9/11 is like 1989.
People will remember.
20, 30, a hundred years after.
One such year is more than enough
in a lifetime, if you were there
among the carnage
or when the wall came down,
or was opened, at first.
I was on a beach in 1989,
in the winter.
Weeks on a beach,
and Romania burned,
after Czechoslovakia didn’t,
and so on and so on.
A beach in Thailand, sunset beach.
Sunrise is on the other side
of the peninsula.
There is a mountain in between,
and there was one water buffalo left,
as far as I remember.
Krabi, Krabi! crie the boatsmen,
we didn’t go back to Krabi, the nearest town,
for quite a while.
Newspapers were from days ago, a week ago.
It was a marvelous year.
In 1989, I was in Taiwan, and in between, in the US and in Thailand.
In 2001, I was in Beijing.
Jackie worked in the Austrian embassy.
I was teaching and translating.
We saw it on TV, not right away,
as far as I remember.
We talked to friends and relatives
on the phone.
It was two years after 1999,
when Belgrade was bombarded.
They bombed the Chinese embassy,
it’s still not clear why.
I was in China then too,
in Chongqing.
I cried when I saw the towns over there on TV,
it looked too much like home.
They did to Belgrade what the Serbian side
had done to Sarajewo, and other cities,
and there was the massacre of Srebrenica
and so on and so on.
Yugoslavia is the place in Europa
that had no walls coming down in 1989,
rather some going up, more and more.
In 2012 we did a magazine issue here in Vienna,
Headfirst through the Great Wall of China,
or something like that.
It was crazy.
We had Yan Jun for reciting poetry and drama,
and we had Hui Ye, a very versatile local artist, mostly based in Austria.
Yan Jun is a famous poet and experimental musician from Lanzhou,
lives mostly in Beijing, very much on the fringe.
So we were doing a small local magazine,
but we were so excited, we told all the world!
I did, mostly. It was really great.
We had Yugoslavia, mainland China, Taiwan
and a Turkish German author wrote
the Great Wall was a sleeping dragon
that woke up once in a few centuries
and people came to grief.
And the magazine editor wanted to kill that,
thought it was disrespectful.
I don’t think he knew anyone from China.
How is this about 9/11?
9/11 was like 1989, in a way.
Everyone knows what happened in 1989,
or everyone doesn’t,
depends where you are.
There are still thousands of people
who died in New York on that day,
but there are no remnants.
They are still searching for traces.
ein gedicht von martin
das ich übersetzt hab SEPTEMBER MORNING
hat die All-Seasons-Hotelkette gekauft
jeder gast bekommt eins
bei mir gegenüber
haben sie auch so ein hotel
soll ich vielleicht
dort übernachten
um das gedicht abzuholen
oder gleich wieder auschecken
nachdem ich das gedicht hab
oder noch einfacher
sagen ich will ein zimmer besichtigen
und das gedicht mitgehen lassen
22.September 2017
Übersetzt von Martin Winter, September 2017
“jeden tag euch bedienen
irgenwann hat euer diener genug!”
arger streit mit fahrgast
busfahrer schießt den ganzen wagen
zurück in die zeit vor der befreiung
September 2017
Übersetzt von MW im September 2017
《点射》
＂天天伺候你们
老子已经伺候够了！＂
与乘客恶吵
巴士司机爆出一语
把一车人喷回解放前
Yi Sha OHNE TITEL
in einer doku hab ich gesehen
george w. bush hatte vier ghostwriter
der von der rede nach 9/11
war ein dicker mann über dreissig
großer fan von hemingway
wollte immer so klingen
er sitzt im café beim weißen haus
im halbstock allein an einem tisch
hat in vier stunden
die herrliche rede fertig geschrieben
16 jahre später
die rede von trump vor der uno
die war auch so herrlich
wessen feder war das
und wen verehrt er oder sie
wir haben eine sehr schöne tochter
gestern war 9/11
gestern vor 15 jahren
unsere tochter ist 14
2002 in china geboren
am 4. september
sie ist noch nicht sehr groß
noch nicht ausgewachsen
sie hat ihren klaren eigenen kopf
wenn sie nicht wütend ist
als kleines kind war sie auf meinem fahrrad
in einem drahtkorb
manchmal auch vorne
wie später ihr bruder
mit drei oder vier hat sie gesungen
ganz lange geschichten
jedesmal bisschen anders
zwischen gongti und dongzhimen
zuojiazhuang
in beijing 2005 oder so
dornröschen schneewittchen und aschenbrödel
und viel maia eigenbau
gesungen chinesisch oder auf deutsch
auf dem weg zum schwimmbad oder zurück
oder auch fun dazzle
chinesisch als erste sprache
wo shi beijingren
2002 ist sehr lange her
惦記他
故他在
记得9/11以後
他在紐约唱保羅西蒙的歌
America
惦記盧·里德
兩三年前聽他的現場
惦記臺灣老朋友
廖瑞銘臺灣語教授
记得88年在臺灣買崔健的卡带
惦記傳聲頭像
AC-DC 酒吧
平克·弗洛伊德
寫在BUFFALO TOWN 天花板
惦記臺灣摇滚
以及所有抵抗强暴的聲音
2016.1.11
————————————
星期六七月26号去了鲍勃.迪伦现场 – Bob Dylan concert 在 Wiesen, 奥地利 Austria.
