in creaky
drawers
cobwebs
growing to ropes
around my ankles
blinded by dust
at dusk
and haze at dawn
weary to carry
all those
registers
with fading
names
and missing
addresses
while stray dogs
snarled in
mating games
and the owl
dived
and tore its
prey
on the velvet
moss
of the holy
stone
I had to dig
deeper
this year
beyond layers of
soil
and layers of
skin
to catch a glance
of the lily
shimmering on
waters
thousand years
deep.
his name is prophet
inspired by a fellow poet’s verse
I see you
drifting above
the clouds
as there is no
abode for you
beneath their
desultory patterns
you with the
patch on your right eye
and the knife in
your bowels
you with your
rice-paper heart
and the tongue
of a hundred tongues
you have reached
for the holy light
but it blurred
to haze
when you touched
it
with your
trembling hands
you have walked
on soot
and begged for
shelter
at celestial
gates
but nobody
washed your feet
or called you
prophet
and when you’re
gone
your words will
linger about
homeless
restless
waiting for
translation.
no pictures please
we have our
pride after all
the day flickers
away
dragging along
the last beams
of a weary New
York sun
the cold grabs
at you
from behind
numbered walls
empty-eyed
dummies
prophecies of
uncertain futures
we may have
nothing
but we have
our pride
at dawn
New York
snatches its pray
sucks it
chews it
spits its shell
at the close of
day
they may have
nothing
but they have
their pride
New York is cold
it shuts its
doors
behind
registered family names
it closes its
eyes
upon
homeless
hopeless
desiccating
identities
but they have
their pride
New York is mute
it has no
answers
to those who go
to bed
without prayers
having no bed
and no one to
pray to
but, no,
no pictures
please
we have our
pride
after all;
