German is a language which I regret to say, I don't have. It is next on my list, if I should ever be able to make the time. I was most fortunate to have had two poems of mine translated into German by Barbara Herman for the Berlin based publisher and art gallery PalmArtPress, which I had been put in contact with by the wonderful Romanian - German novelist and poet Carmen Valentina Banciu. Carmen and I go back a while, she has published a substantial amount of my writing in Levure Litteraire.
The genesis of this work, with the German artist Thomas Brezing, are quite complex. So bear with me...
Fingal Arts had been so kind to nominate me as the Writer in Residence at the old Boathouse ( pictured ) in the neighbouring town of Loughshinny, where, wait for it, traces of ancient Roman artifacts were discovered, mainly coins paid out to Roman legionaries indicating some military presence on the promontory at Loughshinny dating as far back as 84AD.
Well, after hearing about this, I immediately set up shop, walking out to the Boathouse from Skerries, in Roman military style, I'll have you know - see Levure link below...
Suffice it to say, a 'buke' of poms came from my time engaged there, and this pair of stray sonnet got translated into German and were eventually printed in a limited edition of 50 signed copies with an original print by Thomas Brezing. Thomas and I eventually went onto collaborate on some other projects, again see links below.
If you wish to purchase a print, just log into the website below.
Marie Heaney, the Nobel Prize Winning Poet's Wife, and author in her own right, was presented with a copy of the print, which was given to her just after the posthumous publication of Heaney's Translations from Virgil, Book 6, by Faber & Faber, which had just come out that very year.
http://palmartpress.com/einblattdrucke/einblattdrucke-101-125/einblattdruck-110/
http://levurelitteraire.com/thomas-brezing-artist-germany-dorsaf-garbaa-poet-tunisia-ceejay-rapperpoet-belgium-peter-o-neill-translatortransverse-poet-ireland/
http://levurelitteraire.com/peter-o-neill-4/
http://thomasbrezing.weebly.com/
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