Rather good. Full raspy voice. Lots of ambivalence in the songs. Experimenting with old songs, making it new.
Songs from the albums TIME OUT OF MIND, WORLD GONE WRONG, BLOOD ON THE TRACKS and others. “Love Sick” was the last song. Very, very good. Before that, a new version of Blowin’ in the Wind.
Dylan was rather like Cui Jian 崔健 when he’s good – new songs every time, all of it – especially the classics.
Dylan mostly played piano. Good band. Each song a surprise. We saw Lou Reed two years ago. Also very good. Experimental, still.
That was the last chance I would get to experience Lou Reed live. He was himself, as far as I could tell. They also had what was left of The Doors – still with Ray Manzarek – and Ian Anderson and others. Doors trying to sound like on the records. Oh well. Ian Anderson coherent for one song only. Sad. Lou Reed strong. Like Dylan this time.
in these few days
I’ve read them again and again
four pages of orders
left behind by the suicide terrorists
“now is the time
you have to get up
get dressed as fast as you can”
so I get up
get dressed
“now is the time
go wash yourself
go to the bathroom
look into the mirror
get rid of unnecessary
small hairs on your face”
so I wash myself
and listen to
the sound of my razor
“now is the time
you have to go out
go downstairs call a taxi
when you sit in the cab
you will feel nervous
and the best method
against feeling nervous
you smile at the driver
when you get to the airport
you smile at everyone”
so I go out
call a cab, smiling
“now is the time
use your small dagger and your iron will
a massacre is about to begin”
I feel distracted –
are these two lines from a poem?
then something makes we weak altogether:
“now is the time
you must go through death
to enter paradise
the virgins in paradise
are already prepared
in their most beautiful clothes
to welcome you”
and so I decide
to give up the mission
they should not have said that
as soon as I read it I thought
maybe I don’t have to die
don’t have to kill so many people
to get at this thing
I n-need t-to b-b-break out
f-f-from y-y-your s-sp-pout-ting s-song
b-break o-out o-of y-your h-house
m-m-my sh-shoot-t-ting t-t-tongue
m-m-mach-chine g-g-gunn f-fire
it feels so good
i-in m-m-my s-st-tut-t-ter-ring l-life
the-there a-are n-no g-ghosts
ju-just l-llook at-t m-my f-face
I d-d-don’t c-care!
1991
Tr. MW, 2015
Yi Sha 《结结巴巴》 ST-STO-TO-TT-TERN
m-mein st-sto-to-tt-ternd-der m-mund
b-b-behind-dderter schschlund
b-b-bei-sst- s-ich wund
an m-meinem r-rasenden hirn
und m-meine b-beine –
euer t-trief-fend-der,
schschimmliger schschleim
m-meine l-lunge
i-ist m-müd’ und hin
i-ich w-will r-r-aus
aus eurem g-gross-a-artiggen rh-rhythmus
a-aus eurem h-haus
m-m-meine
sch-schp-prache
m-masch-schinengewehr-s-salven
es tut so gut
in m-meinem st-stott-ttoterndem r-reim
auf m-mein l-leben g-gibt es k-keine l-leich-chen
s-s-seht m-mich a-an
m-m-mir i-ist all-les g-gleich!
