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Matthew Sweeney

The Snowy Owl

  • 1 Poker | Translations: deskhurolvnlja
  • 2 The Hat | Translations: deskroeslv
  • 3 Do not throw stones at this sign | Translations: deroesnlsk
  • 4 In the dust | Translations: dehrsksr
  • 5 Hair | Translations: desksr
  • 6 The Ice Hotel | Translations: deronljask
  • 7 No Sugar | Translations: desk
  • 8 The Doors | Translations: denlsk
  • 9 The Snowy Owl | Translations: denlsksr
  • 10 Naked | Translations: desksr
Language: english
Translations: german (Die Schnee-Eule), dutch (DE SNEEUWUIL), slovak (Snežná sova ), serbian (POLARNA SOVA )
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The Snowy Owl

Over the heads of the firing squad
flew a snowy owl, who oohooed  twice
just before they pulled their triggers
and as the woman slumped on her ropes,
blood splattering her white dress,
the owl landed on her shoulder,
oohooed again, and swivelled its big-
eyed gaze over all the uniformed men,
one of whom raised his rifle
but the captain knocked it away
while the owl pecked at some blood
on the woman’s breast, smearing
its own breast feathers, then glared,
it seemed, at the transfixed men,
before swooping off, barely missing
the head of one, making them all
turn to watch it glide away, and hear
one more oohoo echo through the sky.

© Matthew Sweeney
From: unpublished
Audio production: 2006, M.Mechner / Literaturwerkstatt Berlin

Translations:

Language: german

Die Schnee-Eule

Über die Köpfe des Exekutionskommandos
flog eine Schnee-Eule hinweg, die zweimal uhute,
kurz bevor das Feuer eröffnet wurde,
und als die Frau in ihren Fesseln zusammensackte
und Blut auf ihr weißes Kleid spritzte,
landete die Eule auf ihrer Schulter,
rief noch einmal „uhu“, ließ ihren groß-
äugigen Blick über die Uniformierten gleiten,
von denen einer das Gewehr anlegte,
bis der Hauptmann es ihm wegschlug,
während die Eule der Frau etwas Blut
von der Brust pickte, sich dabei das eigene
Brustgefieder besudelte, und dann, so schien es,
die wie gelähmten Männer anstarrte,
bevor sie aufflog, haarscharf am Kopf
des einen vorbei, und alle sich umdrehten,
um sie davongleiten zu sehen, hörten, wie
ein letztes „uhu“ im Himmel widerhallte.

Übersetzt von Jan Wagner
Language: dutch

DE SNEEUWUIL

Over de hoofden van het schietende eskadron
vloog een sneeuwuil, die twee keer oeoede
net voor ze hun trekkers overhaalden
en terwijl de vrouw neerzeeg op haar touwen,
het bloed op haar witte kleed spatte,
landde de uil op haar schouder,
oeoede opnieuw, en draaide met zijn wijdopen
gesperde ogen naar alle geüniformeerde mannen,
van wie één zijn geweer ophief
maar de kapitein sloeg het weg
terwijl de uil aan het bloed pikte
op de borst van de vrouw, waardoor
hij zijn eigen borstveren besmeurde, dan boos keek,
zo leek het, naar de aan de grond genagelde mannen,
vóór hij wegschoot, nauwelijks het hoofd missend
van één van hen, deed hij hen allemaal
omdraaien om hem na te kijken terwijl hij wegzweefde en ze
nog één oeoe echo liet horen in de lucht.

Vertaling: Joris Iven

Translated under the authority of the Flemish Literature Fund
Language: slovak

Snežná sova

Ponad hlavy popravnej čaty
preletela snežná sova, ktorá dvakrát zahúkala
tesne predtým, ako stisli spúšť,
a keď žena odkväcla v putách,
biele šaty krvou pofŕkané,
sova jej pristála na pleci,
opäť zahúkala, a svojím veľko-
okým pohľadom krúžila po mužoch v uniformách;
jeden z nich zalícil pušku,
ale kapitán mu ju odstrčil
a sova vyzobávala krv
z hrude tej ženy, umažúc si
vlastné hrudné perie, potom zagánila,
zdalo sa, na ohromených mužov,
a vzlietla - takmer sa obtrela
o hlavu jedného z nich - prinútiac všetkých
hľadieť za ňou, ako plachtí preč
a vypočuť si ešte jedno huhú znejúce oblohou.

