Hearing

Tomaž Šalamun

Translated by Brian Henry

The desire to be quick clones me.

O how dark and heavy and quiet the bell is.

Uniform intervals soothe.

Why not say once quite simply

that I’m afraid of death?

Tomaž Šalamun (1941–2014) published more than 50 books of poetry in Slovenia. Translated into over 25 languages, his poetry received numerous awards, including the Jenko Prize, the Prešeren Prize, the European Prize for Poetry, and the Mladost Prize.
Originally published:
September 1, 2022

Featured

10 Ways Ms., Sassy, and Jezebel Changed Your Life!

How contradiction drove fifty years of feminist media
Maggie Doherty

How Emily Wilson Reimagined Homer

Her boldly innovative translation of the Iliad is an epic for our time
Emily Greenwood

In the Shallows

Why do public intellectuals condescend to their readers?
Becca Rothfeld

You Might Also Like

Poppy

Tomaž Šalamun


SKELETON

Deborah Landau

Subscribe

New perspectives, enduring writing. Join a conversation 200 years in the making. Subscribe to our print journal and receive four beautiful issues per year.
Subscribe