Tarek Eltayeb

- Austria -

Tarek Eltayeb was born in 1959 in Cairo as son of Sudanese parents; lives in Vienna since 1984;

participation in International Writing Program / University of Iowa 2008 (for 3 months); lectorship in Creative Writing (BTL) for young Arabic writers / Universität of Iowa City 2009 and 2010; participation in numerous international literaturefestivals (e.g. in Macedonia, France, Italy, GB, NL, USA, Venezuela, Nicaragua, China, VAE, Syria, Egypt, Colombia); readings in Austria and foreign countries.

Tarek Eltayeb wrote several volumes of poetry, novels and shortstories in Arabic;

2018: Wa Atoof cAariyan (naked I‘m circling), novel, published in Cairo; four poetry collections and two novels are available in German translations.

Tarek Eltayeb is a writer whose work is defined by a fine sense of humour as well as his special approach to impressing imagery created by his eye upon the world. Neither his writing nor his biography would fit in any stereotype. He took the stony road and he succeeded in every single segment of his life.

Tarek Eltayeb was born in 1959 as son of Sudanese parents in Cairo. Since 1984 he has been living in Vienna.

After quite a hard start in Austria he studied at Vienna University for Economics. Currently he works as assistant professor at the IMC college in Krems, at Karl-Franzens-University in Graz and at the University of Vienna.

In his early days, when he was a very young kid, he visited a Koran school where he got in touch with the beauty of high Arabic language and fell in love with it.

After finishing school, he studied business management in Cairo and worked as an auditor.

In the following time he spent half a year in northern Iraq.

The lifeline of this period may sound exotically but a lot remains unsaid within the list of facts.

There was the experience of the Six-Day-War. There were times when life took place in the sands of the desert without electric light, without running water. He participated in degree courses that did not really touched the young man‘s heart but at least offered him some narrow chances within the Egypt education system.

This system prevented Tarek Eltayeb from studying languages and getting a masters degree in business management as Sudanese people had to pay study fees in Egypt since 1981 and his family could not afford that.

Tarek Eltayeb decided to turn his back on Egypt, left his home and headed for Europe.

Whenever he talks about the days of 1984 in Vienna, he never shows any anger or sentimentality.

One does not have to be enormously imaginative in order to understand how very troublesome those days must have been. Though Austria did not expect students to pay fees in the 1980s, it was not too easy for someone from abroad to come and stay, having only a tourist visa in the suitcase.

Before Tarek Eltayeb got his first foot on the career ladder as a language instructor, interpreter and translator he had to pass through another „career“ - washing dishes in restaurants and selling newspapers in the street. By being sufficiently tough and diligent he succeeded in reaching his goals – and even more than that: He started writing. It is very touching when he states: „I started writing because I felt lonesome.“ A moving sentence, but again without sentimentality.

Then a charming volte-face happened. Tarek Eltayeb met a young woman, seriously interested in Arabic studies. Meanwhile this linguistically talented lady is not only translating Tarek Eltayeb‘s prose and poetry, she is also his wife.

In 1997 Tarek Eltayeb graduated from the Institute for Economic Philosophy.

The difficult balancing act of combining the worlds of university and literature is not a big deal for the writing professor: „It does not matter what you are educated in – for writing everything might be helpful. Secondly, as an economist I learned to use resources sparingly, also in literature.“

Working in an economic way in terms of poetry creates wonderful and pinpointed images in the verses of Tarek Eltayeb. His complex subjects include memories, various regions of the world and intense observations.

Dealing with his poetry may lead to surprising results: The reader gets the impression of joining the poet in one of his favourite writing-places – the traditional Viennese café. And when reading the poem coffee and water one might see camels trotting through a narrow street – in front of the café. And as another text of Tarek Eltayeb tells: camels never stop at red traffic light.

In 2007 Tarek Eltayeb was awarded the International Poetry Prize by the International Orient-Occident Academy while he was invited to the International Festival Curtea des Arges / Romania.

Tarek Eltayeb‘s motto is: „As an economist I learned to use ressources sparingly, also in literature.“

This is Tarek Eltayeb‘s poetry in his quiet hastiness: his language is defined by simplicity and clarity as if he pours his words through a filter and then surprises us with pure essence.

