Fullness and Newness

As promised, this update covers April and May, which were a whirlwind full of new experiences.

For those of you who enjoyed the Sci Fi stories of Gheorghe Săsărman from my last newsletter, you might be interested in the White Review Anthology published in April, full of fantastic translations of writers from all over the world, including a few more stories by Săsărman. When I was asked if I’d like to do a reading at the launch in London, I couldn’t resist and hopped over to London on a cheap flight for a few days just for that and to visit a couple friends. It was a blast and so worth it. Have I mentioned how much I love living not only in Romania but in Europe?

In other translation related news, Bucharest recently hosted Bookfest, the largest book fair in Romania, and the Romanian Cultural Institute organized a panel on Romanian literature in translation which included five translated writers and me. The writers shared their experiences being translated and I spoke on the ecosystem of translation and what is needed to increase the impact of Romanian literature abroad, especially connections with presses in the U.S. and UK. This year the Republic of Moldova was the guest of honor and I also enjoyed hearing different perspectives on Moldovan identity and meeting Dumitru Crudu, whom I recently translated, in person.

Poetry-wise, I have a new poem out in Graywolf Lab called “Pitești,” and two in Four Way Review’s online magazine, “Month to Month” and “Off Season.” I’m especially excited about this because these publications are connected to excellent presses, which I take as a good omen. I’m only a couple poems away from starting to submit my collection to publishers.

In the meantime, I had the incredible good fortune to be one of eight international poets invited by the Lithuanian Writers’ Union for the 80th edition of their famed Poetry Spring festival. Besides our readings in Vilnius, we were split up into groups with Lithuanian poets and read our works in cities, towns, and villages throughout Lithuania. My poems were translated by former Lithuanian poet laureate Marius Burokas and he was part of my group so we worked out a performance where we alternated reading in English and Lithuanian. I wowed audiences with my newly acquired phrases in Lithuanian (and hopefully my poetry) and now I feel I finally know what it’s like to be part of a band on tour. I’m already thinking of how to bring some Lithuanian poets over to Romania.

L-R: Mari-Liis Müürsepp (Estonia),Vasyl Makhno (Ukraine/USA), Monica Cure (USA/Romania), Yekta (France), Yuki Nagae (Japan), Indrė Valantinaitė (Lithuania), and Anna Piwkowska (Poland). Not pictured: Marija Luīze Meļķe (Latvia) and Aleš Šteger (Slovenia)

Another wonderful poetry experience last month was speaking to a large group of creative writing students from Northern Kentucky University at the invitation of poet and professor Kelly Moffett who organized a study tour for them in Romania. I created what I called an “emotional map” of Romania’s geography and history for them through readings of my poems and stories about my family and personal experiences here. Then I took them on a quick “hipster tour,” skewed heavily in favor of good coffee, because that’s what jetlagged writers need for inspiration.

I also got to connect with students from the Romanian American University by creating a six-part speaker series for them called “The Future Now” at the invitation of the American Studies Center there. The bi-weekly events are dialogues between me and friends who are innovative and successful in their different fields but who also have a broader perspective on what matters in life.

Finally, a lecture on how to read poetry which I delivered over a decade ago, and seemingly in another life, is making the rounds again in edited form, highlighting Emily Dickinson’s definition of poetry—perhaps some of you have already seen it. It reminded me of a project I keep thinking about. I’m wondering how many of you would be interested in subscribing to a short monthly newsletter in which I write about a poem, contemporary or otherwise, in a way that helps give guiding principles to interpretation? I think it’s something I’d like to do if I get a minimum of 10 pledges.

As always, thanks for reading this update, and enjoy the summer!

Monica