1991
Übersetzt von MW im April 2013
<結結巴巴>
結結巴巴我的嘴
二二二等殘廢
咬不住我狂狂狂奔的思維
還有我的腿
你們四處流流流淌的口水
散著霉味
我我我的肺
多麼勞累
我要突突突圍
你們莫莫莫名其妙
的節奏
急待突圍
我我我的
我的機槍點點點射般
的語言
充滿快慰
結結巴巴我的命
我的命裡沒沒沒有鬼
你們瞧瞧瞧我
一臉無所謂
1991
Photos and videos by Beate Maria Wörz
Yi Sha 《精神病患者》 GEISTESKRANKE
theoretisch
weiß ich nicht
wie es sich äußert
wenn eine geisteskrankheit ausbricht
ich hab nur gesehen
in diesem land
in dieser stadt
wenn ein geisteskranker loslegt
streckt er den arm hoch und bricht aus
in parolen
der revolution
theoretically
I don’t know
how it should be
when a mental patient
suffers an outbreak
but what I have seen
in this country
in this city –
a mental patient suffers an outbreak:
up goes his arm
out come the slogans of revolution
1994
Tr. MW, 2013-2014
Photos and videos by Beate Maria Wörz
Yi Sha 《我想杀人》 ICH MÖCHTE JEMANDEN UMBRINGEN
ich fühle mich etwas komisch
ich will jemanden töten
oh! das war letztes jahr
herbst kroch über das laub
zwanzig todeskandidaten
am flussufer nördlich der stadt
“peng! peng!”
einer wurde aufgeschnitten
in der folgenden operation
erhielten WIR eine niere
I am feeling a little strange
– I want to kill someone
Oh! It was last year
autumn crept over the leaves
twenty death candidates lined up
at the river north of the city
„Peng! peng!“
One of them was cut open
and in the following operation
We got a kidney
1994
Tr. MW, 2015
Yi Sha 《9/11心理报告》 9/11 AUF DER COUCH
erste sekunde mund offen scheunentor
zweite sekunde stumm wie ein holzhuhn
dritte sekunde das ist nicht wahr
vierte sekunde kein zweifel mehr da
fünfte sekunde das brennt nicht schlecht
sechste sekunde geschieht ihnen recht
siebte sekunde das ist die rache
achte sekunde sie verstehen ihre sache
neunte sekunde die sind sehr fromm
zehnte sekunde bis ich drauf komm
meine schwester
wohnt in new york
wo ist das telefon
bitte ein ferngespräch
komme nicht durch
spring zum computer
bitte ins internet
email ans mädl
zitternde finger
wo sind die tasten
mädl, schwester!
lebst du noch?
in sorge, dein bruder!
2001
Übersetzt 2013 von Martin Winter
Yi Sha 9.11 REPORT FROM THE COUCH
Ist second: mouth barn-door open
2nd second: wooden-chicken stiff
3rd second: couldn’t believe it
4th second: it must be true
5th second: what a great fire
6th second: well they deserve it
7th second: this is retribution
8th second: these buggers have guts
9th second: must be their religion
10th second: before I realize
my own little sister
lives in new york
I need a telephone
long distance call!
can’t get a connection!
I go storming for a computer
where is the internet
typing out characters
writing an email
shaky fingers
“sister, sister!
are you alive?
your elder brother is worried sick!”
Presented by Tucson Poet Laureate Rebecca Seiferle!
Bentley’s House of Coffee and Tea, 6-8 pm
photo by Michael Gessner
4
Yi Sha SEX EDUCATION
One of our travels
We didn’t get out very much –
Nine years ago. Led us to Qingdao –
A summer of love
Sand castles, writing on rocks
Fresh clams in small restaurants
Very cheap. I remember
We lived in a school
A hotel for the summer
It was our summer of
Watching movies together
One night we sat
In the video room
All the way until morning
There was a flick about all kinds of fish
We were attracted
And then we felt
Shaken without compare
There was a fish called salmon
They had this one time
Of uninhibited communion
At the end of their lives
Fish of great beauty
Nine years ago
We don’t remember
How great it was
But no-one forgets
The pain at the end
Ist second: mouth barn-door open
2nd second: wooden-chicken stiff
3rd second: couldn’t believe it
4th second: it must be true
5th second: what a great fire
6th second: well they deserve it
7th second: this is retribution
8th second: these buggers have guts
9th second: must be their religion
10th second: before I realize
my own little sister
lives in new york
I need a telephone
long distance call!
can’t get a connection!
I go storming for a computer
where is the internet
typing out characters
writing an email
shaky fingers
“sister, sister!
are you alive?
your elder brother is worried sick!”
中国大好き 