UNDERNEATH FORGOTTEN TREES: An Ecology of Language is a bilingual (English/Spanish) poetic reflection on absence, longing, and the fluidity of existence. Inspired by the transient nature of clouds at sunset and the quiet weight of forgotten spaces, this project explores water as both a life-giving force and a metaphor for impermanence. It examines language as a space of both presence and void, seeking relief in the tension between what is and what is not. Through poetry, it invites a meditation on memory, displacement, and the quiet beauty of things left unsaid.
ICON
I want to be another kind of alleviation
An icon of nothing
With no ignition
Like so many things in life
I don't meet my own criteria
Trying avoidance as a life strategy
Seeking state of the art relief
In theory yes
In practice, we are, we are not
Clouds on the sky at sunset
Floating towards terraces
Underneath forgotten trees
ICONO
Quiero ser otro tipo de alivio
Un icono de la nada
Sin ignición
Como tantas cosas en la vida
No cumplo con mis propios criterios
Intentando la evasión como estrategia de vida
Buscando un desahogo de última generación
En teoría sí
En práctica, somos, no somos
Nubes en el cielo al atardecer
Flotando hacia terrazas
Bajo árboles olvidados
The project is part of the subtheme The Ecology of Language - Poetry and Environmental Action.
Author
Isabela Basombrío Hoban
Isabela Basombrío Hoban is an award-winning poet. She is also a multidisciplinary artist working in music, sound and visual art. Originally from Peru and living in Ireland, she is a bilingual poet writing in both English and Spanish. Her recent books are “Nothing belongs to everyone” (Nada pertenece a todos 2022) and “Rain Love Death Poets” (Lluvia Amor Muerte Poetas 2023) both published by Ediciones Vitruvio. Her publishers are Ediciones Vitruvio in Madrid, Spain and Salmon Poetry in Ennistymon, Ireland. Isabela is the recipient of the 2023 Premio Nuevo Ateneo Online (New Athenaeum Online Award). The New Athenaeum Online Award recognizes the work of authors who have written an important work of great literary value and who strive to contribute to new forms of cultural diffusion to reach the reading public. The jury is composed of authors of recognized prestige. Her work explores internal states and the search for meaning with multiple readings. Her poetry has been described as "being between the philosophical and the existential, with a very original loving intensity.” Isabela was a fellow with the “Next Generation Leadership Project” of the Rockefeller Foundation and New York University and the recipient of the Smithsonian award for museum leadership. She has received awards for her poetry from the Mayo County Council Arts Section and Culture Ireland. She has carried out artistic work with various arts, educational and cultural organizations internationally.
