CARLITO AZEVEDO

was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1961. He has published several books ofpoetry, including Collapus Linguae (1991), which received the Juabti Poetry Prize, As Banhistas (1993) and Sob a noite fisica (1996). His translations of poetry and prose include Max Jacob, René Char, and Jean Follain. He is currently the director of the Circle of Poetic Research

in Rio de Janeiro, and he earns his living from his poetry. He is currentlythe editor of the Rio de Janeiro based Inimigo Rumor, one ofthe most noted of Brazilian poetry magazines.

BOOKS OF POETRY: Collapus Linguae (São Paulo: Imago, 1991); As Banhistas (São Paulo: Imago, 1993); Sob a noite física (Rio de Janeiro: Editora Sette Letras, 1996);

Na Noite Gris

Na noite gris

este fulgor

no ar? Tigres

a espreita? Claro

sol de um cigarro

em lábios-lis?

Na lixa abrupta

súbita chispa?

Choque de peles

a contra-pelo

(tal numa rua

escura mutua-

mente se enlaçam

as contra-luzes

de dois faróis)?

      (from Collapus Linguae, 1991)

In Grey Night

In grey night

this luster

in air? Tigers

lurking? Pale

sun of a cigarette

at lily-lips?

In sandpaper's roughness

a sudden glare?

The shock of skins

against hair

(as in a dark

street doub-

ly enlace

the counterbeams

of two headlights)?

        -Translated from the Portuguese by Dana Stevens

===================================

Banhista

Apenas

         em frente

ao mar

                   um dia de verão—

quando tua voz

                            acesa percorresse,

consumindo-o,

                            o pavio de um verso

até sua última

                            sílaba inflamável—

quando o súbito

                            atrito de um nome

em tua memória te

                   incendiasse os cabelos—

(e sobre tua pele

                            de fogo a

brisa fizesse

                   rasgaduras

de água)

              (from As Banhistas, 1993)

Bather

Barely

         before

the sea

before

                   one summer's day—

when your voice,

                            lit, traversed,
consuming it,

                            the wick of a poem

until its last

                            tindered syllable—

when the sudden

                                 friction of a name

in your memory

                   set your hair ablaze—

(and on your skin

                            of fire a

breeze ripped

                                     like water)

Mulher

Rude calcário

lacera a pele

fina, de arroz;

carícia oculta

corais, e luvas

mudam-se em puas;

cristal, graveto,

farpa, granito:

qualquer palavra

fere este corpo

(que entanto a guarda

e afia como

novo esqueleto:

interno em gume,

externo em grito).

            (from Sob a noite física, 1996)

Woman

Rough calcareous

lacerates the fine

skin, of rice;

occult caress

corals, and gloves

change themselves into prongs;

crystal, kindling,
splinter, granite:

any word

wounds this body

(that meanwhile guards

and sharpens as

a new skeleton:

internal m edge,

external m scream).

—Translated from the Portuguese by
Al Scott Bentley

Seleção de poemas publicados originalmente em:/ Poems from:

NOTHING THE SUN COULD NOT EXPLAIN: 20 CONTEMPORARY BRAZILIAN POETS, edited by Régis Bonvicino, Michael Palmer and Nelson Ascher. In> THE PIPE – ANTHOLOGY OF WORLD POETRY OF THE 20^TH CENTURY.  Vol. 3.  Los Angels, USA: Green Integer, 2003.

Edição com o apoio do Ministério das Relações Exteriores do Brasil e do Consulado Geral do Brasil em San Francisco, California, USA,

Página publicada em novembro de 2009