Tameme is a gem of a literary magazine. It impressively launched with a first issue that featured the likes of Margaret Atwood, Alberto Blanco, and Edwidge Danticat.
Okay, another literary journal, so what's so special about Tameme? The entire issue is bi-lingual meaning every poem, short story and essay is provided in both English and Spanish.
I must say I devoured the first issue of Tameme cover to cover. Atwood's recounting of her young expatriate days in Europe is brilliantly funny. And Douglas Glover's short "Story Carved in Stone" is a hauntingly touching tale of suspicion and trust between a husband and wife.
As an example of the powerful poetry to be found in Tameme, I present these lines from "New Fire" by Alberto Blanco, translated by Eliot Weinberger:
Tree of light: in a bundle of leaves
the vastness of the sky is born
And roots sink into the night
of a land with no borders bounded.
Through sight he devours the roundness
of a planet polished by winds
And crossed by rivers that sing
in the margins of the whitecaps of language.
Although this issue of Tameme that I reviewed is from 1998, the magazine does not feel dated (and it's still available for ordering!). Each piece warrants rereading and enjoying anytime.
