One / Uno
The eyes of Salammbô have fallen.
Amid all the absurdity
the conquistador kisses my hand
E of empire
cleaves open my heart.
Shrieks of war
war
war, war.
Han caído los ojos de Salambó.
En medio del absurdo
el conquistador besa mi mano
I de imperio
hiere mi corazón.
Grito de guerra
guerra
guerra, guerra.
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Born into a tusán (Chinese Peruvian) family in Chepén, Peru, Julia Wong Kcomt (1965–2024) was the author of 18 volumes of poetry, seven books of fiction, and three collections of hybrid prose. She organized poetry festivals in Buenos Aires, Chepén, and Lima and was a guest at the Bogotá Book Fair, Guadalajara Book Fair, Hay Festival Arequipa, and Poesiefestival Berlin, among others. In English, her work has been published in The Margins, McSweeney’s, Poetry, and other outlets. Her chapbook Vice-royal-ties was published by Ugly Duckling Presse in 2021, and her poetry collection A Blind Salmon is forthcoming from Deep Vellum/Phoneme Media in 2024.
Jennifer Shyue is a translator from Spanish. Her work has appeared most recently in the New York Times, Lit Hub, and Oversound and has received support from the Fulbright Program, the Cornell Institute for Comparative Modernities, the National Endowment for the Arts, Princeton University, and the University of Iowa. Her translations include Augusto Higa Oshiro’s novel The Enlightenment of Katzuo Nakamatsu and Julia Wong Kcomt’s chapbook Vice-royal-ties. Her translation of Julia Wong Kcomt’s poetry collection A Blind Salmon will be published by Deep Vellum/Phoneme Media in July 2024. She can be found at shyue.co.
Amid all the absurdity
the conquistador kisses my hand
E of empire
cleaves open my heart.
Shrieks of war
war
war, war.
Han caído los ojos de Salambó.
En medio del absurdo
el conquistador besa mi mano
I de imperio
hiere mi corazón.
Grito de guerra
guerra
guerra, guerra.
︎Add “One / Uno” to cart
Born into a tusán (Chinese Peruvian) family in Chepén, Peru, Julia Wong Kcomt (1965–2024) was the author of 18 volumes of poetry, seven books of fiction, and three collections of hybrid prose. She organized poetry festivals in Buenos Aires, Chepén, and Lima and was a guest at the Bogotá Book Fair, Guadalajara Book Fair, Hay Festival Arequipa, and Poesiefestival Berlin, among others. In English, her work has been published in The Margins, McSweeney’s, Poetry, and other outlets. Her chapbook Vice-royal-ties was published by Ugly Duckling Presse in 2021, and her poetry collection A Blind Salmon is forthcoming from Deep Vellum/Phoneme Media in 2024.
Jennifer Shyue is a translator from Spanish. Her work has appeared most recently in the New York Times, Lit Hub, and Oversound and has received support from the Fulbright Program, the Cornell Institute for Comparative Modernities, the National Endowment for the Arts, Princeton University, and the University of Iowa. Her translations include Augusto Higa Oshiro’s novel The Enlightenment of Katzuo Nakamatsu and Julia Wong Kcomt’s chapbook Vice-royal-ties. Her translation of Julia Wong Kcomt’s poetry collection A Blind Salmon will be published by Deep Vellum/Phoneme Media in July 2024. She can be found at shyue.co.
