time to appear yo the hour is super nigh
time to appear yo the hour is super nigh
liberate your daughters sons nonbinaries
sexuals asexuals sex-positives and -negatives
time to appear yo the hour is super nigh
frankenstein’s monster has returned
but this time isn’t seeking a companion
doesn’t feel alone doesn’t rampage or hide from others
they’ve got way more interesting things to do plus the world needs saving
so time to appear yo the hour is super nigh
this here monster made themself but they’re not so
stupid to believe they’re a totally self-made
monster they know what structural inequality is
class-based society institutional critique even intersectional
feminism frankenstein’s monster is an autodidactic baby
now aware they’ve been lied to their whole life about the nature
of happiness gender power love capitalism socialism
anarchy what beauty is what ugliness is who the real monsters are
you thought they were simply hiding this whole time
but no they were reading marie under heiti talvik foucault graffiti the moon
davis haraway wittig le guin butler both octavia and judith
and they no longer have a single creator to bow before
to beseech to bestow someone just like them
what’s more they now know that existence is performative
an act based on repetition so
time to appear yo the hour is super nigh
frankenstein’s monster is back and now
polyamorous aromantic eco-sexual
more interested in periwinkles than in the third pension pillar
nuclear family or content creation they proclaim
you can be a freak too
you can be a monster too
you don’t have to hide anymore either
our aesthetic sense is still just too tiny so hey
let’s broaden that spectrum a little baby
don’t believe in standard lust packaged into products
like tinder let’s not cram ourselves into something so little
we’re way more like frankenstein’s monster
may the whole world fill with us
MONSTERS CYBORGS
CENTAURS TRANSGENDERS
ANYGENDERS GENDERBENDERS
MYTHOLOGICAL GODDESSES
YEAH WE’RE NOT AFRAID OF SUFFIXES ANYMORE EITHER
IT’S DIVINELY OK TO BE A WOMAN
EVEN MORE SO so
time to appear yo the hour is super nigh
frankenstein’s monster is back and shouting from far away YO
WHERE MY FRANKIES AT
From the collection Frankenstein (2023), translated by Adam Cullen
The following poems were first published in the Autumn 2025 print issue.
The Universe is My Tinder
The universe is my Tinder. Which basically means that when I get the feeling like I want somebody (i.e. to fall in love with), I send out a mental wish into the universe à la: ‘Clouds, trees, water, fire, air, hills, plants, etc., the cosmos, in short, uh, hey, can you hear me? Please send me the handsomest, coolest, sexiest, funniest, bravest, smartest, book-loving person, preferably a man, but, well, I’m open to the idea of being open, that I could fall in love and love someone regardless of gender, too. But just in case, please go ahead and send me a man, okay?’ Unfortunately, I’ve got to admit that the universe is a very slow Tinder. Because it’s basically been forever since I sent out a similar wish and I don’t seem to have met that handsomest, coolest, smartest guy. I suppose I’ve gradually come to terms with the possibility that as the given ‘platform’ does possess a certain degree of temporality that in no way fits today’s left-right-fuck-and-chuck tempo and temperament, the universe might send me that person in the next life, or even the one that follows. You know, it’s totally possible (or at least can’t totally be ruled out) that two lives from now, I’ll reincarnate as a koala instead! And therefore, it’s not that the right person for me doesn’t exist. The thing is that I’m still a person. The thing is that I’m not a koala yet.
—
is weakness the new strength
is weakness the new strength the new
form of resistance is fragility maybe
our common fate everyone’s shared
form of existence for the first time in ages I wanted
to write something extremely fragile something
that doesn’t walk on two legs
that doesn’t look or sound like a text
that needs a guide dog a guide spider a
guide koala a guide lobelia a guide river
guide dirt I wanted to suddenly weaken into
weakness so my poetry wouldn’t be strong any more
wouldn’t be let’s fuck things up any more
it’s so masculine rigid erect
stiff arrogant thinks it can penetrate
anything as if it were nothing I wanted something
softer an eternally impotent text
that’ll never rise again a text for which nothing
will ever rise again I wanted
a poem that was slow that
crawled like a snail like clouds on a day with the slowest
breeze a text that doesn’t metaphorically
overload on capitalist drugs
to stay up all night a poem that could never
again be hitched to the latest-model wagon of
productivity-faith society a poem
that through weakness resists the everlasting cult
of speed and strength a poem
that doesn’t have a muscular sexy six-pack
but jiggling wiggling cellulite and
acne scars a poem that refuses
to cooperate to work dully and trivially
a poem that isn’t assembly-line work or uninsured
freelancing a poem that isn’t
a privileged white man
a poem that senses its boundaries how
delicate they are I so very wanted
to write a text so-so weak
like an infant who can’t hold its head up yet
I wanted a weak little text
whose head to hold then I realized
poems that are not soft don’t
exist there is no such thing as a strong poem
no matter what might be said in it
what words are used even with extremely
sharp edges it’s fragile all
poetry is extremely weak even
if it says words like pussy
shit ass or cock maybe especially then
Translated by Adam Cullen
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sveta Grigorjeva (b. 1988) is a poet, choreographer, and cultural provocateur based in Tallinn. Known for her fierce voice and boundary-pushing performances, she navigates poetry, politics, and movement with equal urgency. Her debut collection Who’s Afraid of Sveta Grigorjeva? (Kes kardab Sveta Grigorjevat?, 2013) was hailed as the best poetry debut of the decade by young Estonian critics, and her most recent book, Frankenstein (2023), blends sharp social commentary with startling tenderness. A doctoral student in choreography, Grigorjeva’s artistic practice spans dance, theory, and lived resistance.
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