heavyfeatherreview.org
“A Brief but at Times Illuminating Encounter”: Matthew Kinlin Interviews Literary Translator Frank Garrett
Frank Garrett is an independent scholar, writer, and literary translator based in Dallas, Texas. We spoke over Zoom about his projects in translation, philosophy, and specifically his ongoing work …
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The book you hold in your hands participates in this shift of the light, even if it does not exclusively spell out the mechanics of that change or remain solely & expensively interested in it. These poets assume a fuller breadth. Assembled here, these poets represent our Globe, one undergoing a series of ongoing revolutions not just in identity, but in Ways of Being—of Being with Each Other; that is, in our relations and, always, in power. Those of us Trans Beings, or our allies, understand the exponential rate of Time's arrow, and welcome the world steadily arriving by way of that Time, and we are in love with it. You get the feeling reading these poems that each poet adores their glorious change, whether that change is seen on the surface or sits more privately, nestled deep in the Soul's core. These poems assert we have always been who we are. Those of us Trans Beings recognize the world that is today, as if another bolt of lightning has in fact arrived, straight from God, forcing us all to be whole, to be intact and complete. So that we can be our own soulmates.
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End of the introduction "On (Trans) Ways of Being" by Rickey Laurentiis in Splendor: Trans Poets (p 19)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:u2v3xos3vdyjm6ypwksdwi24/bafkreihxxomdyqlbkq5fk75657yvetvly5tsi6qqhdy2tn2tbpuvn6hqsq)
![Poem on p 75 of Splendor: Trans Poets shown.
An almost-see-through sticker on the window
It looks like stained glass
breaks the light the same way
Take a big sip of water
Tilt your head from side to side
It really feels like the ocean
in your mouth
The same cool weight
as holding movement between your hands
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From The Ocean in Your Mouth by Luka Holmegaard, translated from Danish by Sophia Hersi Smith & Jennifer Russel](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:u2v3xos3vdyjm6ypwksdwi24/bafkreic3bfqui6yd32ga25ffjrteudzmhccnyd546won3vjga3ixerz6xy)
![Swag collection shown. The main prize is a canvas tote bag: it’s emblazoned with a black, white, & orange stylized San Francisco, with about 16 cats, most with speech bubbles saying “meow” in diverse languages 😻
On & around the bag are:
a Two Lines Press (fluorescent green) bookmark & (orange) sticker,
a (yellow) TBW Books matchbook that says “Do your part… BUY MORE BOOKS!!!! say yes to truth and NO to COWARD SCUM,”
a pink sticker reading (in white & black) READ TRANS POETS,
an orange coozy stating “[in white] I’m looking at the sea, [in black] it’s all I do.”
& a sliver of a postcard from The Center for the Art of Translation featuring Lauren Tamaki’s illustration. Scenes of someone reading in City Lights (over the word “Booksellers”), 2 people walking toward the Chinatown gate, & a dressed up person singing under flowers (with “Yerba Buena) are visible.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:u2v3xos3vdyjm6ypwksdwi24/bafkreicquuxmj6ruw4nvuqtbaq6e3nqmhoypv35apfij6xlvywryp7exbi)
