Loopholes
poems by Tamara Štajner
translated from the German
by Rebecca Weingart
21 pages, paper, staple-bound
Toad Press, 2026. $6.00
poems by Tamara Štajner
English translations Rebecca Weingart
Cover image based on the 19th century print “Blue and pink paste paper with circle and wavy line pattern,” Anonymous, Object 40.21.112 at The MET. In the public domain; courtesy of Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1940.
You can purchase a copy of Loopholes at Asterism.
A selection of poems by award-winning musician, author, and performance artist Tamara Štajner. LOOPHOLES draws from Tamara Štajner's poetry collection Schlupflöcher (Wunderhorn, 2022), which explores themes of memory, place, and motherhood. These resonant and sonic poems connect English readers to an important new voice in German literature. Štajner's portrayal of pregnancy in the "loopholes" series of poems--included in its entirety here--may feel especially timely for American audiences living in a post-Roe v. Wade society.
The literary critic Beate Tröger praised the courage and genius of Štajner’s poetry: “What does it mean to (not) be a mother? This question, which in the cycle attempts to poetically capture perceptions of the body, is translated here in a nuanced and emotional way into a language that transforms a subjective experience into a universal one, connecting the longing for connection and the desire for autonomy, tough and tender at the same time.”
Tamara Štajner, born in Novo mesto (Slovenia), is a musician and author, based in Vienna, Austria. She received her Masters in Viola at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. She is a sought-after soloist and plays in multiple established ensembles. Tamara’s performance art has been presented at the Viennese Museums Quartier, the Secession, the Kunstraum Niederösterreich, OstLicht, and Vienna Art Week. She has led workshops at institutions including Williams College, the Private University for Music and Art in Vienna, and the University for Music and Performing Arts Graz. She received multiple fellowships from the Federal Ministry of Art and Culture, including the annual literature scholarship (2026). In 2020, she was admitted to the "Junge Akademie" of the Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz. Her first book of poetry, Schlupflöcher, was published in 2022 by Wunderhorn, followed by her narrative debut, Raupenfell, in 2023. In 2024, she won the Meran Poetry Prize and read at the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize, where she was awarded the Kelag Prize for her text Luft nach unten. In spring 2026, her Slovenian debut novel Goseničji kožuh was published by Beletrina. Her novel Luft nach unten is forthcoming from Paul Zsolnay Verlag in autumn 2026.
Rebecca Weingart is a translator from the Midwest. Her translations have appeared in Pakn Treger, Hopkins Review, Harvard Review, and Grotto Journal and have received support from the Yiddish Book Center, the American Literary Translators Association, and the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and is currently a PhD student in Comparative Literature at Washington University in St. Louis.
A selection of poems by award-winning musician, author, and performance artist Tamara Štajner. LOOPHOLES draws from Tamara Štajner's poetry collection Schlupflöcher (Wunderhorn, 2022), which explores themes of memory, place, and motherhood. These resonant and sonic poems connect English readers to an important new voice in German literature. Štajner's portrayal of pregnancy in the "loopholes" series of poems--included in its entirety here--may feel especially timely for American audiences living in a post-Roe v. Wade society.
The literary critic Beate Tröger praised the courage and genius of Štajner’s poetry: “What does it mean to (not) be a mother? This question, which in the cycle attempts to poetically capture perceptions of the body, is translated here in a nuanced and emotional way into a language that transforms a subjective experience into a universal one, connecting the longing for connection and the desire for autonomy, tough and tender at the same time.”
Tamara Štajner, born in Novo mesto (Slovenia), is a musician and author, based in Vienna, Austria. She received her Masters in Viola at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. She is a sought-after soloist and plays in multiple established ensembles. Tamara’s performance art has been presented at the Viennese Museums Quartier, the Secession, the Kunstraum Niederösterreich, OstLicht, and Vienna Art Week. She has led workshops at institutions including Williams College, the Private University for Music and Art in Vienna, and the University for Music and Performing Arts Graz. She received multiple fellowships from the Federal Ministry of Art and Culture, including the annual literature scholarship (2026). In 2020, she was admitted to the "Junge Akademie" of the Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz. Her first book of poetry, Schlupflöcher, was published in 2022 by Wunderhorn, followed by her narrative debut, Raupenfell, in 2023. In 2024, she won the Meran Poetry Prize and read at the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize, where she was awarded the Kelag Prize for her text Luft nach unten. In spring 2026, her Slovenian debut novel Goseničji kožuh was published by Beletrina. Her novel Luft nach unten is forthcoming from Paul Zsolnay Verlag in autumn 2026.
Rebecca Weingart is a translator from the Midwest. Her translations have appeared in Pakn Treger, Hopkins Review, Harvard Review, and Grotto Journal and have received support from the Yiddish Book Center, the American Literary Translators Association, and the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and is currently a PhD student in Comparative Literature at Washington University in St. Louis.
A selection of poems by award-winning musician, author, and performance artist Tamara Štajner. LOOPHOLES draws from Tamara Štajner's poetry collection Schlupflöcher (Wunderhorn, 2022), which explores themes of memory, place, and motherhood. These resonant and sonic poems connect English readers to an important new voice in German literature. Štajner's portrayal of pregnancy in the "loopholes" series of poems--included in its entirety here--may feel especially timely for American audiences living in a post-Roe v. Wade society.
The literary critic Beate Tröger praised the courage and genius of Štajner’s poetry: “What does it mean to (not) be a mother? This question, which in the cycle attempts to poetically capture perceptions of the body, is translated here in a nuanced and emotional way into a language that transforms a subjective experience into a universal one, connecting the longing for connection and the desire for autonomy, tough and tender at the same time.”
A selection of poems by award-winning musician, author, and performance artist Tamara Štajner. LOOPHOLES draws from Tamara Štajner's poetry collection Schlupflöcher (Wunderhorn, 2022), which explores themes of memory, place, and motherhood. These resonant and sonic poems connect English readers to an important new voice in German literature. Štajner's portrayal of pregnancy in the "loopholes" series of poems--included in its entirety here--may feel especially timely for American audiences living in a post-Roe v. Wade society.
The literary critic Beate Tröger praised the courage and genius of Štajner’s poetry: “What does it mean to (not) be a mother? This question, which in the cycle attempts to poetically capture perceptions of the body, is translated here in a nuanced and emotional way into a language that transforms a subjective experience into a universal one, connecting the longing for connection and the desire for autonomy, tough and tender at the same time.”
Rebecca Weingart is a translator from the Midwest. Her translations have appeared in Pakn Treger, Hopkins Review, Harvard Review, and Grotto Journal and have received support from the Yiddish Book Center, the American Literary Translators Association, and the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and is currently a PhD student in Comparative Literature at Washington University in St. Louis.
