Read Wheel With a Single Spoke Online
Authors: Nichita Stanescu
Wheel With a Single Spoke
Nichita StÄnescu
HEEL WITH A
S
INGLE
S
POKE
and other poems
selected and translated from
the Romanian by Sean Cotter
archipelago books
Copyright © Nichita StÄnescu
English translation and afterword © Sean Cotter, 2012
First Archipelago Books Edition, 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Archipelago Books
232 3rd Street #
AIII
Brooklyn, NY 11215
www.archipelagobooks.org
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stanescu, Nichita, 1933â1983.
[Poems. English. Selections]
Wheel with a single spoke : and other poems / by Nichita Stanescu ;
selected and translated from Romanian by Sean Cotter.
p. cm.
ISBN
978-1-935744-42-9 (pbk.)
1. Stanescu, Nichita, 1933-1983 â Translations into English.
I. Cotter, Sean, 1971 â II. Title.
PC840.29.T345A2 2012
859'.134âdc23
2012006255
Distributed by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution
www.cbsd.com
cover art: Henri Michaux
The publication of
Wheel with a Single Spoke and Other Poems
was made possible with support from the Romanian Cultural Institute, Lannan Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
The translator wishes to thank Luminiţa Soare, Angie Shapira, Luminiţa Lupu, and the Cambridge of Dallas Working Group for their help with this project. I am also grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts, the Romanian Cultural Institute, and the University of Texas at Dallas for their support.
T
HE
S
ENSE OF
L
OVE
(
Sensul iubrii, 1960
)
A V
ISION OF THE
F
EELINGS
(
O viziune a sentimentelor, 1964
)
T
HE
R
IGHT TO
T
IME
(
Dreptul la timp, 1965
)
[To the right, and then to the left]
The Second Elegy, in the Style of the Getes
Raid on the Interior of Stones
V
ERTICAL
R
ED
(
Ro
Å
u vertical, 1967
)
E
GG AND
S
PHERE
(
Oul Åi sfera, 1967
)
L
AUS
P
TOLEMAEI
(
Laus Ptolemaei, 1968
)
On Contemplative Beings, What They Say, and Some Advice I Would Give Them
A Few General Statements on Speed
Jacob Battles the Angel; Or, On the Idea of “You”
The Battle Against Five Antiterrestrial Elements
The Heart's Battle Against Blood
[I slept with all my bones along a sword blade]
[The beating moon inches across the roof of the mouth]
I'm So Tired I Can't Go On, He Said
[You leave the air with your scent]
The Sacrifice and Burning of Everything
What Is Life? When Does It Start, and Where Is It Going?
What Is the Supreme Power That Drives the Universe and Creates Life?
What Is a Human? What Are His Origins? What Fate Awaits Him?
Who Am I? What Is My Place in the Cosmos?
Self-Portrait in an Autumn Leaf
A L
AND
C
ALLED
R
OMANIA
(
Un pÄmânt numit România, 1969
)
D
OLCE STIL CLASSICO
(
Ãn dulcele stil clasic, 1970
)
Loss of Consciousness Through Cognition
B
ELGRADE IN
F
IVE
F
RIENDS
(
Belgradul în cinci prieteni, 1972
)
Dialogue Between a Horse and the Good Lord
Song to Encourage the God Andia
[The dogs of your father barked]
[What kind of freight train are you]