Klemen Pisk

Klemen Pisk (born July 31, 1973 in Kranj, Slovenia) is a contemporary Slovene poet, writer, translator and musician. He now lives and creates in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

In 1998 he published his first book, a collection of poems entitled, “"Labas Vakaras",” which was nominated for book of the year in Slovenia. The most popular poem from this book being "The Hermit and the Wolf":

"A hermit drew a line in the sand and said:"
"You may not cross this line." "
Then he drew a circle saying:" "
"You must stay in this circle." ""
You can cross it, but not over the line"."" "
Then the tempest came and the line disappeared." "
A wolf was standing in the circle." "
Cold and rain had exhausted him, but he did not move." "
He did not know whether the line still exists," "
when it is no longer drawn in the sand.

His second poetry book “"Visoko in nagubano praočelo"” ("High and Wrinkled Primordial Substance") was published in 2000, and “"Mojster v spovednici"” (“"Master in the Confessional Box"”) in 2002.

Klemen Pisk's most recent book “"Pihalec"” (“"The Blower"”) is a selection of humoristic short stories and was published at the most respectful Slovene publishing house, "Nova revija". The title story “"The Blower"” talks about relations between musicians and a conflict between the orchestra and solo performer, Janko. Thrown out from the orchestra, Janko is discovered at a jam session by an important businessman who offers him a well-paid job. Thus, an unsuccessful trumpet player becomes a successful glassblower.

Klemen Pisk, who speaks several foreign languages, also translates Polish and Lithuanian texts. From Polish he has translated the dramas by Pope John Paul II and his “"Roman Triptych",” as well as the novel “"The Strong Angel Inn"” of Jerzy Pilch and works by authors like Sławomir Mrożek, Stanisław Barańczak, Janusz Rudnicki, Dariusz Bitner, Stefan Chwin, Andrzej Stasiuk. He translated and edited an anthology of Lithuanian short stories and a novel by Sigitas Parulskis titled “"Trys sekundės dangaus"” (“"Three Seconds of Heaven"”). He also edited an extensive selection of Czesław Miłosz‘s poetry "Zvonovi pozimi" (“"The Bells in Winter"”).

Pisk has also written many literary criticisms for Delo, the largest daily newspaper in Slovenia, and for Radio Slovenia. These works were included in an anthology of literary criticism in 2004, titled, “"Stihi pod nadzorom"” (“"The Verses under Control"”).

Music plays an important role in Klemen Pisk’s life. He is actually a self-educated musician and has never attended music school. Therefore he doesn’t read any notes and plays only by ear. He plays not only for private parties, but also with excellent jazz musicians, who respect Pisk’s talent for rhythm, composition and harmony. As a singer, guitarist and the author of most songs he sings, Pisk has recorded two albums with his acoustic jazz group “Žabjak bend” and performed all over Slovenia and also abroad -- in Frankfurt, Warsaw, Cracow, Bielsko-Biała, Gdańsk, Łódź, Prague, Brno, Katowice, Vilnius, Helsinki, Dubrovnik, Sarajevo, Klagenfurt etc.

Pisk’s poetry and prose has been translated into many foreign languages and published in Austrian, Bosnian, Czech, Polish and Finnish literary magazines. In 2005 his book “"Tych kilka słów"” (“"These Few Words"”) was translated into Polish by Marcin Mielczarek.

Books

*1998: "Labas vakaras", Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga. ISBN 86-11-15235-2 ("Labas Vakaras")
*2000: "Visoko in nagubano prapočelo", Novo mesto: Goga. ISBN 961-90796-3-9 ("High and Wrinkled Primordial Substance")
*2002: "Mojster v spovednici", Grosuplje: Mondena. ISBN 961-6319-56-6 ("The Master in the Confessional")
*2004: "Stihi pod nadzorom", Ljubljana: V. B. Z. ISBN 961-6468-19-7 ("The Verses under Control")
*2005: "Tych kilka słów", Warszawa: Cudzysłów. ISBN 8392148207 ("These Few Words")
*2007: "Pihalec", Ljubljana, Nova revija, ISBN 978-961-6580-33-5 ("The Blower")

Discography

*2001: "Doktor piska počasni sving", Novo mesto: Goga. ("The Doctor Pipes the Slow Swing")
*2004: "Aristokrat", Novo mesto: Goga. ("Aristocrat")

External links

* [http://www.klemen.pisk.net Klemen Pisk's official homepage]

Persondata
NAME=Pisk, Klemen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Slovenian poet and musician
DATE OF BIRTH=July 31, 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH=Kranj, Slovenia
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=