I left
the island the first day the sun set,
the first minute – it took a shard from my heart
to the North Sea floor. Only
there is my heart a whole. I
can hear it still.
From “Sea of Love”
Kätlin Kaldmaa’s One is None, translated into English by Miriam McIlfatrick-Ksenofontov, will dazzle readers with its frank, erotic explorations of love and despair.
Kaldmaa is a poet of grace and elegance, yet she is also playful and mischievous–whether writing about love or social responsibility.
Having herself translated many authors (and from many different languages) into Estonian, it is no surprise that Kaldmaa’s poems are global in their scope–nor that she, at the same time, breaks down notions of nationhood, in a series of poems about lovers from different countries. Through humor and love, Kaldmaa explores and illuminates what it means to be human.
Kätlin Kaldmaa is an Estonian poet, writer, translator and literary critic. She has published four collections of poetry, two books for children, an autobiographical work of non-fiction, and a novel. She has translated over 40 books into Estonian by authors such as Jeanette Winterson, Aphra Behn, Michael Ondaatje, Ali Smith, Goran Simić and Gabriel García Márquez. Her own poems have been translated into Arabic, English, Finnish, French, German, Korean, Latin, Japanese, Russian, Slovenian, and Spanish. She is the President of Estonian PEN.
One is None
by Kätlin Kaldmaa
translated by Miriam McIlfatrick-Ksenofontov
Periscope 01
ISBN-13: 978-1-938334-11-5
Poetry/Translation/Estonia
48 pages/perfect bound
