A new book of poetry by an American writer of Albanian origin, Gjekë Marinaj, has received Romania’s Mihai Eminescu International Poetry Prize. Conferred by Romania’s Mihai Eminescu International Academy, the literary award honors Marinaj’s collection Teach Me How to Whisper: Horses and Other Poems, published by Syracuse University Press.
The award was presented on June 14 in Craiova, Romania, in a ceremony held at the Gloriae Art Gallery.
Teach Me How to Whisper is the debut English-language collection by Marinaj, who has published books in more than two dozen languages and won awards in almost as many countries. The book was co-translated by the author with poet, scholar and translator Frederick Turner.
Ion Deaconescu, the president of the jury for the Mihai Eminescu International Academy, praised Marinaj’s work as “original reflective poetry, inviting the reader to contemplate our existence and the world where we live, and also a surprising lyrical creation, a deep exercise of emotional responsibility, with a poetic thrill that establishes the coherence of existence, being and language.”
Announcing the prize, Constelatii Diamantine, a prestigious Romanian literary journal, noted that Teach Me How to Whisper, “encourages readers to explore the complex relationships between our imperfect world and the inner turmoil of an ego challenged by clarity, defeats, and victories …. Gjekë Marinaj’s poetry is a miracle.” ◊
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