De Indische schrijver Vikram Seth werd geboren op 20 juni 1952 in Kolkata. Zie ook alle tags voor Vikram Seth op dit blog.
Uit: A Suitable Boy
“Lata reflected that of the four brothers and sisters, the only one who hadn’t complained of the match had been the sweet-tempered, fair-complexioned, beautiful Savita herself.
‘He is a little thin, Ma,’ said Lata a bit thoughtlessly. This was putting it mildly. Pran Kapoor, soon to be her brother-in-law, was lank, dark, gangly, and asthmatic.
‘Thin? What is thin? Everyone is trying to become thin these days. Even I have had to fast the whole day and it is not good for my diabetes. And if Savita is not complaining, everyone should be happy with him. Arun and Varun are always complaining: why didn’t they choose a boy for their sister then? Pran is a good, decent, cultured khatri boy.’
There was no denying that Pran, at thirty, was a good boy, a decent boy, and belonged to the right caste. And, indeed, Lata did like Pran. Oddly enough, she knew him better than her sister did–or, at least, had seen him for longer than her sister had. Lata was studying English at Brahmpur University, and Pran Kapoor was a popular lecturer there. Lata had attended his class on the Elizabethans, while Savita, the bride, had met him for only an hour, and that too in her mother’s company.
‘And Savita will fatten him up,’ added Mrs Rupa Mehra. ‘Why are you trying to annoy me when I am so happy? And Pran and Savita will be happy, you will see. They will be happy,’ she continued emphatically. ‘Thank you, thank you,’ she now beamed at those who were coming up to greet her. ‘It is so wonderful–the boy of my dreams, and such a good family. The Minister Sahib has been very kind to us. And Savita is so happy. Please eat something, please eat: they have made such delicious gulabjamuns, but owing to my diabetes I cannot eat them even after the ceremonies. I am not even allowed gajak, which is so difficult to resist in winter. But please eat, please eat. I must go in to check what is happening: the time that the pandits have given is coming up, and there is no sign of either bride or groom!’ She looked at Lata, frowning. Her younger daughter was going to prove more difficult than her elder, she decided.
‘Don’t forget what I told you,’ she said in an admonitory voice.
‘Hmm,’ said Lata. ‘Ma, your handkerchief’s sticking out of your blouse.’
‘Oh!’ said Mrs Rupa Mehra, worriedly tucking it in. ‘And tell Arun to please take his duties seriously. He is just standing there in a corner talking to that Meenakshi and his silly friend from Calcutta. He should see that everyone is drinking and eating properly and having a gala time.’
Vikram Seth (Kolkata, 20 juni 1952)
De Ierse dichter en schrijver Paul Muldoon werd geboren in Portadown, County Armagh, in Noord-Ierland op 20 juni 1951, Zie ook alle tags voor Paul Muldoon op dit blog.
Hedgehog
The snail moves like a
Hovercraft, held up by a
Rubber cushion of itself,
Sharing its secret
With the hedgehog. The hedgehog
Shares its secret with no one.
We say, Hedgehog, come out
Of yourself and we will love you.
We mean no harm. We want
Only to listen to what
You have to say. We want
Your answers to our questions.
The hedgehog gives nothing
Away, keeping itself to itself.
We wonder what a hedgehog
Has to hide, why it so distrusts.
We forget the god
under this crown of thorns.
We forget that never again
will a god trust in the world.
A Dent
In memory of Michael Allen
The height of one stall at odds with the next in your grandfather’s byre
where cattle allowed themselves to speak only at Yule
gave but little sense of why you taught us to admire
the capacity of a three-legged stool
to take pretty much everything in its stride,
even the card-carrying Crow who let out a war-whoop
now your red pencil was poised above my calf-hide
manuscript like a graip above a groop.
The depth of a dent in the flank of your grandfather’s cow
from his having leaned his brow
against it morning and night
for twenty years of milking by hand
gave but little sense of how distant is the land
on which you had us set our sights.
Paul Muldoon (Portadown, 20 juni 1951)
De Duitse schrijver, dichter en kunstenaar Kurt Schwitters werd geboren op 20 juni 1887 in Hannover. Zie ook alle tags voor Kurt Schwitters op dit blog.
