Kirmen Uribe

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Kirmen Uribe

Born October 5, 1970 (1970-10-05) (age 37)
Ondarroa, Basque Country, Spain
Occupation Poet
Columnist
Nationality Basque

Kirmen Uribe (pronounced [ˈkiɾmen ˈuɾibe])(born October 11, 1970) is an acclaimed Basque poet.[1]

Contents

[edit] Life

Kirmen Uribe was born in Ondarroa, a small fishing town about one hour from Bilbao. Uribe's father (who died in 1999) was atrawlerman and his mother was a homemaker. Uribe moved to Bilboa in 1988 to attend the University of the Basque Country. The next year, he transferred to the Vitoria-Gasteiz branch of University of the Basque Country. He was a Basque-philology major.

In 1995 Uribe spent a year in jail for resistance to the mili, universal compulsory military service. He had joined the anti-militarist and pacifist movement called insumismo. In the late 1990s, Uribe also spent time in Trento, Italy doing postgraduate work in comparative literature. In 1999, a Basque-language daily, Egunkaria, employed him to write a short column (the daily was shut down by the Spanish government in the fall of 2002). Uribe was concurrently working with several musicians on an oral history project. A few of his poems first appeared (set to music) in the 2001 CD-chapbook, Bar Puerto, that documented the project. He was also scriptwriting for ETB-1, the Basque-language public television station (and would be until 2003).[2]

In the fall of 2001, Bitartean heldu eskutik, his book of poetry was published. It won Spain's 2001 Premio de la Crítica. It was in its second printing within a month. By 2004, the book was published in Spanish. Although English translations of his work first appeared in 2002, it wasn't until 2006 that Uribe began to work with American poet Elizabeth Macklin on an English translation of his book. Uribe has also published essays, stories, comics, and a children's book. He has translated the poetry of Raymond Carver, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Mahmud Darwish, and Wislawa Szymborska, among others. His theatre piece Ekidazu has been produced by groups Oskorri and Kukubiltxo.[3]

Currently, he writes a weekly column for the Basque-language dailys Berria and Gara. He is also working on a novel.[4]

[edit] Works

[edit] Poetry

  • Bar Puerto (collaboration; 2001)
  • Zaharregia, txikiegia again (collaboration; 2001)
  • Bitartean heldu eskutik (2001)
  • Mientras tanto dame la mano (Spanish edition, 2004)
  • Meanwhile Take My Hand (English edition, 2007)

[edit] Children's books

  • Garmendia eta zaldun beltza. 2003, Elkar.
  • Ekidazu, lehoiek ez dakite biolina jotzen. 2003, Elkar.
  • Ez naiz ilehoria, eta zer?. Elkar.
  • Garmendia errege. Elkar.
  • Garmendia eta Fannyren sekretua. Elkar.

[edit] Essays

  • Lizardi eta erotismoa. 1996, Alberdania.

[edit] Anthologies/compilations

  • Portukoplak (2006, Elkar)

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Graywolf Press
  2. ^ Uribe, Kirem; Elizabeth Macklin (January 2007). Meanwhile Take My Hand. Graywolf Press. ISBN 978-1-55597-458-9. 
  3. ^ Kirmen Uribe - English Pen
  4. ^ PORTUKOPLAK Kirmen Uribe - Mikel Urdangarin - Victoria Eugenia Antzokia

[edit] External links

Languages