poetry in action features work by poets from around the world, translated into English.

It has three rallying cries:

Poets of the world, unite and take over!

Resist the oppressive constraints of good, publishable poetry established by mainstream literary venues!

Only poetry in translation, all the time!

Coming at you every 10th and 20th of each month.

 

 

 

technoscientific1

revenge is upon us
just below the skin, she’s ready
hairs stand up, chopped, vertical
full fear-regalia

yes, says yes-doll to no-doll: take your
silk and come here and
lower your body into relaxing water

i’m in total dread-regalia
i play dice in my silk on a shimmering lake

he, revenge
single-celled under the skin
like a cave that SITS ready
below the heart.

After ward we fall into a swamp of changes.

yes, says the doll, no: Keyword
Nourishment-Noise.
Silk Lower Your body Into the Flaccid water.

I’m in maximum horror-regalia.
A Remix dresses ME in my silk and plays chuck-a-luck
on the lake.

Yes-doll says to no-doll:
Lower your body.

It SITS ready, The Distant.
Single-Celled, under the skin.

It SITS ready, The Distant.
Single-Celled, under the skin.

Yes-Doll Says to No-Doll:
Silk of the day.

Yes-doll says to no-doll: just put on your
Silk and come down here and
Lower your flabby body

in all its terror-regalia.
I put on my silk and roll the dice

after ward we fell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tecnoscientific1

hævnen er tæt på os
lige under huden, hun er klar,
hår står op, hakket, opretstående,
fuldt frygtornat

ja, siger ja-dukke til nej-dukke: tag din
silke og kom her og
sænk din krop i afslappende vand

jeg er helt i rædselsornat
jeg i min silke spiller terninger på søens glans

han, hævn,
encellet under huden,
som en grotte der SIDDER klar,
under hjertet.

Her efter falder vi i en sump af forandringer.

ja, siger dukken, nej: Keyword
Næringslarmen.
Silke Sænk Dit legeme I det Slappe water.

Jeg i fuldt rædselsornat.
ET Remix ifører MIG min silke and spiller tern Inger
på søen.

Ja-doll siger til nej-dukke:
Sænk din krop.

Det SIDDER klar, Det Fjerne.
Encellet, under huden.

Det SIDDER klar, Det Fjerne.
Encellet, under huden.

Ja-Dukken Siger til Nej-Dukken: dagens
Silke.

Ja-dukken siger til nej-dukken: tag nu din
Silke på og kom herned og
Sænk dit slappe legeme

i fuldt rædselsornat.
Jeg ifører mig min silke og spiller terninger

her efter faldt vi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

technoscientific2

do not think i will fragilize myself for you
do not think i am interested in your fragilization of yourself
know that i am in command of almost 100 percent of myself
know that i have stowed away my last uncontrollables

in my bones
in my limbs
in my bullet- and waterproof armor
it cannot escape

so that when evening slaughters me and eats me and
finds the orb, it will never find it

fear not

know that i am not interested in curbing you

that i voluntarily and independently
have planted it in my interior
that it is growing
that one day it will fill my entire interior
that one day it will have taken over and i will
be someone else

in in the cyst’s
birth of something else
i-dust
i

to
to dust
in the bones, so that when you slaughter me every evening
you will never notice

the mother’s bones
the I-DISTURBANCE
the i’s breast/dream

i-dust
to
to
must i

know that i have stowed away my uncontrollables
in my, iiin life’s bones
in a coffin
in the dust
in

so that when i slaughter myself every evening and eat
the meat and find the orb, I will never find it
it is crucial that i never find it

MY VACUUM IS HIDDEN
WHERE NO ONE CAN EVER FIND IT
LIKE A PLANET WITHIN

evening slaughters me and eats me
and leaves the orb in the dark
it will never find anything
in the bones of my beloveds
in the cysts

in the dust

in
in

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tecnoscientific2

 

du skal ikke tro, at jeg skrøbeliggør mig selv for dig
du skal ikke tro, at jeg er interesseret i din skrøbeliggørelse af dig selv
du skal vide, at jeg behersker næsten 100 procent af mig selv
du skal vide, at jeg har gemt det sidste ukontrollerbare

i knoglerne
i mine lemmer
i min vandtætte og skudsikre beklædning
det slipper ikke ud

sådan at når aftenen slagter mig og spiser mig og finder kuglen, så vil den
aldrig finde det

frygt ikke
du skal vide, at jeg ikke er interesseret i at beherske dig

at jeg frivilligt og egenhændigt har plantet det i mit indre
at det vokser
at det en dag vil fylde hele mit indre
at det en dag har overtaget og jeg vil være en anden

i i cystens
fødsel af noget andet
jeg jord
jeg

til
til jord
i knoglerne, sådan at når du slagter mig hver aften, så vil du aldrig opdage

morens knogler
JEG-FORSTYRRELSEN
jegs bryst/drøm

jeg-jord
til
til
skal jeg

du skal vide, at jeg har gemt det sidste ukontrollerbare
i min, ii livets knogler
i en kiste
i jorden
i

sådan at når jeg slagter mig selv hver aften og spiser kødet og finder
kuglen, så vil JEG aldrig finde det
det er nødvendigt, at jeg aldrig finder det

JEG HAR MIT VAKUUM GEMT
HVOR INGEN NOGENSINDE KAN FINDE DET
SOM EN PLANET INDENI

aftenen slagter mig og spiser mig
og lægger kuglen i mørket
den vil aldrig finde noget
i dem jeg elskers knogler
i cysterne

i jorden

i
i

 

 

 

 

 

Outgoing Vessel is available March 1st from Action Books

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ursula Andkjær Olsen (b. 1970) made her literary debut in 2000 and has since published nine collections of poetry and one novel, in addition to several dramatic texts and libretti for operas such as Danish composer Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen’s Sol går op, sol går ned, and composer Peter Bruun’s Miki Alone, which was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize in 2008. Olsen has received numerous awards for her work, including the Danish Arts Foundation’s Award of Distinction in 2017, the 2012 Montanaprisen award for Det 3. årtusindes hjerte (Third-Millennium Heart, Action Books/Broken Dimanche Press 2017), and the 2015 Danish Critics Prize for Literature for Udgående fartøj (Outgoing Vessel, Action Books 2021). Since 2019, Olsen has served as head of The Danish Academy of Creative Writing. Her latest poetry collection, Mit Smykkeskrin (My Jewel Box), was published by Gyldendal in 2020.

Katrine Øgaard Jensen is the recipient of several fellowships and awards for her writing and translations, including the 2018 National Translation Award in Poetry for her translation of Third-Millennium Heart by Ursula Andkjær Olsen (Action Books/Broken Dimanche Press, 2017). Her translation of Ursula Andkjær Olsen’s Outgoing Vessel is forthcoming from Action Books in March 2021. She lives in New York where she teaches creative writing and literary translation at Columbia University.