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Bleiweiß

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„Meine Mutter sagte: Es gibt eine Stummheit, die sich der Übersetzung widersetzt“ – Bleiweiß, Langgedicht und Geschichtserzählung, wie Athena Farrokhzad ihr Debüt nennt, findet klare Bilder und knüpft doch ein Geflecht von Mehrdeutigkeiten. Bleiweiß nimmt rasch dramatische Form an, die Familienmitglieder ordnen sich (moralischen)
Positionen zu und sprechen im Wechsel – bis auf die Erzählerin selbst. Mutter, Vater, Bruder, Onkel und Großmutter spielen mit verdrehten Redewendungen, extravaganten Metaphern und Sprichwörtern unter anderem auf die Themen Erbe, Verantwortung für die Familie, Identität und (Mutter-)Sprache an. Dabei wird die Tochter zwar adressiert, angeklagt und zur Rede gestellt, verweigert aber Antwort und die Einnahme einer Position. So ist das Gedicht durchdrungen von der Vielzahl an Stimmen, die ihre Familie ist oder sein könnte, von der sie ein Teil ist oder sein könnte, und entzieht sich zu einfachen Wahrheiten. Sie zeigen sowohl auf sich selbst und eigene Vergehen als auch auf ein Außen, den Krieg und die damit einhergehende Verrohung der Sprache. Doch in und durch Sprache erkennt die Familie auch die Möglichkeit, Widerstand zu leisten. Für die Erzählerin selbst besteht der Widerstand in ihrer Redeverweigerung.
‒ Clara Sondermann

In meinen Arbeiten verschmelze ich lyrische, politische und konzeptuelle Verfahren. Mich interessiert die Intimität, die gesellschaftliche Ordnungen offenbart. Und, mit den Worten von Adrienne Rich: Art means nothing if it simply decorates the dinner table of the power which holds it hostage.
‒ Athena Farrokhzad

72 pages, Hardcover

First published January 25, 2013

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739 people want to read

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Athena Farrokhzad

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
Profile Image for Paula Mota.
1,678 reviews572 followers
May 26, 2023
Versão portuguesa, “Suite em Branco”, Douda Correria, Dezembro de 2022

A minha mãe disse: Distorces a ferida com a tua mentira desafortunada
Há uma mudez que não se pode traduzir


O que me puxou para este livro foi, sem dúvida, a sua estética: letras brancas sobre tarjas pretas sobre fundo branco, criando um contraste que talvez a leitura explique. Após uma breve introdução em que Athena Farrokhzad, filha de refugiados iranianos na Suécia, aborda a questão da aprendizagem de uma nova língua...

Passava os dias a praticar vogais curtas e longas
como se os sons que saíam da sua boa
pudessem lavar o azeite da pele dela
A minha mãe deixou que o cloro escorresse pela sintaxe
Com os sinais de pontuação as sílabas dela fizeram-se mais brancas
que um inverno em Norrland


...”Suite em Branco” desdobra-se numa polifonia de testemunhos, da mãe, do pai, da avó, do tio e do irmão, que por vezes assumem a forma de axiomas.

O meu pai disse: Quanto mais te afastes do local do crime, mais te amarrarás a ele
A minha mãe disse: Quanto mais trates da ferida, mais pus ela largará
A minha avó disse: O que perdes em fruta recuperas em passas



Além da necessidade de aprender a língua do país de acolhimento, onde nunca deixam de se sentir estrangeiros...

O meu irmão disse: Um dia quero morrer num país
onde as pessoas consigam pronunciar o meu nome


...surge a indissociável questão da identidade...

A minha avó disse: O pertencer é como um espelho
Caso se quebre podes arranjá-lo
A minha mãe disse: Mas ao reflexo falta um estilhaço


...das saudades da terra natal...

O meu pai disse: Ainda lá estamos, mesmo que o tempo nos tenha separado do sítio

...da superação do trauma...

O meu irmão disse: O passado é um abuso nunca completado

...e, consequentemente, da memória.

O meu tio disse: Irás esquecer tudo
menos a memória, que irás lembrar para sempre
Profile Image for Thomas.
236 reviews83 followers
May 23, 2018
Είδα ένα τόσο παράξενο όνειρο
Πως πέθανε η αυγή μες στα μάτια μου πριν καν ο ύπνος
προλάβει και σκορπίσει
Μια ανθρωπότητα φτιαγμένη από ζάχαρη και σφαγή
Κι εκεί μόλις αποχαιρέτησα το φως όλα τα 'ξερα
Profile Image for somuchreading.
175 reviews306 followers
March 8, 2021
Δεν ξέρω πως να μιλήσω για αυτά τα ποιήματα.

