A cicada: ‘What cicadas leave behind is a kind of crystallised memory’ | Helen Sullivan
Part of their body is hollow, this amplifies the sound. The longer you listen to their sound, the more they seem to sync up
Of all the languages’ words for cicada, Croatian’s might be the best: cvrčak, pronounced: tvr-chak. The sound it makes is “tvr-chi tvr-chi”. I have a Croatian friend who taught me part of a poem – Cicada – when we were in high school. It is by Vladimir Nazor, who was Croatia’s first head of state.
The first stanza includes the satisfyingly low on vowels and onomatopoeic phrase: “cvrči, cvrči cvrčak” (pronounced “tvrchi, tvrchi tvrchak”) – which translates as “chirp, chirp cicada”.
And the cicada chirps, chirps on the knot of the black spruce
Its deafening trochee, its sonorous, heavy iambic …
It is noon. – Like water, it spills out in silence.
A solar dithyramb.
Read more at The Guardian
Topics
-
Shooting outside New York City nightclub leaves 10 wounded
Police say three or four gunmen opened fire on about 15 young people waiting to enter Amazura club in Queens. Ten people were wounded in a shooting outside a New York City nightclub late on ...The Guardian - 26m -
Cybertruck Explosion Outside Trump Hotel in Las Vegas Leaves 1 Dead and Several Injured
At least seven people were injured, the authorities said. They said they believed it to be “an isolated incident,” but had not ruled out a connection to the attack in New Orleans.The New York Times - 54m -
Sarrazin leaves intensive care after horror crash
French skier Cyprien Sarrazin leaves intensive care after successful surgery to drain a bleed on his brain following a fall in training.BBC News - 2h -
Grieving families of victims of S. Korean plane crash visit site for memorial service
Grieving relatives of people killed in a plane crash in South Korea have visited the site to pay respects to their loved ones on New Year’s DayABC News - 1d -
The Erdoğan whisperer behind Turkey’s economic pivot
Vice-president Cevdet Yılmaz has played a crucial backstage role managing the turn to financial orthodoxyFinancial Times - 9h -
'We kind of needed that': 32 days after losing to Michigan, an Ohio State run through CFP now looks inevitable
The Buckeyes' $20 million roster has blown through Tennessee and now OregonCBS Sports - 9h -
Ivory Coast says French troops to leave West African nation
Yahoo News - 1d
More from The Guardian
-
New Orleans: local authorities say they believe ‘multiple people are involved’ in attack – latest updates
House fire in New Orleans home also believed to be ‘connected to this event’, says Louisiana attorney general Liz Murrill. Shamsud-Din Jabbar , the 42-year-old US citizen from Texas identified ...The Guardian - 54m -
One dead after Tesla Cybertruck explodes outside Trump hotel in Las Vegas
Cybertruck was stuffed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, with authorities working to determine the motive of the incident. One person died and seven others were injured after a Tesla ...The Guardian - 14h -
South Korea plane crash: police raid Muan airport and Jeju Air office
Pressure builds on authorities to establish cause of crash which killed 179 people. Police in South Korea have raided Muan international airport, the scene of Sunday’s plane crash , in which 179 ...The Guardian - 4h -
Middle East crisis live: at least 37 killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza including in al-Mawasi ‘safe zone’
Airstrike hit tent encampment sheltering displaced families and also killed director-general of Gaza’s police department. Lebanon ’s National News Agency reports that Israeli forces fired two ...The Guardian - 15m -
South Korea’s impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol vows to ‘fight until end’
Yoon issues letter to supporters as he faces arrest over declaration of martial law and alleged insurrection. South Korea’s impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, has rallied his supporters in a ...The Guardian - 5h
More in World
-
Middle East crisis live: at least 37 killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza including in al-Mawasi ‘safe zone’
Airstrike hit tent encampment sheltering displaced families and also killed director-general of Gaza’s police department. Lebanon ’s National News Agency reports that Israeli forces fired two ...The Guardian - 15m -
How ‘Trophy’ Videos Link Paramilitary Commanders to War Crimes in Sudan
Visual evidence collected and analyzed over months by The New York Times identifies the commanders leading an opaque paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, as fighters under their watch ...The New York Times - 15m -
Puerto Rico swears in new governor days after major blackout hit island
Jenniffer González Colón has been sworn in as Puerto Rico’s new governor as the island prepared for a normally ebullient ceremony overshadowed by widespread anger over a blackout that hit the U.S. ...ABC News - 20m -
Italy summons Iran's ambassador to demand release of Italian journalist
Italy has summoned Iran’s ambassador to demand the immediate release of an Italian journalist detained in TehranABC News - 21m -
Shooting outside New York City nightclub leaves 10 wounded
Police say three or four gunmen opened fire on about 15 young people waiting to enter Amazura club in Queens. Ten people were wounded in a shooting outside a New York City nightclub late on ...The Guardian - 26m