Saqer @saqeram@wandering.shop

Daily Poems I'm reading in 2020 (won't you read with me?)

#introductions

Hi folks, I'm Saqer. I'm an academic, finishing up grad school. I spend a lot of time translating short science fiction into Arabic, but haven't published any yet because reasons. Maybe that will change over the next year.

I also spend a lot of time listening to audiobooks of scifi novels, and the usual scifi podcasts. I spend a lot of time also wondering about backstories of minor characters and societal myths and languages in scifi.

You know what's wild? It's been 98 days since the start of the year, and today was the first day I read a short story by sight. And I've been consuming one short story a day by audio narration.

I consume most of the titles on my fiction list by audio narration (as in audiobooks and podcasts) and today I went out of my usual habit to sight-read a story by a writer whose poem I read recently.

I wish more publications offered their content in audio form.

Some of you might not be aware of #translation tech that isn't machine translation (that is like Google Translate), there's computer-assisted translation tools: those that use your "translation memory" as you translate a project. There's a the #opensource CAT tool which I prefer over all others: OmegaT http://www.omegat.org/

I've been trying to consolidate my translation practice, specifically my short fiction and poetry translation. By consolidating, I've been trying to place them into one OmegaT project folder for fiction, and another project folder for poetry. I've finished the consolidation of the poetry files, but the fiction files are gonna take a while, since I've taken them off the cloud and trying to convert them into open formats (that is: ODT and OmegaT folders).

Today's #poem is A. Laraque-Ho's "The Uncertainty Principle"

https://www.vulturebonesmag.com/06-05-theuncertaintyprinciple-ashlaraqueho

I quite appreciated the sentiments I felt about the worms not caring about endings, and gravity as a choke.

For April 6, I'm reading Lore Graham's #poem "Absence"

http://strangehorizons.com/poetry/absence/

This poem stopped me in my tracks, particularly the second-to-last stanza. Sometimes memory cheats us, and sometimes we sit there and wonder how our past remembers us.

For the Fifth of the Fourth, I'm reading "Without Prayer or the Place in the Forest" by Sonya Taaffe.

https://uncannymagazine.com/article/without-prayer-or-the-place-in-the-forest/

Look at those amazing two verses of good #poetry:
"behind all this dry ink
is still white and black fire"

April 4, 2020, and I'm reading "Death Poem" by C.J. Miles.

https://www.sfpoetry.com/sl/edchoice/39.4-5.html

I'm still bitter about not moving to Detroit and for some reason this #poem was soothing to read.

For first Friday of April, I'm reading "Syndrome" by Ugonna-Ora Owoh.

http://strangehorizons.com/poetry/syndrome/

The most curious part of this #poem is the curses previous generations place upon ours: the curse of inability to speak the truth.

April 2nd, of 2020, I'm reading Mary McMyne's "The Mother Searches for her Own Story"

http://strangehorizons.com/poetry/the-mother-searches-for-her-own-story/

I'm going to spend quite some time thinking about those who's stories were abandoned by the writers.

Happy April 92nd day of 2020, I'm reading Ameé Hennig's "My Unborn Babies"

http://www.astropoetica.com/Summer14/my-unborn-babies.html

I've been reading a hard science fiction novel with a focus on a genetic bottleneck, which led me to looking for a relevant #poem. I wasn't successful, but I ended up finding this poem about Andromeda joining the Milky Way.

I'm two thirds thru Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. It's comforting to me that I'm reading apocalyptic lit of a very different kind from my life right now. And it is, of course, obvious to me that politicians will endanger humanity in its last stand for existence.

For the End of March, I'm reading Alicia Cole's #poem "The Far Western Regions of the Archipelago are Where the Dragons Live"

http://strangehorizons.com/poetry/the-far-western-regions-of-the-archipelago-are-where-the-dragons-live/

I've spent the day coding a manuscript (possibly long forgotten): "There is no darkness in death. Just a long chain of islands." Is this what manuscripts/texts/words feel when they are forgotten?

Today's (3/30) #poem is by Saudamini Deo called "From, To"

http://interfictions.com/from-tosaudamini-deo/

What is it that you do on boring train rides? The poem reminded me of how much I've ridden the bus between Binghamton and New York, and how many times I've witnessed things go wrong between these cities.

this is my hot take: if we're friends, i expect you to pirate my work. it's that simple. if you like my work pirate it.

It's March 29 or Day 89, and I read a #poem by Gabriel Ascencio Morales titled "Abstraction"

http://strangehorizons.com/poetry/abstraction/

Take not of the visual #poetry in the piece. I also really recommend the podcast form by Ciro Faienza which has quite amazing sound design: http://strangehorizons.com/podcasts/podcast-abstraction/