Slovenian Littoral
Jun. 9th, 2008 10:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
desayunoencamaSleepy greetings from the Slovene coast, where I am participating in a gay poetry translation workshop. I am in a tiny resort area called Fiesa, with the nearest town a kilometer away by a lovely stone path along the sea shore. The hotel is practically on the water, which is lovely but I think the morning tide (along with the light) has been waking me up at something before 7am (gah!).
Just across the cove we see Trieste, now part of Italy.
Despite rain on Saturday when I arrived (via Frankfurt), so far it's been more or less lovely, although we did have a brief rainstorm at midday today. But it was nice before and after that. So far I am the only poet, I think, not to brave the waters, aside from the two Slovenes who haven't yet gone in either. Either the water or the ambient weather is still a bit too cold for my tastes... :-)
We're using English as the lingua franca of the group, and so have been translating off of literal translations into English, and then working together with the poets to fine tune any difficulties or problems or questions or concerns. It's been a curious process, although it seems to be working fairly smoothly. The group is made up of 1 Slovene, 1 Hungarian, 1 Scot who writes in Gaelic, and 2 Russians (plus me, for my poems written originally in Spanish and translating the others into Spanish).
I have been taking some photos but have to yet downloaded them to the computer, so they won't get uploaded until later this week.
Just across the cove we see Trieste, now part of Italy.
Despite rain on Saturday when I arrived (via Frankfurt), so far it's been more or less lovely, although we did have a brief rainstorm at midday today. But it was nice before and after that. So far I am the only poet, I think, not to brave the waters, aside from the two Slovenes who haven't yet gone in either. Either the water or the ambient weather is still a bit too cold for my tastes... :-)
We're using English as the lingua franca of the group, and so have been translating off of literal translations into English, and then working together with the poets to fine tune any difficulties or problems or questions or concerns. It's been a curious process, although it seems to be working fairly smoothly. The group is made up of 1 Slovene, 1 Hungarian, 1 Scot who writes in Gaelic, and 2 Russians (plus me, for my poems written originally in Spanish and translating the others into Spanish).
I have been taking some photos but have to yet downloaded them to the computer, so they won't get uploaded until later this week.
Slovenian memories
Date: 2008-06-10 01:18 am (UTC)I am a bit envious about the binge writting--I, as I indicated, am I very slow plodding scrivener--and the physicality is a great pleasure--you're right about that. As to the Anon. Well, I am somewhat of a Luddite and and I do rather value privacy--which is, I find is increasingly a thing of the past--and this posting is "out" there--I tend to be discrete in general. I don't maintain a website or MySpace, etc. But both your work and your blog are very open and direct--which I find refreshing in the literary world--gay or otherwise. So I thought I'd give a message a shot.
I was in Ljubljana last summer for a conference and it was a real pleasure--a small compact city center around a market place and cathedral with very pretty bridges. I found one spectacular restaurant there just outside the city center though within walking distance of my hotel the Lev (of course since I don't drive I walk everywhere so walking distance for me is perhaps a bit different from the usual.) Where is your conference? Anyway, I see that you've had some food issues and you'll find that Slovenian cuisine is a fusion of Austrian, Italian and Slavic elements--very heavy and emphasizes game and pork--but fish can be had. The little place I found with a friend was to the south of the center of the city--one walks down the river embankment and I think the street was Gradashka Ulica--if you're interested I can check--anyway it was appeared singularly unpromising--about five tables out in the open with red checked plastic table cloths and a couple of cats strolling about. Definitely a hang out for the locals. So we took a table and sat down for a couple of the local beers. As we sat there drinking some really fine smells came from the kitchen of the ramshackle building--so we asked the waitress (everyone in the service industry speaks a bit of English--in fact in town the service staff often speaks German, English,Italian and Russian as a matter of course--in fact they are assigned to table according to language ability in some if the restaurants and bars. Well, we were told that there was no menu, just what they had today--I kinda like that type of thing so I asked what they had. "Oh," she said, "we have boar, venison, pheasant, turkey, chicken, beef, pork"...and she went on to list a few fish also. Stunned I asked what perparations did they have for the turkey that day. "Turkey breast in a clear basil sauce, in a cream and truffle sauce..." the list went on and climaxed (so to speak) with Turkey a curried turkey breast stuffed with corn chips! Needless to say, we ordered gladly--I the turkey and basil sauce, my dinning partner a venison and cranberry dish--and a garilc soup (different from the various Spanish versions I've had)and of course dessert and schnapps after wards--the whole thing came to about the equivalent of 30 dollars a piece! Of course the euro has gained over the year--it was about 1.37 last summer. Well, enough food porn. I think you'll like the city--was not really there long enough to find out much about the life there--but one felt that it was both an "out" and closeted society if you know what I mean. have a great trip and if you wish I'll write again soon. MTD
That's it! I really did enjoy Slovenia and would really look for a chance to go back there asap--by the way what literary gig is this thing you're with--sounds interesting. Best, MTD
Re: Slovenian memories
Date: 2008-06-10 10:24 pm (UTC)I do understand the preference for anonymity, or discretion. Feel free to email me directly (which is a non-public means of communication) my email is posted on my userinfo on the blog, or it's the same username as this livejournal at gmail.com
Dealing OK enough with food, it seems although I can't really take advantage of the diversity as carnivores could. But here at the hotel, where our breakfast and midday meal are included, they now have a list of what I can and cannot eat, and are being very accommodating. And since this part of the coast is so Italiante, in many ways, I often wind up just ordering a few contorni at a restaurant and that's a meal in itself.
Not sure yet where we'll be in Ljubljana, as we're in Fiesa still for the next few days, with an event in Izola on Thursday night.
In terms of writing, I always admire the plodders, since I think that a slow but steady will often wind up with more wordage in the end than what I produce with my infrequent binges...