More about the poet

Poetry

Coffee and Water / Kaffee und Wasser

Scores of times a day he repeats:
"I have to return. No mercy is found here.
There you find goodness and warmth and… "
Then he falls silent.

I ask him:
"There? Where is that?"
He points somewhere.
His face has no expression,
and he speaks no more.

I take him by the hand.
We sit down in a café
at a table in a quiet corner.
I order coffee for him
and water for myself.

I speak Arabic with him
and mix the water into the coffee.
He's irritated: "Are you crazy?"

He tries to get the water
back out of the coffee.

He tries.

He tries to get the water
back into the water.
Vienna, Café Griensteidl, 27-6-1997
Hundertmal am Tag wiederholt er:
„Ich muss zurückkehren. Hier ist keine Gnade.
Dort gibt es Güte und Wärme und …“
Dann schweigt er.

Ich frage ihn:
„Dort? Wo ist das?“
Er zeigt irgendwohin.
Sein Gesicht ist ohne Ausdruck,
und er sagt nichts mehr.

Ich nehme ihn an der Hand.
Wir setzen uns in ein Café
an einen Tisch in einer ruhigen Ecke.
Ich bestelle Kaffee für ihn
und Wasser für mich.

Ich spreche mit ihm arabisch
und mische das Wasser in den Kaffee.
Er ist irritiert: „Bist du verrückt?“

Er versucht, das Wasser wieder
aus dem Kaffee herauszubekommen.

Er versucht es.

Er versucht, das Wasser wieder
ins Wasser zurückzubringen.
The Steer / Der Stier

The steer doesn't fall to the ground,
because the time for sacrifices
            has come,
neither does it fall to the ground
under the sharp knife in the temple,
nor under the spears in the arena,
nor under the threatening gleam
            of the blades,
nor under the mercilessness,
nor under the noisy festivities,
nor under the death rattle
            of the freshly slaughtered,
nor under the lunar eclipse
            of last night,
nor under the bloodthirsty dogs,
nor under…
nor under…

The steer falls to the ground,
because it forgot
that after the gods have been revered,
in the end
they'll be slaughtered
and then
consumed.
Der Stier geht nicht zu Boden,
weil der Zeitpunkt für Opfergaben
            gekommen ist,
er geht nicht zu Boden
vor des Messers Schärfe im Tempel
und nicht vor den Speeren in der Arena,
nicht vor dem bedrohlichen Glanz
            der Klingen,
und nicht vor der Erbarmungslosigkeit,
nicht vor dem Fest oder dem Lärm,
und nicht vor dem  Röcheln der
            gerade Geschlachteten,
nicht vor der Mondfinsternis
            der letzten Nacht,
und nicht vor den blutrünstigen Hunden,
nicht vor ….
und nicht vor …..

Der Stier geht zu Boden,
weil er vergessen hat,
dass die Götter nach der Zeit ihrer Anbetung
am Ende
geschlachtet
und dann
gefressen werden.
The first Kisses / Die ersten Küsse

I stood still and
observed from afar
the two children in the garden:
a girl and a boy.
She kissed him, and each time
after she kissed him,
he wiped off
his mouth.
She held his hands tight
after the last kiss.
He laughed.
This time he kissed her,
and their hands were
entwined.
My heart applauded.
I almost let out
a joyous cry,
which would have destroyed
that sublime moment.
Ich blieb stehen und
beobachtete aus der Ferne
die beiden Kleinen im Garten:
Ein Mädchen und einen Jungen.
Sie küsste ihn, und jedes Mal,
wenn sie ihn küsste,
wischte er sich danach
            den Mund ab.
Sie hielt seine Hände fest
nach dem letzten Kuss.
Er lachte.
Diesmal küsste er sie,
und ihre Hände waren
            ineinander verschlungen.
Mein Herz applaudierte.
Beinahe wäre mir
            ein Freudenschrei entwichen
und hätte diesen erhabenen
            Augenblick zerstört.
Black / Schwarz

I crossed the river,
and when I had reached the other bank,
I was black.
I called to my companion on the bank:
"The water is wonderful. Come on!"
But my color frightened him,
and he said nothing.
I urged him
to cross the river.
He mumbled something,
but the wind only brought me
fragments of his words.
I called to him
to come closer.
But my companion was afraid
of my color,
and he no longer listened to me,
forgetting our past.

