After serving as a writer-in-residence with ICOA and an ICORN resident in Barcelona, Irakli Kakabadze is living in his native Georgia, chairing the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation Georgia, and pursuing a Ph.D. in Conflict Resolution.

In January 2007 Irakli was forced to flee his native country with his pregnant wife after receiving anonymous death threats following his newspaper editorial calling for the government to apologize for the persecution of the people of western Georgia during the 1992-94 conflict in that region.

Kakabadze, whose writing is often deeply political and sharply satirical, has published five books and more than 50 short stories in Georgian, Russian and English publications. He was Ithaca City of Asylum writer-in-residence for 2008 through 2011, as well as a visiting fellow in the Peace Studies Program at Cornell University.

“There’s still a Soviet-Stalinist thinking in all these places,” says Kakabadze of Russia, Georgia, and other former Soviet Union regions. “They don’t have any way to work out their problems other than going to war with one another. What we’re not hearing but need to hear is the voice of nonviolence.” He calls for the establishment of “peace zones”—or nonviolent zones in all areas in dispute.

Kakabadze has taught at the Georgian American University and International Caucasus University. Three of his new plays have been staged in Georgia in recent years. He has also worked with an advocacy group, the Institute for Multi-track Diplomacy, Georgia.

One of Kakabadze’s poems, written specifically for the 2012 Arcades project in Ithaca, is provided below. It is polyphonic in both languages (Georgian & English).

Decolonizing Self
by Irakli Kakabadze

I talked to my friend today:

Irakli Kakabadze, ICOA’s writer in residence from 2008-2010, reading a poem he wrote specifically for Ithaca’s 2012 Arcades Project as part of Essays and Fictions, an online and print literary journal.

He has peed with Salman Rushdie and got to know him in Toilet.
It has made his day – to pee with the classic of post-post-post colonial literature.
They have exchanged few words while peeing:
Discussed Puchini at Metropolitan Opera, Mayor Bloomberg’s Presidential aspirations,
Wall Street and Morgan Stanley, and having all vegetable diet.

ჩემი მეგობრის ბედნიერების მიზეზი:  საზოგადოებრივ საპირფარეშოში

სალმან რუშდი გაიცნო;

რა საოცრად ახალი ოცნებაა – რომ წინა საუკუნის ყველაზე სკანდალური ავტორი

გაიცნო ორგანიზმის ყველაზე დიდი მოშვების პარალელურად;

და ესაუბრო მას მაიკლ ბლუმბერგის საპრეზიდენტო გეგმებზე,

პუჩინის დადგმაზე მეტროპოლიტენ ოპერაში,

უოლ სტრიტის და მორგან სტენლის ურთიიერთობაზე

და მთლიანად ბოსტნეულის ვეგეტერიანულ საკვებზე.

My friend was so happy that I was happy for him..
I could sum it up like this..
Ever since 1989 – whole generations grew up in Georgia
Dreaming to pee with Salman Rushdie.
And write at least one scandalous work
With commercial success
America the land of the dream
And Europe was a paradise..

საოცარი ოცნებაა მეგობრებო

1989 წლის შემდეგ ყველა ჩვენთაგანი ოცნებობდა

რუშდისთან ერთად მოფსმაზე

და ერთი მაინც სკანდალური მოთხრობის დაწერაზე

რომელიც გამოქვეყნდებოდა და ძალიან ბევრ ფულს გააკეთებდა.

We were colonized by our own dreams..
We have colonized ourselves
And helped to colonize others.
We came out of former Soviet Union and
We have declared:
Liberal Democracy is great!
Without knowing anything about it.
We have screamed:
Capitalism is the only way to go!
Without knowing anything about Capitalism!
We were sick post-Soviet generation
Of McDonald Diet and Coca Cola dreams,
Of Frued’s materialism!

