Tongue


An Editors’ Note

An Editors’ Note

Welcome to the inaugural issue of Tongue.

We begin with the opening of a poem by Darren Morris, a moment of quiet, choral interrogation that graces our pages: “What am I the voice says.”

What am I? It’s a fair question—one that any new literary project should be asked, and one that we’ve often asked ourselves. This is how we answer: Tongue is a space for new kinds of collaboration and hybridity; in the spirit of the Pirogue Collective and the Gorée Institute, Tongue is a place where we, through honest dialogue and generous confrontation, rebuild our love of poetry.

Here then are poems, translations, and photographs by twenty writers and artists from divergent creative and cultural traditions. We see resonances between them—but really it’s about what you see…

As editors, we wrestle a bit with our chosen home: the online journal. But we are nonetheless inspired to take up the promise of expansive conversation that the digital offers. We can, yes, embrace this environment without compromising the aesthetic experience of the book as object, as artifact, as a thing of beauty. That’s our endeavor. Read more.


About Tongue

Tongue is a biannual of original poetry, essays, and images that aspires to challenge comfortable gestures and distinctions. It embraces translations, polyphonic exchanges across all conceivable borders. Learn more.

New & Featured Media

Geoffrey Nutter & Rachel Eliza Griffiths reading at the 2nd Annual New York Poetry Festival
Organized by the Poetry Society of New York, the 2nd Annual New York Poetry Festival took place at the heart of Governor's Island. Issue One contributors Geoffrey Nutter and Rachel Eliza Griffiths were among the featured poets. Read more.

A celebration of Issue One at Pacific Standard
On 29 November 2011, Tongue hosted a launch party to celebrate the release and publication of its first issue. Held in Brooklyn, at Pacific Standard, the evening featured contributors' renditions of their own work and a good number of "embodied translations..." Read more.

Brian Oliu reads “Maniac Mansion”
As part of our ongoing devotion to new species of translations and collaboration, this reading by Brian Oliu of his poem/essay "Maniac Mansion" layers his voice atop a playthrough of Maniac Mansion, a groundbreaking point-and-click adventure game released in 1987. Read more.

Kiwao Nomura, Forrest Gander & Kyoko Yoshida at Poets House
Embodying the dynamism that is the hallmark of Kiwao Nomura's work, this selection of video and photos were taken at "Nerve Ant," a reading and conversation held at Poets House on 15 September 2011. More than just a performance and Q&A, "Nerve Ant" was a celebration of Spectacle and Pigsty, Nomura's first book of poems to be published in English. Joining him were acclaimed translators Forrest Gander, Kyoko Yoshida, and his wife, dancer Mariko Nomura. Read more.