Ian O’Brien writes and teaches in Manchester, UK. His novelette-in-flash What the Fox Brings In Its Jaw will be out soon with Retreat West. Jennifer Lang lives in Tel Aviv, where she runs Israel Writers Studio, and has work featured in Ruminate, Consequence, and Stonecoast Review. Akosua Zimba Afiriyie-Hwedie is a Zambian-Ghanaian poet and author of the newly released chapbook Born in a Second Language (published by Button Poetry).
(Transcript)
Welcome to Micro, a podcast for short but powerful writing. I’m your host, Drew Hawkins.
On translation, meanings, and nomenclature. This episode features a mix of poetry and prose that interrogates language as a tool, an identity, and a way of being. In our first piece, finches and sticky notes shed light on a father’s love for language, and on the quality of his mind. It’s called “A Name for the Naming of Things.” It was written by Ian O’Brien and published by TSS Publishing on August 27, 2020. Enjoy.
“A Name for the Naming of Things” by Ian O’Brien in TSS Publishing
Ian O’Brien writes and teaches in Manchester, UK. His novelette-in-flash What the Fox Brings In Its Jaw will be out soon with Retreat West. You can find him on Twitter at @OB1Ian.
Our second piece investigates the challenge of translation between two languages as the speaker navigates the meaning of words. It’s called “Sounds Like.” It was written by Jennifer Lang and published by The Gravity of the Thing in Summer 2020. Enjoy.
“Sounds Like” by Jennifer Lang in The Gravity of the Thing
Born in the San Francisco Bay Area, Jennifer Lang lives in Tel Aviv, where she runs Israel Writers Studio, hunts for a special home for my memoir in vignettes, teaches writing and yoga on zoom in this fragile new world, plays with structure and tests boundaries between prose and poetry, and occasionally awakens to yes-we-love-your-work acceptances in literary journals like Ruminate, Consequence, and Stonecoast Review. You can find her on Twitter at @JenLangWrites or on her website at israelwriterstudio.com.
In our final piece, the speaker oscillates between languages, her everyday routine belonging to both. We recommend that you view this one on the page, as the poem’s structure reflects its transitions. It’s called “I am deciding which language to spend the night in.” It was written by Akos Zimba and published by wildness in their Issue No. 21.
“I am deciding which language to spend the night in” by Akosua Zimba Afiriyie-Hwedie in wildness
Akosua Zimba Afiriyie-Hwedie is a Zambian-Ghanaian poet and author of the newly released chapbook Born in a Second Language (published by Button Poetry). You can find her on Twitter at @akosuaZah, or on her website at akosuazah.com.
Micro is edited and curated by Dylan Evers, our social media is managed by fellow curator M.M. Kaufman, and the show is produced and hosted by me, Drew Hawkins. Our theme song is by Matt Ordes. You can find all of the information about this episode’s writers, their featured work, and the publications where they were published, as well as a transcription of this episode in the show notes.
Find more of our shows wherever you listen to podcasts, check out our website at micropodcast.org, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at podcastmicro.
Thanks for listening.