Translated from the Slovenian by Brian Henry
healers / flat sky / flame
gifts for the hill / dachshunds
blue cellophane / blue color of bread
blue white walls / dante
blood blue / outstretched wings blue
a terrible guardian angel protects maruška
blue kristof / semen blue / we’ll die on the same day
blue enemies / tall blue figure
friends / we walk on the red sea blue / the scent of hay
ash / the world’s end / blue delight
fairy tales and conjurers / flying over the coast
blue mouth / day / juice / boats
blue white ships / maria’s messengers
blue karst / blue love / blue plains and body
use / blue wheat / speed / growth blue
light / buildings / blue shepherds and sailors
robbers / cobblers blue
blue foundations / blue storms / blue sand / breathing
blue face / crosses nailed to the wall
terrible blue mooing of an animal / earth / blue manhattan
good ripe fruit measured out by people
blue game / mountains / blue snow / sheep / machines
offerings / blue murder / yearning / dogs in the suburbs / money
blue jeans and prayers / women in markets / children
passion blue / grace / skin blue / silent blue rainbow
blessed sleep and words
blue light
blue day
blue fuck
blessed light / blue maruška / my wife
Tomaž Šalamun (1941-2014) published more than 50 books of poetry in his native Slovenian. Translated into over 25 languages, his poetry received numerous awards, including the Jenko Prize, the Prešeren Prize, the European Prize for Poetry, and the Mladost Prize. In the 1990s, he served for several years as the Cultural Attaché for the Slovenian Embassy in New York, and he later held visiting professorships at various universities in the U.S.
Brian Henry is the author of eleven books of poetry, most recently Permanent State, and the recent prose book Things Are Completely Simple: Poetry and Translation. He has translated Tomaž Šalamun’s Woods and Chalices, Aleš Debeljak’s Smugglers, and five books by Aleš Šteger. His work has received numerous honors, including two NEA fellowships, the Alice Fay di Castagnola Award, a Howard Foundation fellowship, a Slovenian Academy of Arts and Sciences grant, and the Best Translated Book Award.