Burning Tongues

Aleš Šteger was born in 1973 in Ptuj, Slovenia, where he grew up, then part of the former Yugoslavia ruled by Tito, which gained its independence when he was 18. He published his first collection at the age of 22, Chessboard of Hours, in 1995, and was immediately recognised as a key voice in the new generation of post-Communist poets not only in Slovenia but throughout central Europe.He has published nine 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, the 2016 International Bienek Prize and the 2022 International Spycher Prize. His work has been translated into over 15 languages, including Chinese, German, Czech, Croatian, Hungarian, and Spanish.Six of his books have been published in English: The Book of Things (BOA Editions, US, 2010), which won the 2011 Best Translated Book Award and the 2011 Best Literary Translation into English Award from AATSEEL; the collection of lyric essays, Berlin; (Counterpath, 2015); the book of prose poems, Essential Baggage (Equipage, 2016); the novel Absolution (Istros Books, 2017); Above the Sky Beneath the Earth (White Pine Press, US, 2019); and The Book of Bodies (White Pine Press, US, 2022). His retrospective, Burning Tongues: New & Selected Poems is published by Bloodaxe Books in the UK in 2022.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 and composers including Jure Tori and Vito Žuraj, and collaborated with Peter Zach on the film Beyond Boundaries.

Aleš Šteger is a poet of the mutable world, “emptied of solidity”, writing “between/ The time of the word/ And the time/ When/ A word/Is devoured”. Emerging in the aftermath of the wars that broke former Yugoslavia into many countries, Šteger has become one of the most significant European poets of the new century. In his hands it is as if poetry were giving up its last secrets, “when books don’t open to speak but to whisper”, and metaphors are “instantly dispersed by a galactic wind". His language slips through fissures of time and space, where, for example, “Hayden plays his saxophone in the Hotel Europa Regina” and all manner of ordinary things become objects of cosmic wonderment: bread and knives, shoes, seahorses, toothpicks, earrings and paperclips. We are fortunate to have these selections from five of his books and also new poems, translated beautifully by Brian Henry. More than a new Selected, this is a gift to the English language and a bridge between worlds.

• 11 Translator’s notefrom KASHMIR (1995)14 About the Realistic and Romantic Schools15 With Closed Eyes16 Thirst17 Lullaby18 Walnut19 Kashmir20 A Thousand Doors21 For Youfrom PROTUBERANCES (2002)24 36 Seconds25 Zero Gravity26 Citrus28 Protuberances29 Anticyclone30 Sandwerder31 Ptuj–Pragersko–Ljubljana32 Still life33 Plié34 Between Bread and Salt35 Returning home36 Europefrom THE BOOK OF THINGS (2005)38 A39 Egg40 Knots41 Stone42 Grater43 Urinal44 Chocolate45 Raisins46 Ant47 Umbrella49 Bread50 Hand Dryer51 Stomach52 Pupa53 Knives54 Jelly55 Bandage56 Mint57 Shoes58 Sea Horse59 Saliva60 Toothpick61 Cork62 Windscreen Wipers63 Hayrack65 Wheelbarrow66 Earring67 Salmon69 Shit70 Paper Clip71 Aspirin72 Parcel73 Chair74 Candlefrom THE BOOK OF BODIES (2010)77 The children in our village79 For two days I’ve been cleaning80 Your private apocalypse82 For whom do the angels play?84 I wake up without my right hand86 Many weeks nothing89 She was a little girl with pompoms91 We go 17 miles on foot93 Here is just one of the entrances95 The smell of rotting logs97 She spends her afternoons sitting99 With a cheek pressed100 Above the red button it says103 Still, when I turn the corner105 After only half an hour107 Who mediates for you?108 A German Shepherd beside a girl110 The ancient Roman walls112 The closer the deadline114 Of all the healers116 I’ve scattered my body118 The word BARE120 The word BUT122 The word EATS125 The word END127 The word FOLDS129 The word HERE131 The word HOLE134 The word LIMPS136 The word MISSING137 The word NEAR138 The word NO140 The word PASS141 The word PFFF143 The word SAVES146 The word SEEDS148 The word SULLIES150 The word TATTERS152 The word WAITING153 The word WALKS154 The word YETfrom ABOVE THE SKY BENEATH THE EARTH (2015)159 The Boy160 Gnashing Teeth161 The Revolt Against the End of Summer162 Time Is163 Man and Truth164 WWW165 Olympics166 O E167 My Body Is a Central Committee168 Erasure of Possibilities169 Magic Square170 The Whole World Is a Uterus171 My Mother172 Permanently on Loan173 The World Is Without Culprits174 Sweet Snow175 The Sky176 White Shirt177 Elementary Laws178 Lindens in the Desert Sand179 I Feel Everything180 Behind a Curtain181 No One182 A Place183 Above the Sky Beneath the Earth184 Five Assertionsfrom TESTIMONY (2020)186 You ask me187 Ancestors191 Between this192 On a plate193 Ant194 The world will return195 Rain teaches us196 When someone asksNEW POEMS198 In the children’s hospital200 My dear father201 My little god202 Only tonight203 Mountain204 In front of the border205 Swimming pool206 Syracuse207 Outside a station of the metro208 What are our poets smiling at?209 An old poet210 Pines211 Dead kitten212 The Sun Walks Behind Me213 What is half an hour214 The Autobiography of H221 Notes223 Acknowledgements224 Note on translator