მეგობრებო, აღარ ვაპირებ ბევრის თარგმნას

ისედაც ყველამ იცის ინგლისური

დღეს ხომ ყველა ორ ენაზე ფიქრობს,

ან სამ ენაზე, ან ოთხზე

ან კიდევ მეტზე.

მოკლედ, ჩვენ კრიმინალები ვართ.

ჩვენ დავაკანონეთ მაკდონალდის და კოკა კოლას

ოცნება.

და ‘ოიდიპოსის კომპლექსი’.

We have legalized Washington Consensus,
And we are the war criminals of 21st century!
We have justified the death of 22 thousand kids every day,
Because we said that equality and socialism are impossible.
And our main crime was that we were
Credible.
We have made it possible to bring
The dictatorship of materialist dreams!

ჩვენ გავაპრავეთ ‘ვაშინგტონის კონსესუსი”

ჩვენ გავაპრავეთ სოციალური პერვერსია

რომელსაც ლიბერალიზმი ჰქვია,

და რომელიც ბავშვებს გვიკლავს ყოველ დღე.

არადა გვაფრთხილებდა ირაკლი ადრე,

ჩემზე არ არის საუბარი, ჩარკვიანზეა.

რომ ასეთ ცხოვრებას მოყვება სიზმრები

ბურთვულ სოკოზე.

დიახაც მოყვა.

We are the first generation google,
We are the first generation Microsoft,
We are the first generation of skype,
And we are the first generation of unapologetic criminals of consumerism!

And now, 20 years later since that moment
First time ever, it occurred to us:
Maybe it was not completely right:
To justify murder for nothing.

გოგლი-მოგლის სამზარეულოდან

პირდაპირ გუგლის სასადილო ოთახში გადაგვისროლეს.

ახლა ვერ გაგვირკვევია რა სჯობია:

სკაიპი თუ კაიფი?

მაცივარი თუ პოემა?

მოდილიანი თუ ზურგის საფხანი?

ვაჟა ფშაველას დავატაკეთ

მტვრის სასრუტი მანქანა,

რომელიც 76 ლარი და 24 თეთრი ღირს..

იაფია, რას იზამ.

My young friend wrote his scandalous story
I have published it;
It sold record numbers back in my country,
And I still doubt it made us very happy.

Maybe having all veggie diet is good.
Maybe that helps to decolonize ourselves.
I guess most of us did not see
The fifth column inside ourselves.
The one that took us for a constant shopping
For unfulfilled dreams of lucid ambitions.

ალბათ გვჭირდება მეგობრებო

საკუთარ თავს რომ დეკოლონიზაცია გავუკეთოთ.

სანამ ქვეყანას გაუკეთებ დეკოლონიზაციას,

საზოგადოებას, შენს ეთნიკურ ჯგუფს

გენდერულ ერთობას, ან რელიგიურ კონფესიას,

იქნებ ისიც ვიკითხოთ:

რამდენად ვარ მე ჩემი ინსტქიტების და ნივთების მონა!

იქნებ ეს არის ჩემს სულში შემოპარული მეხუთე კოლონა!

და იქნებ ამ მონობისგან დეკოლონიზაცია მინდა!

Perhaps I need to deal with the fifth column
Inside myself,
When checking out the hospitals around the world..

ეს ადვილი არ არის, ჩემო ძვირფასო კლერკო

შენთან ერთად ჩემშიც არის კარიერისტი ტურა,

მატერიალისტი ღორი, და მომხმარებელი ქორი..

და ასეთი ცხოველი ბევრია ჩემში,

ეს არის ჩემი მეხუთე კოლონა!

ჩემი სხეული დღეს საკუთარი მეხუთე კოლონის კოლონიაა,

დეკოლონიზაცია მეხუთე კოლონაზე გადის.

საკუთარ თავში.

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• Irakli Kakabadze Receives 2009 Oxfam Novib/PEN Award
• Bringing The World To Wells
• Writing For Your Life
• Reading At Cornell University September 2008

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3bSrm_d0vw]