Beginning To Speak: Georgian and English Poetry Reading

Scrambled thoughts become the music of crows perched on a wire. Famous women from Greek myth speak frankly – about their lies and loves, about war and shame. The five senses tussle on the page, among cats and fish and chandeliers. Momentary pleasures such eating and bathing offer a glimpse of the eternal. In Beginning to Speak, Georgian poet Diana Anphimiadi reveals herself to be a master of the uncanny, making our familiar world strange once more and demonstrating with sinister wit why she is considered one of her country’s outstanding contemporary poets. The poems in this selection have been translated into English by the award-winning British poet Jean Sprackland (Tilt, Sleeping Keys) together with leading Georgian translator Natalia Bukia-Peters.

Diana, Jean and Natalia are on tour across the UK in May to celebrate their book. Tonight in Falmouth they will read together and talk about the translation process, exploring the weird and wonderful things that happen when you carry poems from one language to another. No knowledge of Georgian required!

Presented in partnership with the Poetry Translation Centre  and The Seven Stars Poets

The Poetry Translation Centre gives the best contemporary poems from Africa, Asia and Latin America a new life in the English language, working with diaspora communities for whom poetry is of great importance. By fostering creative collaborations between poets and translators, the PTC produces high-quality translations that extend the audience for international poetry.