Storm Sonnets: Desmond
“For all of what we knew as Christmas/ It came unspent, and there was not a room/ That did not seal itself against that tide/ Of fog and rain…” Weekend poem, by Theophilus Kwek.
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In Memory of M./M. emlékére
“Am I a coward? I commune with death every day./ I’m more afraid of people….” Poem of the Week (April 13), by Zsuzsa Takács, translated from Hungarian by Erika Mihálycsa.
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The secret world of Ethiopian poetry
“Ethiopia has always gone its own proud way and this shows in the self-confidence of its poets, who draw on multiple traditions developed over centuries and from many ethnic groups.…†The Missing Slate’s March 2016 online poetry issue, edited by Chris Beckett.
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Six Ethiopian poets of the diaspora
A selection of poems from contemporary poets of the Ethiopian diaspora, including work by Alemayehu Gebrehiwot, Alemtsehay Wodajo, Alemu Tebeje Ayele, Amha Asfaw, Hama Tuma, and Lena Bezawork Grönlund.
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Five Ethiopian poets of the 20th century
A selection of poems from Ethiopia’s best-loved poets of the 20th century, including work by Kebede Mikael, Mengistu Lemma, Gebre Kristos Desta, Tsegaye Gebre-Medhin, and Solomon Deressa.
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Contemporary Ethiopian poets: Fekade Azeze
“Yes, I have walked your streets, I have made no strides./ Your secrets are endless, Addis!” Poetry by Fekade Azeze, translated from Amharic by the author and Chris Beckett.
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Contemporary Ethiopian poets: Liyou Libsekal
“Always in a flowered dress, always drenched in fate/ you sit, a lakeside lullaby/ a picture of youth then, and forever and forever/ I gnaw on whether you knew near the end…” Poetry by Liyou Libsekal.
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Contemporary Ethiopian poets: Zewdu Milikit
“in the year of the spider —/ everyone’s weaving a ladder/ of cobwebs, and trying/ to fly when they’re falling…”
Poetry by Zewdu Milikit, in Amharic and English.
Contemporary Ethiopian poets: Bewketu Seyoum
“For him/ she is not just a woman:/ she holds the stars in her body, / the earth in her soul….”
Poetry by Bewketu Seyoum, in Amharic and English.
A selection of Q’ene
“We do not respect an angel for his wings/ or because he covers his face with his wings…” A selection of q’ene from Ethiopia, translated by Chris Beckett and Donald Levine.
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