Indiscrete series
(of beggars and gangsters)
​​
vita:
stutter started as the political climate sutured
became paradoxically more homophobic because
the French gvt voted a law on gay marriage fresh
homophobia (theirs) increased it altered my language phonically
dispersal my self gulped speech fluid lips rased
lisps read slips real lids spare read slips pills
​
I want
to stick
my tongue
out to body
forth letters
my beggars
my gangsters
my bribe (/bri:b/)
& birbia (/bribia/)
*
tidal
disruption
event
eating
a morsel
of political
antimatter
​
sl-slipped on the reading tripped on
hatred up against l-g-and-other-letters dread
w-when the gvt passed the law la haine
tr-translated beggar became gangster ardent salt
​
depuis
(since then)
ardent
salt
I my voice
breaks
does not
go on
antimatter
me
and yet
I want it
to
​
a slat black hole at the heart of the galaxy spat
tidal disruption event light curves faltering ideal
a star passes so close to a black hole it’s pulled aside
the black hole’s tidal force bah choke tell blah cloth eke bloke etch Hal:
Jean Genet says: “flowers and convicts are closely linked
the roughness of the fabric they wear is reminiscent of flowers with hairy petals”
antimatter
me
you quicken
want to
move on
and with
ardent
salt last
move you
break in
ruptures
moment
stumbles
on
tidal
event
​
It’s all starting again 2024 the alt dark stain I stall
It’s about beggars being gangsters again I stall
It’s a confusion they all alt-right want to install
It’s fission fear against those wanting matter
je ma voix
yo mi voz
myself voice
shy away
body forth
beggars
stick out
your tongue
discussion
how did a beggar become a gangster?
The English word bribe (/braib/) comes from the French bribe (/bri:b/)
The French bribe = fraction, fragments, snippets of sound, short quotations
comes from the Spanish bribia (/bribia/)
= the lazy life of beggars and gangsters
and the Italian birba (/birba/) = malice, deceit
meant = a morsel of bread, leftovers given to beggars
then small crumbs a small portion
then small pieces insignificant pieces of something
then fragmentary rudimentary knowledge
Vincent Broqua is a poet, translator and essayist. His work concentrates on ways to learn again the forgotten art of gayety. He is currently working on what he calls "shifty translation." He teaches creative writing and anglophone literature at the university of Paris 8 Vincennes Saint-Denis. Among his latest publications in English: Recovery (Trans. Cole Swensen -- Pamenar Press, 2023). https://bombmagazine.org/articles/2023/08/21/vincent-broqua-interviewed/
He translated or co-translated (among others): David Antin, Caroline Bergvall, Kevin Killian, Tracie Morris, Anne Waldman. He is the co-founder and co-curator of the reading series double change (doublechange.org). He lives in France but often works from elsewhere.