Uit: Ursonate (Fragment)
Fümms bö wö tää zää Uu,
pögiff,
kwii Ee.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooo,
dll rrrrr beeeee bö
dll rrrrr beeeee bö fümms bö,
rrrrr beeeee bö fümms bö wö,
beeeee bö fümms bö wö tää,
bö fümms bö wö tää zää,
fümms bö wö tää zää Uu:
primera parte:
tema 1:
Fümms bö wö tää zää Uu,
pögiff,
Kwii Ee.
tema 2:
Dedesnn nn rrrrr,
Ii Ee,
mpiff tillff too,
tillll,
Jüü Kaa?
Kurt Schwitters (20 juni 1887 – 8 januari 1948)
9 Portretten, Londen, 1944
De Franse schrijver Jean-Claude Izzo werd geboren op 20 juni 1945 in Marseille. Zie ook alle tags voor Jean-Claude Izzo op dit blog.
Uit: Chourmo
“Au milieu de la rue Sainte-Françoise, devant le Treize-Coins, un certain José était en train de laver sa voiture, une R 21 aux couleurs de l’O.M. Bleu en bas, blanc en haut. Avec fanion assorti, accroché au rétroviseur, et écharpe des supporters sur la plage arrière. Musique à fond. Les Gipsy Kings, Bamboleo, Djobi Djoba, Amor, Amor… Le Best of.
Sicard, le cantonnier, lui avait ouvert la prise d’eau du caniveau. José avait pour lui, à volonté, toute la flotte de la ville. De temps en temps, il venait jusqu’à la table de Sicard, et s’asseyait pour boire le pastis sans quitter des yeux sa bagnole. Comme si c’était une pièce de collection. Mais peut-être rêvait-il à la pin-up qu’il allait embarquer dedans pour une virée à Cassis. En tout cas, vu le sourire content qu’il affichait, il ne pensait certainement pas à son percepteur. Et il prenait son temps, José.
Ici, au quartier, cela se passait toujours ainsi, quand on voulait laver sa voiture. Les années passaient, et il y avait toujours un Sicard qui offrait l’eau si vous payiez le pastis. Fallait vraiment être un cake de Saint-Giniez pour aller au Lavomatic.
Là, si une autre bagnole arrivait, il lui faudrait attendre que José ait fini. Y compris de passer, lentement, une peut de chamois sur la carrosserie. En espérant qu’un pigeon ne vienne pas chier dessus, juste à cet instant.
Si le conducteur était du Panier, il se prendrait tranquillement l’apéro avec José et Sicard, en parlant du championnat de foot, ironisant, bien sûr, sur les mauvais scores du PSG. Et ils ne pouvaient être que mauvais, même si les Parisiens caracolaient en tête du classement. Si c’était un “touriste”, et après quelques coups de klaxon intempestifs, ils pourraient en venir aux mains. Mais c’était rare. Quand on n’est pas du Panier, on ne vient y faire d’engaste. On s’écrase et on prend son mal en patience. Mais aucune voiture ne se présenta et, Loubet et moi, on put manger tranquilles. Personnellement, je n’avais rien contre les Gipsy Kings.”
Jean-Claude Izzo (20 juni 1945 – 26 januari 2000)
De Duitse dichteres, schrijfster en kunsthistorica Silke Andrea Schuemmer werd geboren op 20 juni 1973 in Aken. Zie ook alle tags voor Silke Andrea Schuemmer op dit blog.
Wind
II
Beim Fingerzeig des Schornsteins
der Antenne und des Walmdachgrats
spukt ein Rauschen um das Haus
Die Verstorbenen der Wetterhahn
die breite Mundart auch
teilen sich die erste Wolkenschicht
Drin schweben selbst die Sagen
die Gerüchte und Versprechungen
die manchmal von den Dächern falln
wie Schindeln oder Mörtelrest
Vor allem aber der Geruch
von Frischgebackenem und Tang
rutscht übers Dach
Es hängt was in der Luft
das als blasser Schatten vor den Leuten geht
Ganze Koffer voll
Einmachgläser und Münder selbst Lungen
tragen die Touristen nach Haus
Silke Andrea Schuemmer (Aken, 20 juni 1973)
Aken, het raadhuis aan de Katschhof
Zie voor nog meer schrijvers van de 20e juni ook mijn blog van 20 juni 2011.