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Alone in Babel, Arts & CultureJune 22, 2014

Round 1: Finland-Republic of Ireland

PREAMBLE

What a World Cup this has been so far: we’ve had decisive victories and close finishes, a few moments of controversy, a few favourites falling at the first hurdle, and an early exit for England. Some observers are already calling it the best Poetry World Cup (indeed, the only Poetry World Cup) in living memory, and it’s only going to keep on getting better… starting with today’s all-European match-up between Finland and Ireland.

Kat Soini is first up, representing the nation of Sibelius, Sillanpää, Saarikoski and Lordi. She describes herself as ‘a Finn living in the UK, trying to keep a foot in each country but falling somewhere in between.’ Her poetry has previously appeared — under a different name — in two print anthologies, ‘Power of Love’ and ‘Best of Manchester Poets (Vol. 2)’.

Her opponent today is Anatoly Kudryavitsky, representing the nation of Yeats, Kavanagh, Heaney and Jedward. Anatoly Kudryavitsky was born in Moscow and now lives in the Republic of Ireland, where he is a member of the Irish PEN and chairman of the Irish Haiku Society. In 2010, he served as a judge for the Dublin IMPAC Literary Award. His work has been translated into twelve European languages, and he has appeared at various international literary festivals.

                       

Asphalt Story #84

In the back room of a bar
we made a deal:
your scars for my love,
the only things we had left
to barter with.

You sold your soul last week
for a pocket watch and
a faded photograph of a blue sky.
I lost mine some time ago,
like a dream I forgot in the morning
and didn’t know to miss…

~ Kat Soini

Read the full poem

Lost in the Flow of Time
For Tomaž Šalamun

Names and butterflies flutter around
while the literati picnic on the grass.
Oblivion oozes its way through

black holes. A few centuries
drowned here. The civilisation theatre
closes shutters and cuts off

the last sunbeam. From a time-warp,
out comes the centennial dusk and shapes into
the words: “In fact, the world was a dwarf.”…

~ Anatoly Kudryavitsky

Read the full poem

 

Editor’s note: If, for any reason, you’re unable to vote in the poll, please leave the name of the poem/country you’d like to vote for in the comments. 

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One last love letter...

April 24, 2021

It has taken us some time and patience to come to this decision. TMS would not have seen the success that it did without our readers and the tireless team that ran the magazine for the better part of eight years.

But… all good things must come to an end, especially when we look at the ever-expanding art and literary landscape in Pakistan, the country of the magazine’s birth.

We are amazed and proud of what the next generation of creators are working with, the themes they are featuring, and their inclusivity in the diversity of voices they are publishing. When TMS began, this was the world we envisioned…

Though the magazine has closed and our submissions shuttered, this website will remain open for the foreseeable future as an archive of the great work we published and the astounding collection of diverse voices we were privileged to feature.

If, however, someone is interested in picking up the baton, please email Maryam Piracha, the editor, at [email protected].

Farewell, fam! It’s been quite a ride.

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Round 1: England-Russia

Is there further World Cup misery in store for England today?

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