Η Farrokhzad γράφει μια απολύτως προσωπική, οδυνηρά προσωπική συλλογή σύντομων ποιημάτων που μιλούν για προηγούμενες και επόμενες πατρίδες, μέσα από τις φωνές των μελών της οικογένειάς της. Στο βιβλίο ασχολείται με τη μνήμη και την ταυτότητα, με τόση νοσταλγία να περνά μέσα από τις λέξεις της, που θαυμάζεις και ταυτόχρονα πονάς με αυτές.

Και παρότι η έκταση αυτής της συλλογής είναι ελάχιστη, η εμπειρία του βιβλίου είναι αντιστρόφως ανάλογη με την ποσότητα των λέξεων που περιέχει. Μια εμπειρία στην οποία σημασία έχει και το ίδιο το χάρτινο βιβλίο, με τους Αντίποδες να έχουν παραδώσει μια εξαιρετική έκδοση. Απώλεια, γλώσσα, τραύμα, όλα βρίσκονται μέσα στο Λευκοσελευκό και είμαι χάπι που μια από τις ελάχιστες συλλογές ποίησης που έχω πιάσει στα χέρια μου τα τελευταία χρόνια είναι αυτή.
Profile Image for Eva Pliakou.
113 reviews223 followers
January 20, 2024
Η μητέρα μου είπε: Αν δεν μιλάς σε κάποιον που για χάρη του μπορείς να εγκαταλείψεις τη γλώσσα, δεν έχει νόημα να μιλάς.

Ο αδερφός της μητέρας μου είπε: Αν δεν ριγάς όταν διασχίζεις ένα σύνορο, δεν είναι σύνορο αυτό που διασχίζεις.
Profile Image for Josefine.
57 reviews4 followers
Read
October 2, 2019
Känns som att denna blivit nära nog mytisk i svensk litteratur, så blev överraskad över hur lättillgänglig den var samt att jag gillade den så mycket som jag gjorde. Starkt och bitvis humoristiskt om språket, familjen och ens rötter. Bra ingång till att läsa mer poesi.
Profile Image for Yannis Porfyropoulos.
111 reviews13 followers
June 13, 2017
οι χαμένες πατρίδες, οι νέες πατρίδες, η μνήμη, η λήθη, η γλώσσα, τα όνειρα, οι φόβοι. το μέγεθος δεν μετράει με αυτό το βιβλίο, που καταλαβαίνεις την αξία του απ τις πρώτες προτάσεις. θα το ξανά διαβάσω, ξανά κ ξανά. επίσης, θα ήθελα πολύ να το δω στο θέατρο. τέλος, φανταστική η έκδοση απ τους αντίποδες.

"Ο πατέρας μου είπε: Αφού κανένας απ' όσους σου ανήκουν
δεν είναι θαμμένος σ' αυτό το χώμα
αυτό το χώμα δεν σου ανήκει
Η μητέρα μου είπε: Μόνο όταν θάψεις εμένα σ' αυτό το χώμα
αυτό το χώμα θα σου ανήκει"
Profile Image for Linda.
331 reviews30 followers
October 15, 2014
In Athena Farrokhzad's debut book ”Vitsvit” there is a mixture of what is and what were. The family came from Iran to Sweden, and the poetry centers around politics and the breaking point - the relationship with the place they left and the place where they arrived. Fragments of testimonies describe memory and identity. Athena Farrokhzad has chosen an interesting way of expression. She lets her poetry consist of the voices of her family members. The mother's attempt to assimilate and her father's voice of revolution. It's violent and nostalgic. Brutal and beautiful.

There are glimpses of the author in the beginning, but she doesn't return. Instead, the reader has to get to know her through the eyes of the family, and there are often conflicts when they view her from their own perspectives.

The white text on black strips resembles a collage, and perhaps that is the feeling the author wants to convey. It's a mixture of voices that should all be heard, together and individually. The strips might also suggest that the poetry is like subtitles in a movie, which reminds the reader of the fact that this is people's real quotes.

Farrokhzad uses the whole width of the language. Sometimes, it's casual, but more often it's beautiful, intimate and strong. The result makes Athena Farrokhzad a promising debutante. ”Vitsvit” is also leaving the reader with a self-critical emotion. Because, who is the blurry shape reflecting in the silver colored, shiny, mirror-like front cover?
Profile Image for Marianne Barron.
1,048 reviews45 followers
June 29, 2016
Svært forstyrrende diktsamling. Full av gru, likevel forbausende god og tidvis optimistisk. En innvandrerfamilie gir uttrykk for hvordan krig og maktutøvelse har påvirket dem. Fortelleren av diktene er selv uten stemme. Hvitt på svart, svart på hvitt - språk som hudfarge. Intelligent skrevet. Anbefales.
Profile Image for Alma Nyström Larsson.
56 reviews1 follower
July 1, 2025
Min far sa. Ju längre du rör dig från brottsplatsen desto starkare binds du till den.
Min mor sa. Ju mer du vårdar såret desto varigare blir det

