A Reading by Tomaž Šalamun
recorded February 13, 2008

Mary Flinn: Tonight, it’s our great honor to present Tomaž Šalamun, who is a poet of the Slovenian language with many, many honors and books. It’s a great pleasure and a great honor to have Tomaž Šalamun here this evening.

Tomaž Šalamun: Thank you, Mary. I'm really deeply honored to be invited here. I [will] read two poems in Slovenian. I'm also very happy that David Wojahn is here, because David Wojahn is responsible that you see me here. David Wojahn, when he taught at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and he invited me to read. And I went there to read, and then they asked me “will you come and take a semester?” And I said, “are you crazy? I'm a Slovenian poet. My English is even—” And they said “no, no, no, you'll be doing fine,” and David Wojahn also said “well, but we have to change the bed in this house,” because, you know, everybody who comes for a semester gets a house near university. We were joking, and then we went to buy a new bed, or look for a new bed. And I tried new beds, and said “yes, this bed is great,” but I still thought, you know, “it will never happen.” But it did, and then it happened in another place, and now it's happened here.

[“Shepherd,” Tomaž Šalamun, Four Questions of Melancholy: New & Selected Poems, White Pine Press, 1996.]

[“Jonah,” Tomaž Šalamun, Four Questions of Melancholy: New & Selected Poems, White Pine Press, 1996.]

[“New York-Montreal Train, 24 January, 1974,” Tomaž Šalamun, Woods and Chalices, Harcourt, 2008.]

[“Blossom and Blood,” Tomaž Šalamun, Jubilat 5, 2002.]

[“Beauty of Man,” Tomaž Šalamun, Chicago Review, 2006.]

[“Faith,” Tomaž Šalamun, Otrok in jelen (The Child and the Deer), Weiser, 1990.]

  Editors Note: “Faith,” in a different translation, appeared in Blackbird v7n1, Spring 2008.

[“Acquedotto,” Tomaž Šalamun, Four Questions of Melancholy: New & Selected Poems, White Pine Press, 1996.]

 [Title unintelligible, Tomaž Šalamun.]

[“God,” Tomaž Šalamun, Feast, Harcourt, 2000.]

[“1001 Nights,” Tomaž Šalamun, Row, Arc Publications, 2006.]

[“Robi,” Tomaž Šalamun, The Book for My Brother, Harvest Books, 2006.]

[“Jure Detela,” Tomaž Šalamun, Feast, Harcourt, 2000.]

[“Buy Yourself a Bike, Breton Guy, Buy Yourself a Bike,” Tomaž Šalamun, Chicago Review, 2006.]

[“Dog,” Tomaž Šalamun, The Book for My Brother, Harvest Books, 2006.]

[“Go,” by Tomaž Šalamun, Feast, Harcourt, 2000.]

[“To Metka,” Tomaž Šalamun, The Book for My Brother, Harvest Books, 2006.]

[“To a Golem,” Tomaž Šalamun, Four Questions of Melancholy: New & Selected Poems, White Pine Press, 1996.]

And another, longer poem.

[“The Fish,” Tomaž Šalamun, Four Questions of Melancholy: New & Selected Poems, White Pine Press, 1996.]

And the last one, Slovenian.

[“Lacquer,” Tomaž Šalamun, Four Questions of Melancholy: New & Selected Poems, White Pine Press, 1996.]

Thank you.