Z angličtiny preložil Pavol Lukáč
Language: serbian

POLARNA SOVA

Nad glavama streljačkog voda zalepršala je
polarna sova, dvaput huknuvši pre nego
što će vojnici otvoriti vatru,
a kada se žena stropoštala preko konopaca,
i kada je krv šiknula na njenu belu haljinu,
sova joj je sletela na rame,
još jednom huknula, i počela da kruži
buljavim pogledom po uniformisanim ljudima,
na šta je jedan od njih podigao pušku,
ali ju je kapetan samo ćutke odgurnuo,
dok je sova nastavljala da kljuje
ženina nedra, natapajući svoje perje
njenom krvlju, a onda je još jednom
prostrelila pogledom paralizovane ljude
i vinula se naviše, gotovo okrznuvši
glavu jednog od njih i nateravši ih
da je isprate pogledom, slušajući
turobni huk koji se prolamao nebom.

Prevod na srpski jezik Ljiljana Petrović
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Matthew Sweeney

photo © gezett.de
* 06.10.1952, Donegal, Ireland
† 05.08.2018, Ireland

Matthew Sweeney was born in Donegal, Ireland in 1952. He moved to London in 1973 and studied at the Polytechnic of North London and the University of Freiburg.

His poetry collections include “A Dream of Maps” (1981), “A Round House” (1983), “Blue Shoes” (1989), “Cacti” (1992), “The Bridal Suite” (1997) and “A Smell of Fish” (2000), “Sanctuary” (2004). Selected Poems, representing the best of ten books and twenty years' work, was published in 2002.

 photo © gezett.de
Sweeney won a Cholmondeley Award in 1987 and an Arts Council Writers' Award in 1999. He has also published poetry and novels for children. His work is increasingly appearing in translation.

Matthew Sweeney has held residencies at the University of East Anglia and the South Bank Centre in London, and was Poet in Residence at the National Library for the Blind as part of the 'Poetry Places' scheme run by the Poetry Society in London.

Matthew Sweeney died of motor neurone disease in 2018. 

Publications
  • A dream of maps

    Dublin: Raven Arts, 1981

  • A Round House

    Poetry

    London: Allison & Busby, 1983

  • The Lame Waltzer

    Poetry

    London: Allison & Busby, 1985

  • The Chinese dressing-gown.

    English fiction Children’s story

    Dublin: Raven Arts Press, 1987

  • Blue shoes

    London: Secker & Warburg, 1989

  • Cacti

    London: Secker & Warburg Poetry, 1992

  • The Flying Spring Onion

    Children’s poems

    London: Faber and Faber, 1992

  • The Snow Vulture

    Children’s novel

    Faber and Faber, 1992

  • The blue taps

    London: Prospero Poets, 1994

  • Fatso in the Red Suit

    Children’s poems

    London: Faber and Faber, 1995

  • Emergency Kit: Poems for Strange Times

    Anthology

    Edited by Matthew Sweeney & Jo Shapcott

    London: Faber and Faber, 1996

  • The bridal suite

    London: Cape Poetry, 1997

  • Writing Poetry

    Handbook

    Co-author with John Hartley Williams

    Hodder & Stoughton, 1997, update 2003

  • A Smell of Fish

    Poetry

    London: Cape, 2000

  • Up on the roof

    Children’s poems

    London : Faber and Faber, 2001

  • The New Faber Book of Children's Verse

    Edited by Matthew Sweeney

    London: Faber and Faber, 2001

  • Selected Poems

    London: Jonathan Cape, 2002

  • Fox

    novel

    London: Bloomsbury, 2002

  • Fuchs

    (Jugendbuch)

    Berlin: Berlin Verlag, 2003

  • Sanctuary

    London: Jonathan Cape, 2004

  • Black Moon

    [poetry]

    London: Jonathan Cape, 2007

  • Rosa Milch

    Gedichte

    Ausgewählt, übersetzt und mit einem Nachwort herausgegeben von Jan Wagner.

    Berlin: Berlin Verlag, 2008

  • The Night Post

    Cromer: Salt Publishing, 2010

  • Death Comes For The Poets

    (satirical crime novel)

    cowritten with John Hartley Williams

    MUS, 2012

  • Horse Music

    [poetry]

    Hexham: Bloodaxe Books, 2013

  • Inquisition Lane

    [poetry]

    Hexham: Bloodaxe Books, 2015

  • Hund und Mond

    Gedichte

    Englisch-Deutsch. Übersetzt von Jan Wagner.

    Berlin: Hanser Berlin, 2017

  • My Life as a Painter

    Poetry

    Hexham: Bloodaxe Books, 2018

Awards
  • 1984 New Statesman Prudence Farmer Award

  • 1987 Cholmondeley Award

  • 1993 and 1999 Arts Council Writers' Award

  • 2001 Arts Council of Ireland Writers' Bursary

  • 2011 The Steven Kings Award

  • 2012 Maria Elsa Authors and Poets Award

  • 2014 Piggot Poetry Prize

Links
  • Matthew Sweeney @ Poetry International Web

    Poetry International Web presents poems of Matthew Sweeney in original and english translations and further information about the poet.

    Website (en)

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