Chus Pato

/Spain, 1955
Chus Pato

Chus Pato (Ourense, 1955) writes in Galician and is the author of 11 books of poems, published between 1991 and 2019. Her books are translated and published in USA, UK, Canada, Spain, Argentina, Portugal, Netherlands, and Bulgaria, and her poems have been included in dozens of Galician, Spanish, and international anthologies. She has performed at at poetry festivals throughout Europe and in the Americas and her work has been honoured with various prizes including the Spanish National Critics’ Prize and, twice, the Losada Diéguez Prize. Pato lives in the centre of Galicia in NW Spain, near the forest of Catasós, home to the oldest chestnut trees in Europe. Her most recent published book is Un libre favor, translated by Erín Moure as The Face of the Quartzes (Veliz Books, 2021). She is a member of PEN Galicia and the Royal Galician Academy.

 

The Open Letter is part of the Art Act project, supported by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. The poet is coming to the festival with the support of  Embassy of Spain in Ljubljana.

Poems


From the eagle / Da aguia


It was the day of my execution / Era o día da miña execución


That’s why we smelled rust / Por iso uliamos a óxido


Seriously / Seriamente