Jättefin hela den. Så många grejer man behövde höra. Och modersmjölken moderslandet språket.
Profile Image for Johanna.
282 reviews
February 2, 2021
Älskade denna, framförallt ljudboken som Farrokhzad läser upp själv. Det är något speciellt med att lyssna på en författare som läser upp sina egna dikter.
Profile Image for Yasmin.
62 reviews8 followers
June 23, 2022
‘Mijn moeder zei: Elke familie heeft zijn verhalen
maar om ze naar buiten te brengen is iemand nodig
met een bijzondere bereidheid ze te verdraaien’
Profile Image for Lars Meijer.
427 reviews51 followers
December 10, 2019
’Mijn broer zei: Het verleden is een vergrijp dat nooit voltooid zal worden.’
Profile Image for shamsi.
53 reviews
January 7, 2025
“my grandmother said: pistachios for the toothless / rosaries for the godless / rugs for the homeless / and a mother for you”
Profile Image for Bookaholic.
802 reviews834 followers
Read
January 21, 2014
Poemul ALBDINALB (eu l-am înțeles ca întreg, un poem mai lung, care se întinde pe tot volumul) se deschide cu eul liric care trasează câteva coordonate despre familia ei, oprindu-se la mamă: Familia mea a ajuns aici într-o tradiţie marxistă // Mama mea lăsa să curgă prin sintaxă decolorantul/ De cealaltă parte a punctuaţiei silabele ei deveneau mai albe/ decît o iarnă norlandiană // Mama mea ne construia un viitor bazat pe cantitatea vieţii/ În boxa casei de la periferie alinia cutii de conserve/ ca înainte de război. Continuă cu mutarea centrului de greutate: apar replicile rostite direct de un personaj sau altul, marcați prin verbul ”a spus” – Mama mea a spus, Unchiul meu a spus ș.a.m.d. De altfel, singura implicare a eului liric în poem este această posesie marcată prin adjectivul pronominal posesiv ”meu/ mea”.

Căci fiica/ sora/ nepoata, în persoana eului liric, nu are nicio replică, nu vorbește deloc – doar redă ceea ce rostesc membrii familiei ei (aparent, doar vorbim de o convenție), surprizând drama familiei printr-un artificiu teatral – ai senzația că asiști la o scenetă când replicile încep să se înmulțească, iar tensiunea dramatică urcă. Faptul că eul liric este mut nu înseamnă că nu se oglindește în frazele și propozițiile emise de membrii familiei.

Dacă tot am ajuns în acest punct, amintesc că personajele care se aud în poem, vocile care prind glas sunt mama (cea mai prezentă în carte, cea care se află într-o continuă tensiune cu fiica ei) tata, fratele, bunica și unchiul. (recenzie: http://bookaholic.ro/albdinalb-de-ath...)
Profile Image for Chaneli.
141 reviews
May 22, 2016
*takes a deep breath* wooooooow!
I'm so glad i've been made aware of this book and that it exists because it's so important and a lot is happening within the text and outside of it. White Blight is a combination of poetry but also written in the format of a play. The major subject matter is migration, a family emigrating from Iran to Sweden and the traumas that come with that. It is a very intimate reading where each family member is speaking on the impact its had on each of them but barely talking to one another. The opening page of this book starts with a monologue by the narrator but as the book continues she doesn't speak and the next page follows with the mother's response. At times the words the family speaks is harsh and startling and you're taken aback. This book is beautifully translated and the actually text, the contrast of black and white with the text in boxes recalls redacted text. There is so much in the book's style and subject matter that is reminding me of some of Solmaz Sharif's poems and I can't wait to read her debut collection and to study both of these works side by side.
There is just so much that can be discussed about this book and each page can be a conversation on its own. I basically marked and underlined every page in this book. This book is one of the best!
Profile Image for Ali.
1,825 reviews166 followers
March 28, 2019
This is a brilliant work, an experience in a way that not many books are. The printing, cover and texture are part of the journey, a poem that demands to be voiced. I don't think I am terribly good at reviewing poetry, because I have feelings more than thoughts, the best I can say here is that the poem unfolds layers of complexity, contradiction, and searing emotion as you move through. This is, as described, a story about flight from Iran to Sweden - and yet it nothing like the expectation that description evokes. Farrokhzad draws on/out not the who/what/when/where but the what it feels like, for disparate members of a family, while always acknowledging her own authorship. There is loss and hope and pride and shame and passion and apathy and lots more, all within surprisingly sparse and aimed words.
I've been experimenting with using a reading challenge format to see if I can broaden my reading in both particular and random ways. White Blight is the first book that I simply would not have encountered without this, and for that alone, the challenge has been worth doing.

