Cows from Coimbra

For those who do not know (I did not!) - Coimbra is a university town in Portugal, 200 km northly of Lissabon. There are 106.800 people living in Coimbra, and among them 20.000 Students. The town was in year 2003 the cultural capital of Portugal. So, here they are, our cultural cows of Coimbra! They were photographed by my sister and brother-in-law, who lived in Portugal since four years, in another small university town - Covilhã.

Ewa Maria Slaska

Printemps des Poètes, Berlin09

The last day of the Printemps des Poètes came. It is now a year to the next spring of poetry. It does not mean, however, that till the next festival the blog will be covered by the Internet dust. From time to time you can pop in here and check out what's new. Maybe you will find some short information about a new poem or a photo of smiling cow!

Friday, the 13th - a day of good luck

Today's post is mainly for those who could not have come to Zero Gallery and to take part in the evening of poetry. But before I come to this part I would like to quote a few words written by Ewa Maria Slaska who explains the idea and origins of our project.

"The title as well as the date of our meeting was carefully planned. Friday, the 13th is claimed to be a day of bad luck, and the reason for it is twofold. In the Christian countries it has a religious background. 13 is thought to be unlucky, for it was a number of people who took part in the Last Supper. And it was Judas, the thirtieth, who betrayed Jesus. When it comes to Friday, it was a day of Jesus death. In the ancient times, Friday, the 13th was supposed to bring good luck to all women. Friday was protected by the goddess of love. It was cultivated also by the Germanic people who devoted it to the goddess Freya. It is till that day, that in many languages the word for Friday stems from the name of Freya (Freitag, Friday,Fredag ), or Venus (Vendredi). 13 was also thought to be a lucky number in the ancient times. It was a number of the goddesses of the moon. The lunar calender had 13 months, and Luna was the main goddess of the ancient pre-patriarchal cultures. She had tens or maybe hundreds of names such as Isolde, Anahita, and Selene. Her symbolic animal was a cow, and there are some known images of goddesses-cows.
We have decided to celebrate this, as they say, unlucky day, with the help of the divine cow. It is also a very well know French cow, which laughs. The association was clear. We had to plan the project in the frames of French festival which theme was to be laugh. The French cow which laughs since more than half a century on the triangles of French melted cheese comes immediately to our heads. That is how we managed to combine the sacred and the profane in one poetical entity. Our idea was accepted and we've become a part of Printemps des Poetes in Berlin."

It was on Friday, the 13th that we met in the Zero Gallery. Even though we planned to start at about 8 pm we came one hour earlier to prepare gallery for that special occasion. As it turned out later on, it was worth coming a bit earlier as our first guest appeared at half past seven. The rest came on time, so that shortly after 8 pm Kasia Krenz the main poet of this evening started to read her new poem. After this very poetical beginning, it was time to the official one. The moderator and the organizer of the project Ewa Maria Slaska introduced the idea of the meeting and the poets. It was only poetry that was important after that initial part. Kasia Krenz was reading her poems in Polish, English and Portuguese. The German translations were read by Ewa and our guests-friends who participated in the meeting. For the evening with poetry and cows came mainly the inhabitants of Berlin: Poles, Italians, Israelis and Germans. One of our guest was also a Polish television, which came from Gdańsk specially for this evening. For the short breaks between the poems we prepared some sweet and salty snacks, all labelled with cows. This very nice evening with poetry ended shortly after noon.
As it turned out this famous bad luck on Friday, the 13th was just a rumour. Friday, the 13th can be claimed to be again a day of good luck. The project in the Zero Gallery went very well, in a nice and friendly atmosphere. Even the rain which started falling in the evening was warm and indicated the upcoming spring. On the Saturday's morning Berliners were woken up by the long awaited sun.

Ania Marczak

Gallery with pictures

Friday, the 13th - a day of good luck

The new volume of poems written by Kasia Krenz and translated into German by Ewa Maria Slaska, Karla Reimert, and Karl-Heinz Haase, will be published in Poland in 2009. Especially for the evening with poetry in the Zero Gallery, ten beautiful volumes of Kasia's poems were handmade by Jacek Krenz, Kasia's husband.

Friday, the 13th.

The last Friday of this winter came. We will meet at 8 pm in the Zero Gallery to enjoy poems written by Kasia Krenz, Rachel Rubinroth and Ewa-Maria Slaska. The evening with poetry will be not only a treat for our souls, but also for our bodies. For the project we've prepared some snacks and sweets, all with cow-labels. What is more, we will have a very special guest from Lisbon, our mOOOtual friend with whom we've coWoperated since March the 2nd!

Below you can find three new galleries of cows, as well as a poem about a cow written by Roald Dahl.
Ania Marczak

How now brown cow?

or simply what's next? We had an idea to upload a photo of Russian cow from MosCOW, but unfortunately due to some technical problems we've lost it. Instead of it, today's gallery will be about cow parade in Zurich. It took place in 1998 and in a few years became an international public art exibit. If you want to know more about it just google 'cow parade'.
Ania Marczak

I had a dream...

You had a dream last night about a cow, and you don't know what it means? Just take a look at our small dream-book. We coWllected some possible situations with cows and cows related things. Generally, a dream about a cow means that you are looking for peace and security. Cow-dreams have rather optimistic character and their meaning is usually positive.
our small dream-book
to see a cow: happiness
to milk a cow: you will earn money or you will be engagement soon
to be attacked by a cow: it is a warning of some enemy whosefoolishness might be very dangerous for you to see a dead cow: to recover from an illness, to be free from all pains and sufferings
to see a cowshed: a hidden desire or wish
to see grazing cows: to have comfortable life
to see fat and big cow: good harvest


Good night and have dreams full of smiling cows, mooo!

Ania Marczak

Zacne panny Gdańszczanki/ Good young ladies from Gdańsk

Zacne panny Gdańszczanki

Dzisiaj będzie po polsku i po angielsku, ponieważ krówki narysowane przez Michała są z Gdańska.

Język polski jest także językiem ojczystym poetek, które przeczytają swoje wiersze 13 marca w Galerii Zero. Bez wątpienia język ten jest bardzo często słyszany w stolicy Niemiec, która jest domem dla wielu Polaków. Do dziś wspominam jak mój nauczyciel niemieckiego zawsze powtarzał, iż polski został stworzony dla poetów, i że dla obcokrajowca każde zdanie wypowiedziane w tym języku brzmi niczym wyznanie miłosne. Zakochany po uszy w polskiej poezji i w Pol(s)ce, mieszka w Krakowie już przeszło 15 lat.
Poniżej zamieszczamy wiersz o krowie autorstwa poety Mirona Białoszewskiego (1922-1983).

Być krową

cykl: Wiersze ciotki Anieli; tomik: Rozkurz

Czy ja wiem?
Żyć trawio.
Żucio śnić.
Gębą z podmuchem pić i pić
Całe wiadro?

Dojenie
Nie, nie, racja!
Cielić się nie chcę...

A anielić?

Trzeba mieć równy lot
I dobry głos.

A ja już schrypłam.
W kościach też.

Nicość to nie najgorsza rzecz.

Jednakże prawdziwą przyjemnością obcowania z polską poezją jest słuchanie osoby czytającej wiersz. Tym samym chcielibyśmy jeszcze raz zaprosić na spotkanie w Galerii Zero, na które przyjdą nie tylko poetki. Na spotkaniu zjawią się również prawie wszystkie krówki z naszej galerii!

Na zakończenie parę słów o uśmiechniętych krówkach. Zacne panny Gdańszczanki, które można zobaczyć w galerii poniżej, narysował Michał Krenz. Jak już wspomniałam w jednym z początkowych wpisów, Michał stworzył serię krówek specjalnie na nasz projekt. Krówki pochodzą z Gdańska, każda jest „wyjątkową indywidualistką”. Jedynym łączącym je mianownikiem jest wspólny znak zodiaku. Wszystkie są spod znaku byka z ascendentem w wodniku (stąd ten optymistyczny wyraz twarzy i uśmiech).

Good young ladies from Gdańsk

Today's post will be both in Polish and in English because the cows created by Michał come from Gdańsk, Poland's principal seaport.

Polish is the mother tongue of poets who will read their poems on Friday 13th March in the Zero Gallery. Polish can be also very often heard in the capital city of Germany, as it is a home for many Poles. When I think about the Polish language, I always remember my German teacher who was telling us many times about his fascination of Polish. He claimed that Polish language was created for poets, and that every time a foreigner hears Polish, it sounds for him/her like a declaration of love. That is how my German teacher fell in love in Poland, Polish poetry and Polish woman. It has been more than 15 years since he moved to Poland and decided to stay in Kraków.

Below there is a poem about a cow written by Polish poet Miron Białoszewski (1922-1983). Unfortunately it was not yet translated into English.

Być krową

cykl: Wiersze ciotki Anieli; tomik: Rozkurz

Czy ja wiem?
Żyć trawio.
Żucio śnić.
Gębą z podmuchem pić i pić
Całe wiadro?

Dojenie
Nie, nie, racja!
Cielić się nie chcę...

A anielić?

Trzeba mieć równy lot
I dobry głos.

A ja już schrypłam.
W kościach też.

Nicość to nie najgorsza rzecz.

In fact, it is listening to a person who reads aloud poems in Polish that brings most of joy and enables listener to appreciate the sound and melody of Polish language. For that reason, we would like to one more time invite you for the evening with poetry in the Zero Gallery. You will meet there not only poets, but also some cows from our galleries!

In the end, I would like to mention a few words about laughing cows. Good young ladies from Gdańsk, presented in the gallery below were drawn by Michał. As it has been already mentioned they come from Gdańsk and each of them is very "special individualist". The only thing the cows have in common is their zodiac sign. They were born under Taurus with the ascendant in Aquarius (and hence the optimistic expression of their faces).

Ania Marczak

Krówki

Krówki* (pl.) are Polish candies, very sweet and tasty, but sometimes they may be dangerous for your teeth. Some of them are so sticky that once you bite them you won't be able to open your mouth in the next fifteen minutes. It is good to know it. Imagine you are having a party and one of your friends is talking on and on. It is up to your ears, but you don't know how to stop him/her? Just give your guest a small delicious candy and in the next few minutes the floor is yours!

*The word krówki is a plural form of the Polish word krowa (meaning cow). What is more, it is a diminutive form and can be translated into English as "small little cows" or "small sweet cows", or "cute little cows".

Ania Marczak

COwLLECTION

author: Selena von Eichendorf,
source:http://pl.wikiquote.org/wiki/Plik:Krowa.jpg

Some people think that cow is an element of a countryside. At some point, they are of course right. Try to imagine a cow passing the main street in Berlin or eating grass in front of Bundestag. If it weren't a part of happening or in the streets of Delhi or Mumbai it would be at least weird. Cities are not ideal places for cows, that is obvious, but it does not mean that you can hardly meet any cow in the city. Maybe it will not be brown and white but violet and red. Maybe its size does not make you to run at the other side of a street and scream for help. And maybe it will not moo all the time, but in some sense it will be a cow. If you look carefully you will be surprised how many cows are around us. And you do not have to be a farmer to state that fact. You can live in the city and see cows everyday buying some bread in the corner shop. You don't believe? Take a look at our coWllection. All pictures were made here in Berlin. What is more I didn't even have to mooove outside my flat!

Ania Marczak

Berlin likes it!

Spring came to Berlin. I took my bike and went to Kreuzberg to see if sombody stopped for poetry. It was nice to find out that after two days there were only a few poems left. It seems people like it so we have decided to put on some new poems near Zero Gallery. This time we used green and yellow paper so that it suits perfectly to spring mood:-)

Ania Marczak

StopForPoetry in Kreuzberg

Today we took part in an action StopForPoetry, the initiative of Tina Wamsganz and Anders A. Bachmann. From the very morning we were putting the poems on the traffic lights in Kreuzberg. To make it more visible we used colour paper and printed poems in red, blue, orange and yellow. Now Berlin is not as grey as it used to be at this time of the year! The poems you can find at the traffic lights in Kreuzberg were created by the Polish writer and watercolour painter Katarzyna Krenz. Originally they were written in Polish, but we printed also the English, German, and Spanish translations.

We made several pictures for you to see our action. But if you really want to discover it, moooooooove to Kreuzberg and while waiting for green light enjoy the poems!

Ania Marczak

StopForPoetry in Kreuzberg

Poster with laughing cow

Our poster with laughing cow is ready to put up on the walls of Berlin! It was created with the cooperation of Polish architect Michał Krenz. Michał made a series of drawings which depict various laughing cows. At the first glance they may seem similar and like brothers and sisters, but in fact each of them has very individual character and personality. What they have in common is the optimistic expression of their faces and mischievous look.

We will put up the poster tomorrow morning on the window of Zero Gallery, so if you want to be the first to see it, don't sleep till noon, but take your dog (cow?) for a walk, come to Köpenicker Str. 4, and the laughing cow will make your day!

Ania Marczak

Krowa Vache Cow

WIR means we. WIR is a Polish Literature Association in Berlin.

In this month we are a part of the 1st French Poetry Festival Printemps des Poètes in Berlin, which starts tomorrow i.e. Monday 2nd March 2009. On that very Monday at 11.00 am we take part in a festival idea StopForPoetry and on Friday 13th March we organise a poetry reading of three women and a lot of langauages.

Just come to ZERO GALLERY in Kreuzberg.
Köpenicker Str. 4, 10997 Berlin
Tube: Schlesisches Tor

In next days you will find here more about us and about our activities around the poetry.