The poetry collection titled *El tiempo es una babosa* has been honored as a finalist in the 5th Francisco Ruiz Udiel Latin American Poetry Prize, awarded by Valparaíso Ediciones in 2023.
Milkewitz holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from Universidad ORT Uruguay is a certified English teacher through Trinity College London. She won first prize in the 2015 Casa de los Escritores del Uruguay Young Writers’ Fiction Contest. She received honorable mentions in the Pablo Neruda National Young Poets’ Contest (2018) and the Feria Ideas+ Literary Contest (2019).
The author answered the following questions about the inspiration and creative process behind this work.
What themes does the poetry collection explore?
"Time Is a Slug" explores the passage of time and encapsulates different stages of life.
A significant portion is devoted to childhood: the backyard garden, the inflatable pool, English classes, rice crackers.
The collection then explores adolescence and the transition to adulthood; how all those things that were part of my early years no longer exist, yet in a way, they do.
What was the creative process like?
Six years ago, I started writing a poem every day.
What began as a small challenge turned into a powerful habit that, in addition to fostering creativity, challenged me to reflect on and rediscover myself.
In early 2022, I decided to reread those poems and discovered that the ones I had written when I was 24 or 25 had a different tone than the ones I wrote much later. This made me reflect on the passage of time and the milestones that mark our lives.
What was the process of creating the cover like?
I am very grateful to the publisher, because in addition to offering me their support and trust, they gave me a lot of freedom.
Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved drawing with traditional materials (pencils, watercolors, etc.). Last year, I started exploring digital drawing, which has always fascinated me.
I asked the publisher if I could illustrate the cover, and they said yes. I wanted a simple cover that would also capture the essence of the book.
I felt that choosing a recurring snail motif was the best choice. The idea of the snail is present not only in the title but also in various parts of the poetry collection. There is a certain repetition in that sense.
Could you share some poems?
These are the two poems that open the book and introduce themes and feelings that reappear and unfold throughout the poetic journey: nostalgia, the childhood home, change, a connection with nature, and, of course, the passage of time.
***
It was the year 2000.
And all the flowers
throughout the garden
of my childhood home
were alive.
Time is a slug
that eats away at
everything green and bright.
***
In the garden at home
there were yellow and green hammocks
,
a huge palm tree,
and flowers that I picked
to make perfumes.
When my grandparents came to visit
, we would set up a white table,
made of plastic,
on the grass.
The huge leaves
of the
palm tree sheltered us from the sun.
While my grandfather told stories
about his childhood in Berlin,
his teenage years in Buenos Aires,
I was lost in thought.
What would happen
if I planted the lemon seeds
instead of putting them
in a disposable napkin?
I imagined that a large lemon tree might grow
and that someday,
when I went out into the garden,
I would see it there:
right behind the hammocks.
And in the future,
Grandpa might have
some lemon tea
made with lemons I grew myself.
had no idea whatsoever,
that in the future
there would no longer be
the plants,
the grandfather,
or the garden.
***
The book is available for purchase in bookstores throughout Spain, as well as on the publisher’s website and on Amazon.