*Read for 2019 Reading Challenge 23. A book set in Scandinavia
Profile Image for Siri Wohrne.
200 reviews
July 21, 2015
Väldigt intressanta och realistiska dikter från Athena Farrokhzads eget liv och personliga upplevelser. Svårt att förstå ibland, ganska ofta, och fritt för en själv att tolka så som det ofta är i poesi. Hur som helst är jag glad att jag läst den här boken!
Profile Image for Linus.
50 reviews12 followers
February 4, 2016
Om du inte darrar när du korsar en gräns är det inte gränsen du har korsat.

Revolutionär, blödande poesi. Ett personligt, allmängiltigt, minimalistiskt, världsomvälvande manifest för vår tid och all tid.
Profile Image for Megan Alyse.
Author 6 books16 followers
February 4, 2020
Challenging is the first thing. Then uncomfortable. Then revelatory. This book forces you to look at yourself. Literally! An amazing book-length poem about modern colonialism and language
Profile Image for Mina H.
232 reviews83 followers
August 30, 2020
Mama mea a spus: dacă ne vom întîlni din nou ne vom preface că nu ne cunoaștem
atunci cînd ție îți era foame și eu eram cea care purta laptele.
Profile Image for Christine Sjöberg.
29 reviews
August 23, 2024
Kom i kontakt med denna samling på den estradpoesikurs jag gick i somras. Såg den senare i en liten poesibokhandel på söder och lockades av dess glittrande omslag.

Jag tycker om dikter med metaforer. Metaforen är poetens främsta verktyg. Poesi ska vara som en matematisk ekvation läsaren ges i uppgift att lösa, annars är det något som är fel. Det är en svår uppgift att vara författare. Ju mer jag läser, ju mer jag skriver- desto mer utmaningar ställs jag inför. Svårighetsgraden i metaforen är en av dessa.

När jag läste ”vitsvit” förstod jag också att en metafor som inte tydligt leder in läsaren på ett möjligt svar är likamed ett vaccum på boksidan. Farrokhzads metaforer är stundvis bra, mycket bra om jag ska vara ärlig. I andra fall utan inledning på ett möjligt svar för någon annan än författaren själv. Därav det lägre betyget.

De metaforer som var begripliga var oerhört vackra. Särskilt tyckte jag om de om feminism och den psykiska terrorn som infinner sig i lugnet (efter kriget). Rasismen och moderns avsky gjorde mina händer fastklistrade på bokpärmen.


Några favoriter:

”Min far sa: även den tupp som inte gal får se solen stiga, min mor sa: men om hönan inte värper serveras hon själv till middag.”

”Min far sa: ju längre du rör dig från brottsplatsen, desto starkare binds du till den.”
Profile Image for Ioanna Drakakidou.
15 reviews4 followers
April 23, 2021
Ποιητική κατάδυση στα έγκατα ανθρωπίνων πληγών, με την ανυπέρβλητη τούτη έκδοση να είναι το άσυλό τους.

«Ο αδερφός της μητέρας μου είπε: Ο πόλεμος ποτέ δεν σταμάτησε
Εσύ μόνο σταμάτησες να είσαι θύμα του πολέμου»

«Η μητέρα μου είπε: Διαπερνάς τα πάντα αναζητώντας
αυτό που θα παραμορφώσεις»

«Η μητέρα της μητέρας μου είπε: Μίλα τη γλώσσα που κρατά τις αποστάσεις
απ' αυτό που συμβαίνει στις λέξεις»

«Ο πατέρας μου είπε: Θα πεις με λόγια την απρόσωπη λαχτάρα μου
Υπάρχει μία λέξη, η τελευταία που θα εγκαταλείψει τον άνθρωπο
Κι αύριο θα 'μαι μια συλλαβή πιο κοντά της»
142 reviews
May 17, 2020
”Det enda språk du kan fördöma förgripelsen på är förgriparens språk och förgriparens språk är ett språk som uppfanns för rättfärdiga förgripelsen.”
Profile Image for Fanny Månefjord.
8 reviews
September 29, 2025
En diktsamling om migration och språk, om att passa in och familjetrauma.

Min far sa: eftersom ingen som tillhör dig begravts i den här jorden
tillhör den här jorden inte dig
Min mor sa: först när du begraver mig i den här jorden
Tillhör den här jorden dig

Min bror sa: det enda språk du kan fördöma förgripelsen på är förgriparens språk
Och förgriparens språk är ett språk som uppfanns för att rättfärdiga förgripelsen

Profile Image for Liridona.
75 reviews7 followers
August 11, 2017
Som et skudd rett i hjertet, slik poesi SKAL være.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews

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