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Quote by Steven Magee

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Steven Magee

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“As she writes, she feels a warm assurance; she likes her phrasing, and her conclusions, which are not absolute. On the contrary, they retain an ambiguous hesitant air, a little like done thinking out loud. She rereads her first notes and at times disagrees with herself, and she loves that, she has always liked changing her mind. She thinks about Chaura Paillacar struggling with headaches and about the unnamed poet's jumpy eyes, and Aurelia Bala writing with both hands and Floridor Pérez with his son Chile, whom she imagines as a teenager every bit as skinny and gangly as the country that gave him the name he wanted to change at any cost. She thinks about Hernaldo Bravo just after he was hit by a car, in a hospital, writing poems out of pure boredom, and about the twins scribbling incessantly on the walls of Bernadita Socorro's small, light-filled apartment... that the world of Chilean poets is a little stupid but it is more genuine, less false than the ordinary lives of people who follow the rules and keep their heads down. Of course there is opportunism and cruelty, but also real passion and heroism and allegiance to dreams. She thinks that Chilean poets are stray dogs and stray dogs are Chilean poets and that she herself is a Chilean poet, poking her snout into the trash cans of an unknown city...”

StrayStraysChilean RevolutionStray DogChilean Poet
Book:Chilean Poet
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“As she writes, she feels a warm assurance; she likes her phrasing, and her conclusions, which are not absolute. On the contrary, they retain an ambiguous, hesitant air, a little like someone thinking out loud. She rereads her first notes and at times disagrees with herself, and she loves that, she has always liked changing her mind. She thinks about Chaura Paillacar struggling with headaches and about the unnamed poet's jumpy eyes, and Aurelia Bala writing with both hands and Floridor Pérez with his son Chile, whom she imagines as a teenager every bit as skinny and gangly as the country that gave him the name he wanted to change at any cost. She thinks about Hernaldo Bravo just after he was hit by a car, in a hospital, writing poems out of pure boredom, and about the twins scribbling incessantly on the walls of Bernadita Socorro's small, light-filled apartment... that the world of Chilean poets is a little stupid but it is more genuine, less false than the ordinary lives of people who follow the rules and keep their heads down. Of course there is opportunism and cruelty, but also real passion and heroism and allegiance to dreams. She thinks that Chilean poets are stray dogs and stray dogs are Chilean poets and that she herself is a Chilean poet, poking her snout into the trash cans of an unknown city...”

StrayStraysChilean RevolutionStray DogChilean Poet
Book:Chilean Poet
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“An orange cat scurried out from under the bed and proceeded to snake around my ankles, purring loudly. One eye rested shut, as if it were krazy-glued to a close, and her fur was mottled. Marianne scooped her up. "Sac à puces," (Fleabag), she said. "This stray is a devious one, always sneaking into the apartments. I don't know how she gets in. I'll have to warn Claude to stop feeding her tuna." I scratched under the cat's chin, staring into her good eye---a kaleidoscope of greens and yellows. "She's sweet," I said. "She's filthy," said Marianne, tucking the cat under her arm.”

CatFrench LanguageStray
Book:Sophie Valroux's Paris Stars
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“A loud mew distracted my ocular reconnaissance, and the cat rubbed her little head on my ankles. Marianne had been right; this cat had ninja stealth qualities. I hadn't seen her follow me into the apartment. "Did my grand-mère send you here?" I asked. The cat purred so loud my heart almost burst. It was as if she understood my life, me, and what I was about to do. She may have been damaged, but weren't we all? Didn't every creature large or small need a second chance at life and at love? I sat down on the sisal-covered flooring to pet her. "I want to keep you. What do you think of that? Of course, I'll ask Marianne if Claude will be okay with that. But I think we have a bond. I'm kind of a stray too." Her paw gripped my finger. She'd claimed me, and I realized it wasn't the other way around. "I'm going to name you Étoile. It means 'star' in French," I said, stroking her fuzzy head. "You're moving to the countryside. What do you think of that?" Yes, I was talking to a cat, and she seemed to be listening. Her one good eye closed in a slow blink. I think she was giving me the go-ahead to catnap her.”

CatStarBondStray
Book:Sophie Valroux's Paris Stars
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“PERCAKAPAN DUA RANTING kalau pernah kamu bertemu dulu, apa yang kau inginkan nanti? sepi. kalau nanti kau dapatkan cinta, bagaimana kau tempatkan waktu? sendiri. bila hari tak lagi berani munculkan diri, dan kau tinggal untuk menanti? cari. andai bumi sembunyi saat kau berlari? mimpi. lalu malam menyer- gapmu dalam pandang tiada tepi? hati. baik...aku tak lagi memberimu mungkin? kecuali. baik..baik, aku hanya akan menya- pamu tanpa kecuali? mungkin. dan jika tetap seperti itu, embun takkan jatuh dari kalbumu? sampai. akankah kau patahkan tubuhmu hingga musim tiada berganti? mari. lalu kau tumbuhkan bunga tanpa kelopak tanpa daun berhelai-helai? kemari. juga kau benamkan yang lain dalam jurang di matamu? aku. katakan bahwa kau mene- rimamu seperti aku memberimu?... kau? ya. kau?...aku. Besancon, oktober sebelas 1997.”

CintaWaktuHatiMimpiSepiAkuBumiBungaKauRantingDaunEmbunKalbu
Book:Lalu Batu: Antologi Puisi
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