Slovenian writer Aleš Šteger has published seven books of poetry, three novels, and two books of essays. A Chevalier des Artes et Lettres in France and a member of the Berlin Academy of Arts, he received the 1998 Veronika Prize for the best Slovenian poetry book, the 1999 Petrarch Prize for young European authors, the 2007 Rožanc Award for the best Slovenian book of essays, and the 2016 International Bienek Prize. His work has been translated into over fifteen languages, including Chinese, German, Czech, Croatian, Hungarian, and Spanish. He has published four books in English: The Book of Things, Berlin, Essential Baggage, and the novel Absolution. He also has worked in the field of visual arts (most recently with a large scale installation at the International Kochi-Muziris Biennale in India), completed several collaborations with musicians (Godalika, Uroš Rojko, Peter N. Gruber), and collaborated with Peter Zach on the film Beyond Boundaries.
Events
Workshop with Aleš Šteger 10:00-12:00 | Newcastle University
***
My Mother
My mother
Who art in bodies,
Devastation is your name.
Come to me at least
In your exile,
Your brutality occurs
In poverty and plenty.
Toss today at least
A worthless crumb
And forgive me
My moments of weakness,
When I try to steal more from life
Than you intend.
Don’t lead me once more into emptiness,
May my bones be crushed
When you caress me,
Mother.
Translated from Slovenian by Brian Henry
MATI MOJA
Mati moja,
Ki si v telesih,
Razdejanje je tvoje ime.
Pridi vsaj k meni,
V tvoje izgnanstvo,
Zgodi se tvoje nasilje
V revščini in izobilju.
Navrzi vsaj danes
Kakšno puhlo drobtino
In odpusti mi
Trenutke šibkosti,
Ko poskušam ukrasti življenju
Več, kot nameniš.
Ne odpelji me ponovno v praznino,
Naj se zdrobé moje kosti,
Ko me pobožaš,
Mati.
Forthcoming in Above the Sky beneath the Earth (White Pine Press, USA, 2019)