The First European English Poetry Book competition was launched on 1-st of January 2010. 75 entries have been received from people who write in English without having it as a mother tongue. The selection of winning entries written by young talented poets based in the geographic borders of Europe is presented in this fine anthology to illustrate the contemporary European poetry scene.
The idea of an English language anthology to represent the new
European poetic scene through authors, whose mother tongue is not
initially English, came naturally along with other suggested tendencies
of development that the Eminor group gathered through its first year
of existence as an entity.
This book is a result of joint activities of people all across Europe who
engaged themselves in its preparation, according to their own field of specialization. Authors, designers, proof-readers and editors, all having English as a second or even a third language, have been brought together, led by one common idea - to spread the variety of European cultures in a literature product, presented in an international linguistic tool. We strove to preserve as much as possible the diversity, which emerged in the written work of our poets as a result of the specifics in their own mother tongues. We were willing to give them the freedom to experiment with their English verses even when this was not entirely correct in terms of grammar. However, we really do hope that this ended to be an unconventional read for anyone who may have interest in it. For us, personally, there was nothing more exciting than to read the story of Count Dracula told by a Romanian poet, the contemplation at history written by a representative of the cradle of history, Italy, and love verses delivered by a French author. This was a unique experience, and we would like to thank all our writers for joining this initiative with their talent and courage. We wish them much success in their career and are looking forward to new opportunities and projects, where we can work together again. The Eminor Team
Excerpt
Sleepwalker
(by Claudia Salajan)
The succulent perfumes of the night
Absorb my steps through the sunflowers’ fields.
Dempasar moon brightens my path to the valley of death.
There’s no-one to make a conversation with but my shadow.
The city lights are catalysts of the stars;
The wind blows newspapers on the empty streets,
While the dawn breaks in the lounge of my hunger,
And the kitchen is full of light and silence.
Your coffee is my spirit’s balance;
Two worlds collide in the therapy of a sleepwalker.
In The Park
(by Hans Saturn)
I am sitting in the park.
The wind is still chilly,
That’s why I chose the sunny side.
The air blows a shadow
Beside me along with my thoughts,
Thoughts with no worries and fears.
The city’s nature excites me!
Strawberry - lemon,
I’m licking my ice-cream,
Sweet and sour, wrapped in a crusty cake!
A balloon that is flying away
Is followed by a little girl.
She’s running, and her tears are flowing.
So much sadness about some wrapped air!
I look at both of them.
It is an unfair match.
Sometimes, I catch the world,
Revealing my deepest feelings,
Regarding who wants to understand whom.
The songs and art in this book are about our collective emergence after the pandemic and trauma of the last few years - comprised of 5 collections: World as Refuge, Where We Live, In Our Hands, Rhythms of Change and What We See & Sow.
Dear readers, this is my third book of poems, and inside are a special collection of what have turned out to be not only MY personal favorites, but also the favorites of many of YOU. Some of these have never been available in print before...
