Aleš Debeljak
CELEBRATION OF THE IMPOSSIBLE
TESTIMONY AND VISION IN MY ARS POETICA

        I, me and myself: the eternal burden and occasional pleasure of focusing on the self in poetic utterings is a trans-historical legacy of highest order. It has little to do with particular stylistic periods in a refinement of poetry and refuses to be seen as merely a fruit of modernity. While it is true that only in post-Rennasisance culture in humanist Europe does the self  become a central pillar of artistic work, it was since the time of ancient pre-Socratics that the self was present in its explorations of cosmos. Pre-Socratic engagement with the personal which is at the same time social, metaphors that reach in mineralogy, mythology and astronomy with equal veracity, easy blending of diverse genres in a writers' pursuit of ideal balance of good, beautiful and true: this is for me an inspiring literary dowry when I attempt to weave my way through verses read, rivers crossed, books of poems published. This is for me a legacy with which I am stounchly obssesed even though I am aware of its vaguely absurd tinge. more....


ALES DEBELJAK : Addict's Song


In the mirror across from our bed

the image of a paradise rises halfway

and the scent of island lavender

wakes up a thunder in the spine.

Unannounced and impossible to restrain,

its sound rips the arc of the body open

down the middle. To endure the rhythm

dictated by a dark silhouette of grace

and a blossom that smells sweetly

even when closed. more...

From: SLOPE fall / winter 2005