Truck Driver Haikus / Haikús del Camioner POEMS IN CATALAN - Dolors Miquel Translated - Clyde Moneyhun

“A haiku is so short that it gives you no time to reflect. It’s just an impression. I don’t want to talk about grand emotions in a world full of washing machines. No lyrical images. Only punches. ”
– Dolors Miquel

“I was on a trip to Pamplona, getting onto a train, reading an article in a journal, which would leave me ravished by the most naked expression of lyricism that I know, which is to say, haikus. On the return train I wrote the first few lines.”

Intrigued by the aesthetic and philosophical possibilities of the haiku, Dolors Miquel thought she might “introduce elements of our own daily life to the typically nature-centered themes” of the classic Japanese version.

ABOUT DOLORS MIQUEL

Dolors Miquel is a Catalan poet from Lleida. Her many awards include the Sant Cugat Prize (2006), the Alfons el Magnànim València Prize (2012), and the Ausiàs March Prize (2016). Her recent works include Missa pagesa/Peasant Mass (2006), La flor invisible/The Invisible Flower (2011), and El guant de plastica rosa/The Pink Plastic Gloves (2016).

ABOUT CLYDE MONEYHUN

Clyde Moneyhun is a descendant of Catalan-speaking ancestors from Menorca. He has translated Ponç Pons, Maria-Mercè Marçal, Dolors Miquel, and many other Catalan-language poets. His translation of El salobre/Salt (2017) by Ponç Pons is available from Francis Boutle