The Book of Traces (‘Libro de huellas’ by Ángel Guinda. Translated by Charles Olsen. Filmed by antenablue.)
Like a fish in the air have I lived in this world.
I’m tethering my life so the storm doesn’t escape me.
To think costs the unthinkable.
Alcohol is, for me, a true friend who loves me badly.

Memory. What is it, but a book of traces.

Ejaculate in the anus of God until he converts to pleasure.

Don’t look at what you see, but at what blinds you.

Untranslated: Palacio de la Audiencia. Ju ju heces (This is a play on words that is not possible to translate. Literally it reads: ‘The Supreme Court. Ha ha faeces.’ Ju ju heces sounds like jueces, which means judges. I did think of putting: judge[xcre]ment but it doesn’t really do it justice.)

Don’t wait for me. I’ve arranged to meet myself and I’m in a hurry to arrive.

Process Notes:
We made this with photos rather than film, like a police photographer documenting a crime scene. This is a nod towards a court case against the poet for alleged blasphemy in 1987. We play with the Spanish word for police, policía, exchanging it for the similarly sounding word poesía meaning poetry, thus the National Police Corps becomes the National Poetry Corps. I am a fan of audio-slideshows and this style brings to the fore the voice of the poet.

Bios:
antenablue is the creative duo of New Zealand artist and poet, Charles Olsen, and the Colombian writer, Lilián Pallares.

Charles Olsen has published two poetry collections: Sr. Citizen (Amargord Ediciones, 2011) and Antípodas (Huerga y Fierro, 2016) and he runs the Spanish poetry project Palabras Prestadas.
charlesolsen.es
antenablue.com

Lilián Pallares was selected as one of the ten best young writers of Latin America by About.com, New York, 2011. She has published Ciudad Sonámbula, (Aldevara, 2010), Voces mudas (Fundación Progreso y Cultura, 2011) and Pájaro, vértigo (Huerga y Fierro, 2014). Her show Afrolyrics fuses poetry, world percussion, dance and the oral storytelling tradition.
lilianpallares.com
antenablue.com

Ángel Guinda (b. Zaragoza, Spain, 1948) is a Spanish writer, primarily known for his poetry, although his work ranges from articles for magazines and newspapers to essays and translation. He lives in Madrid. He founded the poetry collection Puyal in 1977 and the magazine Malvis in 1988. He has published over twenty books and is co-author of the lyrics of the Anthem of Aragón. In 2010 he was received the Aragonese Letters Award. His latest publications are Espectral (Col. Papeles de Trasmoz, Olifante Ediciones de Poesía, 2011), Caja de lava (Col. Serie Maior, Olifante Ediciones de Poesía, 2012), (Rigor vitae) (Olifante Ediciones de Poesía, 2013 ), Materia del amor (Lastura, 2013) and Libro de Huellas (Tigres de Papel, 2014)
www.angelguinda.com

 

 

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