BROWSE Columns
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Siamo allegri se spezziamo le stelle,
se scaviamo nel pane tornando
al frumento, perché ogni
verso è sporco di terra.
I poeti esistono nel vino,
nel sangue e nelle sillabe: hanno ossa
di uva, e i bambini le pestano.
Quando venni al mondo ordinai
ai tuoni di scheggiarsi al mio urlo;
ora imploro
che almeno un chicco si salvi.
We are happy if we break the stars,
if we dig into the bread reaching back the
wheat, for every
verse is dark with earth.
The poets exist in the wine,
in the blood and in the syllables: they have
grape bones, and children tread on them.
When I came into the world I made
the thunders splinter at my cry;
now I beg
that at least the seed is saved.
Ignacio Oliden (Buenos Aires, 1997) is a poet, translator, and literary critic. He is an editor at La Piccioletta Barca and sits on the editorial committee of the Buenos Aires Poetry journal and press. Additionally, he writes literary criticism for Perfil’s cultural supplement. He is the author of Poetas del Renacimiento de Harlem (2023, with Juan Arabia) and Mester de Juglaría (2024). Some of his poems have been translated into English, Greek, and Italian. His recent work includes a collaboration for the volume Jugar con espejos: Ensayos sobre la traducción de culturas asiáticas en Latinoamérica (Editorial Noctámbula & Centro de Estudios Asiáticos UC, 2025).