Each year I go to the riverbank,
calling him amongst all people,
almost ready
to go back to him.
Yet I'm afraid
of losing my true color
and my senses.
Ich überquerte den Fluss,
und als ich das andere Ufer erreicht hatte,
war ich schwarz.
Ich rief meinem Begleiter am Ufer zu:
"Das Wasser ist wunderbar. Komm!"
Doch meine Farbe machte ihm Angst,
und er schwieg.
Ich forderte ihn auf,
den Fluss zu überqueren.
Er murmelte etwas,
und der Wind überbrachte mir
nur Bruchstücke seiner Worte.
Ich rief ihm zu,
näher zu kommen.
Doch mein Begleiter fürchtete sich
vor meiner Farbe,
und er hörte mir nicht mehr zu,
vergaß unsere Vergangenheit.

Jedes Jahr gehe ich zum Ufer,
rufe ihn unter all den Menschen,
bin knapp davor,
zu ihm zurückzukehren.
Doch ich fürchte,
dabei meine echte Farbe
und meine Sinne zu verlieren.
The Toothless Sea / Das zahnlose Meer

At night it's still pulled
by the sun,
and at daytime by the moon.

When it cries,
it dries out,
desiccating the fish
like scabies,
turning the whales
into combs in the sand.

The older it becomes,
the more often it does without
the sun and the moon,
befriending the wind,
yearning for the adventures
of the pirates and cunning discoverers.

It laughs uproariously,
giving birth to new land,
breathes in
and swallows an island.
Yet at the end of the path,
it dives into the blue
without knowing
the difference
between heaven and earth.
It's getting shallower,
drying out
and dying,
the toothless sea.
Es saugt noch immer nachts
an der Sonne
und tagsüber am Mond.

Wenn es weint,
trocknet es aus,
dörrt die Fische aus
wie Krätze,
macht die Walfische
zu Kämmen im Sand.

Je älter es wird,
umso mehr verzichtet es
auf Sonne und Mond,
freundet sich mit dem Wind an,
verzehrt sich nach den Abenteuern
der Piraten und der listigen Entdecker.

Es lacht schallend,
wirft ein Festland,
atmet ein
und verschluckt eine Insel.
Aber am Ende des Weges
taucht es ins Blau,
ohne den Unterschied
zu kennen
zwischen Meer und Himmel.
Es wird dünner,
trocknet aus
und stirbt
als zahnloses Meer.
Voiceless Chains / Stimmlose Ketten

The stranger kept stringing together
chains of letters
to give to her,
she who could read and understand them.
Without any occasion
he gave her a chain again and again,
and she read silently,
without ever tiring out.

Years later she had
a safe full of valuable letters,
which the stranger had strung together for her.

He knew the value of each letter,
which he had chosen with care.
She enjoyed his presents
and liked reading what his hands and
his heart had woven for her neck.

She never would have imagined
that he couldn't read.
He always wished
to hear her voice
at the moment
when his letters entered her throat.

And he never would have imagined
that she,
who was capable of loving with such dignity,
had no voice.
Der Fremde fädelte immer wieder
Buchstaben zu einer Kette auf,
um sie ihr zu schenken,
ihr, die sie lesen konnte und verstand.
Ohne bestimmten Anlass
gab er ihr immer wieder eine Kette,
und sie las, stumm,
ohne jemals davon müde zu werden.

Im Laufe der Jahre hatte sie
einen Tresor voll mit wertvollen Buchstaben,
die der Fremde für sie aufgefädelt hatte.

Ihm war der Wert eines jeden Buchstaben bewusst,
den er mit Sorgfalt ausgewählt hatte.
Sie freute sich über seine Geschenke
und las gerne, was seine Hände und
sein Herz für ihren Hals ersonnen hatten.

Es wäre ihr nie in den Sinn gekommen,
dass er das Lesen nicht beherrschte.
Er wünschte sich immer,
einmal ihre Stimme zu hören
in einem jener Augenblicke,
wenn seine Buchstaben in ihre Kehle eintauchten.

Und es wäre ihm nie in den Sinn gekommen,
dass sie,
die mit dieser Würde zu lieben vermochte,
keine Stimme hatte.
Popcorn and Balloons / Popcorn und Ballons

Before I knew better,
I would have thought
that the Spanish had passed
by the Fortress of Al Mahdia
only a single time.

