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Meanwhile Take My Hand
The American debut of Basque writer Kirmen Uribe's "simple, devastating poems" (Bob Holman) Whenever we're saddened everything looks dark,
When we're heartened, again, the world crumbles.
Every one of us keeps forever someone else's hidden side,
If it's a secret, if a mistake, if a gesture.
―from "May" Kirmen Uribe has become one of the best-known Basque-language writers―an important contemporary voice from a vital but largely unknown language. Meanwhile Take My Hand presents Uribe's poetry to American readers in both the original and in the poet Elizabeth Macklin's skillful and award-winning translations. In these poems are the drug addicts of Spanish fishing towns, the paved-over rivers of urbanized medieval cities, the remains of loving relationships, whether entirely uprooted or making do with a companionable silence. The Basque phrase Bitartean heldu eskutik , which became the book's title― Meanwhile Take My Hand―Uribe has said is "what you say when there's nothing at all you can say."
When we're heartened, again, the world crumbles.
Every one of us keeps forever someone else's hidden side,
If it's a secret, if a mistake, if a gesture.
―from "May" Kirmen Uribe has become one of the best-known Basque-language writers―an important contemporary voice from a vital but largely unknown language. Meanwhile Take My Hand presents Uribe's poetry to American readers in both the original and in the poet Elizabeth Macklin's skillful and award-winning translations. In these poems are the drug addicts of Spanish fishing towns, the paved-over rivers of urbanized medieval cities, the remains of loving relationships, whether entirely uprooted or making do with a companionable silence. The Basque phrase Bitartean heldu eskutik , which became the book's title― Meanwhile Take My Hand―Uribe has said is "what you say when there's nothing at all you can say."
200 pages, Paperback
First published November 22, 2001
88 people want to read
About the author
Kirmen Uribe
30 books62 followersKirmen Uribe Urbieta (Ondárroa, Vizcaya, País Vasco, España, 5 de octubre de 1970) es un escritor vasco que escribe en euskera.
Nació en una familia vinculada a la pesca. Uribe se licenció en Filología Vasca en Vitoria y cursó estudios de posgrado de Literatura Comparada en Trento (Italia). Su primer premio literario importante lo recogió en 1995 cuando estaba cumpliendo condena por ser insumiso y negarse a ir al servicio militar obligatorio. El 14 de octubre de 2009 se le concedió el Premio Nacional de Narrativa 2009 por su obra Bilbao-New York-Bilbao.
Nació en una familia vinculada a la pesca. Uribe se licenció en Filología Vasca en Vitoria y cursó estudios de posgrado de Literatura Comparada en Trento (Italia). Su primer premio literario importante lo recogió en 1995 cuando estaba cumpliendo condena por ser insumiso y negarse a ir al servicio militar obligatorio. El 14 de octubre de 2009 se le concedió el Premio Nacional de Narrativa 2009 por su obra Bilbao-New York-Bilbao.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 17, 2017
La verdad sobre este libro (y con verdad me refiero a por qué existe):
http://criticadepoesia.blogspot.com.e...
http://criticadepoesia.blogspot.com.e...
August 10, 2023
Una obra maestra
December 17, 2024
el papa mha obligat pero no ha estat tan mal
February 23, 2012
a nice enough book, but it didn't completely come together for me. still, there's a lot of joy in this. and a lot of attention. i don't know any basque, so i can't judge the translations by comparison. the poems hold up decently on their own merits.
December 31, 2010
Awesome poetry - great translation from the basque
August 25, 2015
Great book, the first poetry book that I read by my own (not doing for homework or something), and I really enjoyed it. I would have preferred, though to read it in Basque.
August 23, 2015
Maravilloso, uno de mis poemas favoritos es el de las guirnaldas.
June 28, 2025
“Meanwhile”.. a transitional word that says something in itself. Despite what is happening, something else is occurring. Something worth saying, worth thinking about, worth seeing, worth doing. i.e life is persisting. Uribe’s beautiful poems had me rereading them each time I finished. A gathering of existence is present through each of his works.. he proves the statement true: words are a necessity; “always on the side of life not death.” Eskerrik asko.
March 29, 2020
Nahiz eta poema batzuk ikaragarriak izan, liburuari ez diot helburu argi bat aurkitzen.
Gaien sakabanatze gehiegizkoa dago nire gustorako.
Gaien sakabanatze gehiegizkoa dago nire gustorako.
April 3, 2024
un poco popurrí, pero con cosas chulas.
January 3, 2014
i read this nice little bio of jeffrey shotts in publisher weekly, in it he says "we trust poetry with our lives" and "i want graywolf poets to be part of the personal, national, and global conversations." http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by...
kirmen uribe i think does that, he talks about life in basque country, the rain, the ocean, food, friends, terrorists, spain, and being a young and pretty cute dude, kind of a bookish rock star maybe, he talks about love, sex, yearning, friends, songs, direct action, hopelessness, and being about and of euskadi, more rain.
both in euskera and english, a pretty brilliant translation by elizabeth macklin and her introduction is not to be missed. she does a great great job.
kirmen uribe i think does that, he talks about life in basque country, the rain, the ocean, food, friends, terrorists, spain, and being a young and pretty cute dude, kind of a bookish rock star maybe, he talks about love, sex, yearning, friends, songs, direct action, hopelessness, and being about and of euskadi, more rain.
both in euskera and english, a pretty brilliant translation by elizabeth macklin and her introduction is not to be missed. she does a great great job.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews