an anna blume

the anna blume project was developed as part of Lower Saxony's contribution to Expo 2000 in Hannover. the project commissioned & collected translations of Kurt Schwitters' poem "An Anna Blume", first published in 1919, from as many countries as possible. in addition to the translations, the organisers asked for poems based on (or responding to) the Schwitters poem. the project aimed to celebrate the work of a local artist in a way that explicitly expressed the international collaborative ideals of the Expo...

the ANNA! book includes facsimilies of the handwritten copies of the translations of '"An Anna Blume" that participants were asked to submit. an accompanying CD contains recordings of the poets reading their translations. the second book, Anna Bloom and Back contains poems written in response to Schwitters. i would've scanned some of the pages in, but i don't want to break the bindings on either book. the text of my contributions to the project appear below. thanks to keri glastonbury for putting me in touch with the project organisers.

for anna bloom

dear anna, 27 senses say i love you (& you!),
you, your formal informal & plural you, my yours, your mine & we?
what's that doing there? transgressing?
who are you, unquantified woman? you're? you're?
everyone says you were.
let 'em talk. they've no idea what keeps up the steeple.
you with your hat on your feet, walking around on your hands,
handstanding still & walking / you.
hey! red & white & dressed in folds,
sexy red annie bloom, i love your crimson!
you, your formal informal & plural you, my yours, your mine & we?
"That belongs (by the way) in the cold fire."
floral anna, red anna bloom, what are they saying?

pop-quiz:

1. anna's gotta bird. 2. annie bloom in red! 3. what colour paint the bird?

your yellow hair so blue,
your green birds turning red,
simple in your jeans & mambo,
deep green beast, i love you!
you, your formal informal & plural you, my yours, your mine & we?
put that in the fireplace where it belongs.
anna bloom, annie, gimme an a, gimme an n...
i melt your name.
your name runs down my candle.
do you know, anna, do you know already?
i can read you from the back as well,
& you, you're the most gorgeous,
reversible annie, anna from the front & back:
anna
your candle wax name traverse my back,
annie bloom,
you mad beast,
iloveyou!

Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948)
trans. ted nielsen 1999

hey annie!

empirical annie your effect hey annie you!
which is you & the idea & style of you as i for you think you or us.
now imagine a place in which to put it.
how close is this approximate you, huh?
yet everyone applauds.
as if they'd find their arse with both hands.
not you, panting acrobat, agile & legless
your wrapping legs & hat
your ripples.
hey annie! sunburn suits you!
the idea of a shower with you (then the shower!)
& drying by the fire. (what fire?)
the critics approve your garden, annie flowers,
asking questions like
annie sighs like an angel when? &
why's annie turning red?
or
annie likes it where?
your fragile blue-gold hair.
lorikeets erupt from the bottlebrush like breath
& you half into your jeans,
half into mine. hey lover, etc.
hi-fi / low-fi montage.
annie, you know the way it plays,
your gentle palindrome & sweating roles.
but annie, who's to say & why or how?

ted nielsen 1999

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ted@magicdog.com -- 19 September 2000