Ein Haus, nirgends
wenn
stück
für stück
glaube
von Wortern
herunter fehlt
was mache
ich da
ich sammle Silben
baue Ihnen
ein haus, nirgends
Translations of this Poem
A house, nowhere
Translator: Christopher Whyte
when
bit
by bit
faith seeps away
from under
words
what
am I doing there
what am I doing here
gathering syllables
building them
a house, nowhere
2002
About this poem
M/Other Tongues, a poetry event which took place at the Scottish Poetry Library from 28 February to 2 March 2002, brought to Scotland two poets writing in German although it is not their mother tongue: Adel Karascholi from Syria, who has lived in Leipzig since the early '60s, and Dragica Rajčić from Croatia, who has lived in Switzerland since the outbreak of war in the former Yugoslavia.
They were paired with two Scottish poets who have also lived between two languages and/or cultures: Suhayl Saadi of Pakistani/Afghani descent who lives in Glasgow, and Christopher Whyte, of Irish descent, who writes in Scottish Gaelic and lives in Edinburgh.