Shortly after I knew better,
I saw before me
how they had passed by
with leaden feet,
searching for
a holy steer without a sign.

Long since I have come to know
the story quite well,
will I be able to understand
that crude heads and gruesome hearts
want their modern history
polished up
with bags of popcorn,
colored balloons
and lots of fireworks.
Kurz bevor ich es besser wusste,
hatte ich gedacht,
die Spanier wären
an der Festung von Al-Mahdia
einmal nur vorbeigekommen.

Kurz nachdem ich es besser wusste,
sah ich sie vor mir,
wie sie vorbeigekommen waren
mit bleiernen Füßen,
auf der Suche nach einem
heiligen Stier ohne Zeichen.

Lange nachdem ich die Geschichte
ganz gewusst haben werde,
werde ich begreifen,
dass rohe Köpfe und grausame Herzen
ihre moderne Geschichte
auf Hochglanz bringen
mit Tüten voll Popcorn,
bunten Ballons
und vielen Feuerwerken.
Stranded / Gestrandet

After the young man
had stranded,
the sea had
disgorged him here,
his exhausted body remained
lying between dogs and policemen's boots.
His soul was still on the way,
it would arrive later via the clouds.

He discovered it,
as it came down to him
in the late afternoon.
With one hand
on his forehead
against the blinding sun,
he tried
pushing it away
with his other hand,
to stop it from landing
in this land.

To no avail.

His soul lay bared beside him,
and the dogs
barked at it,
and a policeman's boot
was already standing on it.
Nachdem der junge Mann
gestrandet war,
das Meer ihn
hier ausgespien hatte,
blieb sein erschöpfter Körper
zwischen Hunden und Polizistenschuhen liegen.
Seine Seele war noch auf dem Weg,
würde auf irgendeiner Wolke nachkommen.

Er entdeckte sie,
als sie spät nachmittags
zu ihm herunterkam.
Mit einer Hand
an der Stirn
gegen die blendende Sonne
versuchte er,
sie mit der anderen Hand
von hier zu vertreiben,
sie davon abzuhalten,
in diesem Land zu landen.

Vergeblich.

Die Seele lag neben ihm,
und die Hunde
bellten sie an,
der Schuh eines Polizisten
stand schon auf ihr.
The Transparent Conversation / Das gläserne Gespräch

In restaurants and cafés
things are only short-lived.

A glass falls,
breaks,
the waitress apologizes.
The glass dies,
another is already waiting.

A glass falls,
a conversation breaks off,
the waitress apologizes.
The conversation dies,
another is already waiting.
In den Restaurants und Cafés
sind Dinge nur kurzlebig.

Ein Glas fällt,
bricht,
die Kellnerin entschuldigt sich.
Das Glas stirbt,
ein anderes wartet schon.

Ein Glas fällt,
ein Gespräch bricht ab,
die Kellnerin entschuldigt sich.
Das Gespräch stirbt,
ein anderes wartet schon.
Train of Thought / Der Lauf der Gedanken

She had trouble
expressing her thoughts.
I took them up
and followed them to their conclusion.
She thanked me
and gave me a thought to contemplate.
It went from left to right.

I'm still trying to grasp it,
to translate it,
so that it goes from right to left.
Vienna, Café Westend, 21-6-05
Sie hatte Mühe
ihre Gedanken zu tragen.
Ich nahm sie ihr ab,
begleitete sie bis zu ihrem Ziel.
Sie bedankte sich
und schenkte mir einen ihrer Gedanken.
Der lief von links nach rechts.

Ich mühe mich noch immer damit ab,
ihn zu übersetzen,
damit er von rechts nach links läuft.

Download Poetas festival Madrid 2021 booklet
by Tarek Eltayeb

Tarek Eltayeb

- Austria -

Poetry

Coffee and Water / Kaffee und Wasser

The Steer / Der Stier

The first Kisses / Die ersten Küsse

Black / Schwarz

The Toothless Sea / Das zahnlose Meer

Voiceless Chains / Stimmlose Ketten

Popcorn and Balloons / Popcorn und Ballons

Stranded / Gestrandet

The Transparent Conversation / Das gläserne Gespräch

Train of Thought / Der Lauf der Gedanken