Last Wednesday evening, at Ludo's busbar.
Beatriz Ezkieta was reading her poems written in her native Basque, and her English translations, out of various collections including her recent book of poems about commuting on the Piccadilly Line from Wood Green over many years, full of descriptions and imaginative characterisations of the people she saw, and thoughts about travelling and the people who do it ("The worn velvet of the Piccadilly Line has travelled the world from bum to bum"). She particularly notices the contradications in people's behaviour and what that suggests about them. There's a lot in her poems though they are all fairly short.
I had no idea what Basque sounds like - it is very musical, but written down it looks much harder than it sounds. Beatriz also had some very interesting things to say about language and travelling. Her parents are Basque, but didn't speak the language because it was forbidden by the Franco dictatorship while they were growing up, but her own schooling was in Basque, so in the family it became a knd of secret language between herself and her sister. (Her grandmother did speak it, mixed with other things).
The evening was organised by Clive Boutle who published Beatriz's commuting poems - the title is 'The Blue Line' and is illustrated with some of her own collages. I expect it's available at All Good Bookshop.
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