Ilse Vos was the RIXT poet of the month in June. You can read her original Frisian poems from that month here. The translation of one of them – ‘Self-interview’ – is published here.
Self-interview Buried underneath deep layers of endless self-interview about the why, what and how. I dig, have dug, delved, bury, burrow, have buried and so on. Searching for the sound of the spade on stone Until the point came, or better a subtle transition, The moment when the riddle began to lead its own life. I did not strike a stone. No reflection upon reflection is where a new world had begun Just like water or clouds that are seen and unseen at the same time. You can pass through. So that you wonder whether they are truly there. Reflections of a fictitious world in your head. On its head. There is no end Of course, it will end © Ilse Vos translation: Trevor Scarse