Hi Hey, work.Hey, lovely chair stuffed with work.Hey, lampshade.Hey, memo notes.Hey, typing oddity.Hey. Hey, boss.Hey, handsome boss stuffed with work.Hey, copy of the boss.Hey, copy of the copy.Hey. Hey, internet.Hey, sweet internet full of money.Hey, search engine.Hey, Martijn.Hey.Hey. Hey, break.Hey, sweet break full of heroes.Hey, break-time pals.Hey, P for Parking.Hey, porn. Just kidding.Hey, stubby. Hey,…
A Great Anthology
This article is based on this Dutch article of Martinus Benders I’ve conceived the idea of creating a major anthology in which I present the best Turkish poems I could find, translated into Dutch. For now, I’ve done enough polemicizing here — I actually meant to leave it at Piranha, that book already expresses quite…
For you, I learned what title-fixation means.
Distance What they’re able to make of it, nowadays— World cities built at arm’s length, relationships maintained by remote. Suffocating are worlds of ideology with no escape hatch. Asphyxiating: love’s binoculars that crush miles to dust. I crave new life. Life that wages war on being right. Distance, as antidote to detoxed minds. Give me…
Sleeping to Awaken
This article is based on this Dutch article of Martinus Benders Sleeping to Awaken No, Lodeizen never received a royal decoration from the Queen. He died at the age of twenty-six from leukemia. We will treat life We will treat life In grand fashion As we treat a murderer Among us I do not like…
The Fry-Cities of the Future
Please Please,no bald men folding like lawn chairsin Godard coats from the Salvation Army rack. As anonymous as possible, please.Nothing comparesto happiness itself. Spare me that tin-can voice of virtue.Spare me the polished dome of forgiveness. Figure Do you know the dotted linea woman’s hand can draw around a smile?Do you know death’s goosebumps,the static…
You wouldn’t put such a steamy head with that, would you?
This article is based on this Dutch article of Martinus Benders: https://martijnbenders.substack.com/p/daar-zet-je-toch-niet-zon-broeierige You could argue that there’s something to it, making these early demented nursery rhymes that never quite manage to bridge the gap between childlike and childish. But here comes my essential objection: you don’t stand next to that with such a smoldering, brooding…
You play human
Corpse A star-fort abandoned mid-thought,stuck in its final shrug. A building left by all.A landscape no one ever witnessed. In the fever-woodsof spatial planning, he glimpsesthe greatest joy a soul can bear:to attend kindhearted music— with glorious politics humming in the mob,with a warmth that tells no secrets. Crumplehead You play human but you’re a…
The Language of Power of the Bullshit Job
This article is based on this Dutch article of Martinus Benders Yesterday, I saw a troubling post by Pieter Omtzigt shared on X. I responded like this: “As Europeans, we must once again learn to speak the language of power.” Can someone please call out these dusty bureaucrats and their childish superhero fantasies? You grew…
The Plainclothes / no dummy / father / moon journey
The Plainclothes Morning demands good trousers.Button your shirt—top to bottom, no skipped holes.Meet your own gaze:no flinching, no side-eye. A razor glints on the glass sink.The soap dispenser gargles its death rattle. Pump hard—one gleaming slug of foam.Knead it between palms.Watch for sweat:too damp and the soap won’t bite. Rise. (Americans would say “rinse.”)Your skin…
The Silver Chimney of Yücel
This article is based on this dutch article of Martinus Benders The Silver Chimney of Yücel Today we continue with the great Turkish poet Can Yücel: To the Beautiful One Last night we lay alone alone with your tiny hand alone with your tiny hand and solitude as bustling as Kandilli’s primary school when the…