Reflections on the translation project and the launch of the book Connections / Verbindungen
It has been a joy to participate in the Poetry Translation Project between Cork and Köln supported by Culture Ireland, Cork & Köln City Councils, twinning associations and the libraries of both cities. The coordinators Susanne Fiessler & Lydia Schneider-Benjamin were professional, kind and managed the complex project with a lightness that belied the serious work needed to bring it to a successful closure. It is now mid September 2026 almost one and half years after our first meeting in May 2025 and back in Ireland a few days after our return from the Cork poets’ visit to Köln.
I very much enjoyed getting to know my tandem partner, Leon Skottnik, through zoom and emails working through our translations, discussing and eventually agreeing on words that reflected the intent of the original poem. Meeting face to face during his visit in May 2026 and our return visit to Köln in September confirmed our respect and enjoyment of one another’s work and the sharing of our individual philosophy of life. In Cork we walked by the river, high up over the city and visited Leon’s poem in a city park. We read one another’s work at the launch of the Connections Book in City Hall and at the launch in Köln.
Another unexpected benefit from the visit to Köln was that we got to know our own local poets in a way that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
In Köln we were treated exceptionally well. For me it was returning to a place I visited as a teenager, and it was really lovely to meet up with my German friend from that period. The reading and launch of the book in the Köln city library was a very warm experience with a lovely audience and a gorgeous meal afterwards. Having run a marathon in Köln, in 2017, I was delighted to be able to participate in the Rhine Park 5K park run on this visit. We were offered an excellent tour of the city and enjoyed walks, a visit to the Botanic Gardens and a sky shuttle trip over the river. Leon gave us a tour of the amazing Arp Museum at Rolandseck Train Station. The ELK Literature Festival was in full swing in the Kalker area of Köln and we went there to listen to some of the readings and to dance the night away at the wonderful final techno disco party.
Susanne & Lydia were a joy to work with.
Thanks to all of the poets and to Leon for bringing us to see the amazing Arp Museum
The cathedral in the lovely city of Köln
The Botanic Gardens had recently reopened and we were given a personal tour by Patrik Peyn (who also read some of his poetry), along with the knowledgeable Stan Lafleur and another friend who told me about the living fossil which I then saw before leaving the hot house. It is called Welwitchia Mirabilis and is native to the Namib Desert of Namibia and Angola.
