Ana Svetel

/Slovenia, 1990

Ana Svetel (1990) is an ethnologist and cultural anthropologist and works at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. She is an established poet, short story writer, storyteller, and columnist. Her poetry collection Lepo in prav (Good and Proper) was shortlisted for the Best Debut in 2015, and in 2019 she published a collection of short stories Dobra družba (Good Company), which was nominated for the Novo Mesto Award. Radio Slovenia has produced a series of radio plays, titled Prevozi (Rides) and based on her short stories. In 2020, she was a poet-in-residence within the Reading Balkans network. Her poems and stories have been translated into English, Portuguese, Croatian, and Bosnian, and have been included in foreign-language anthologies. She is a member of the international poetry platform Versopolis. In addition to literature, she is also active in music.

Poems

The Segment / Daljica

It may surprise
how gentle and friendly is the segment.
A woman of indeterminate age.
Still a girl? Already a mother?
Serene in the thought
that she can undetectably quiver
a child’s hand whenever she wants
and calibrate herself
as she desires.

Translation: Jernej Županič

Morda preseneča,
kako spokojna in mila je daljica.
Ženska nedoločljive starosti.
Še deklica? Že mama?
Umirjena ob misli,
da lahko, kadar se ji zahoče,
neopazno zatrese otrokovo dlan
in se umeri
malo po svoje.

The Circle / Krog

The circle has known for a while
that he will never know himself fully,
and so he keeps his silence.
He can only recite
pi to five decimal places
(which some may find surprising),
however, the circle is not a cynic.
When a boy draws him
in the snow with his finger,
he is clearly touched.

Translation: Jernej Županič

Krog že dolgo ve,
da se ne bo nikoli docela spoznal,
zato molči.
Na pamet zna
samo pet decimalk števila pi
(kar bi koga utegnilo presenetiti),
vendar krog ni cinik.
Ko ga deček s prstom
riše v sneg,
je vidno ganjen.

The Square / Kvadrat

The square is an avowed egalitarian.
His platform states
that nobody will experience injustice.
The square adheres to the platform,
“principles are principles”, he insists
while trying to start
spinning.

Translation: Jernej Županič

Kvadrat je zaprisežen egalitarist.
V program je zapisal,
da ne bo nihče čutil krivice.
Kvadrat se programa drži,
'načela so načela,'; vztraja,
medtem ko se skuša začeti
vrteti.

The Octagon / Osemkotnik

The octagon is actually a kind of star,
an extended family with a minivan and a dog.
The octagon hates comparisons, monotheism
and shapes with few corners.
When he’s at the beach, he swims backstroke.
Swimmers regularly confuse him for a
shapely leaf.
During the winter, he clings to snowflakes
and reflects on the eternal circle
of life.

Translation: Jernej Županič

Osemkotnik je v bistvu neke vrste zvezda,
razširjena družina z velikim enoprostorcem in psom.
Osemkotnik ne mara primerjav, monoteizma
in likov z malo koti.
Kadar gre na morje, plava hrbtno.
Kopalci ga vztrajno zamenjujejo za
lepo oblikovan list.
Pozimi se oprime snežink
in razmišlja o večnem krogu
življenja.

The Line / Premica

Along the page, the desk, the wall,
along the hallway, the pavement, by the trees,
along the road, the country, another country,
along the sea,
further along the sea …
a traveller, Alma Karlin, no, an even better one,
“our line has always –”
“that’s just who she is –”
as her hands find each other in the middle of the ocean,
grab each other by the wrist and forearm,
checking whether it’s really them,
is it possible,
is it true …

Because it’s true, because everything is true,
the line can go back home.
To sharpen the pencil,
complete the homework.

Translation: Jernej Županič

Po papirju, mizi, steni,
po hodniku, tlakovcih, drevesih,
po cesti, državi, drugi državi,
po morju,
še po morju …
popotnica, Alma Karlin, ne, boljša,
»naša premica je že od nekdaj – «
»ona je takšna – «
ko sredi oceana njeni roki zatipata ena drugo,
se grabita po zapestjih in lakteh,
preverjata, če sta to res oni,
če je to mogoče,
če sta res …

Ker je res, ker je vse res,
gre premica lahko domov.
Ošiliti svinčnik,
dokončati domačo nalogo.

Points / Točke

Them, I’d like to see as well,
stars scattered over the bedsheets,
my grandfather as he was born,
him and all the other babies,
him and all the other beginnings,
instead of death – a tiny finger;
instead of everything – points.

Translation: Jernej Županič

Rada pa bi videla tudi njih,
zvezdice, raztrosene po posteljnini,
dedka, ko se je rodil,
njega in vse ostale dojenčke,
njega in vse ostale začetke,
namesto smrti drobcen prst,
namesto vsega – točke.

The Triangle / Trikotnik

The triangle is the one who says,
“you gotta have rules,”
or, “the point of agreements
is to keep them.”
The triangle has a wristwatch,
strapped a notch too tightly,
he holds his principles dear
and never recalls his dreams.
He sleeps alone,
so that he wouldn’t cut anybody
with any of his three blades.

Trikotnik je tisti, ki reče:
'neka pravila morajo bit,';
ali pa: 'dogovori so zato,
da se jih držimo.';
Trikotnik ima zapestno uro
za eno luknjico preveč tesno zapeto,
načelnost mu veliko pomeni
in nikoli se ne spomni svojih sanj.
Spi sam,
ker bi s svojimi tremi rezili
zmeraj koga porezal.