Sasha
replying on Haiku Gymraeg by Nicholas Jones
11 May 2004, 8:43 PM
I THINK ALL ENGLISH POETS SHOULD TAKE A HARD LOOK AT THE WORLD OUTSIDE THEIR OWN BOW'LS FOR ONCE AND LOOK, JUST LOOK AT OTHER CULTURES!
the tenth circle in the bow'ls of the inferno
Speeking of which where did Hypatia go
Though the last three stanzas are good, the "Sparkbook" appellations make me think this poem should be entitles "14 ways of looking at Bow'ls"
Samuel Becket dit qu'ecrire en français
le permit d'ecrire sans style.
Eh bien, je ne parle pas tres bien français,
Donc il me faudra une autre langue seconde pour
Mettre sa theorie à la preuve:
Voyez-vous, il n'y a guère style là :
Moins qu'en "Waiting for Godot"
It could be "Ponme otra copa" or something such.
Pam wyt ty'n sgrifennu'n gymraeg? Naill ai yn Gymraeg neu yn Saenseg, mae dy ysgrifen heb dull a heb pwynt. (Does ddim pwynt sgrifennu fel twpsyn)
ond....Pam lai?
Twentieth-century, maybe some nineteenth as well.
It's hard for me to say, because of course there is and always will be a high market value for good translations of old poems. And besides that, pretty much my only experience with untranslated poetry is as a stoned undergrad Spanish major about three years ago. I did a lot of work with Nicolas Guillen, Armonia Somers (not a poet), Luis Garcia Montero, Juana de Ibarbourou, Emilia Bernal, Alfonsina Storni, and some assorted Catalan and Spanish speakers whose names escape me now, but I find I've forgotten almost all of it. When I looked into translating at the time, I found there were no English translations of any of the above (besides Langston Hughes' famous translation of Guillen,) though there is some interest in it in America. But again, I can't say. I would recommend you find something that appeals to a modern aesthetic, something a little ambiguous, showing more than telling, etc etc etc. There's stuff like that going back ages in any language. That's what would interest me, at any rate.
PS-Do you know a poem that begins something like:
"Traeme otra copa
y veremos"?
I've been looking for it all day.
Bow'ls
Bow'ls
Not to trash you further, but people who don't care what others think of their poetry don't post their poems on Poemranker for comment.
So what sort of poems, besides the above song *should* I translate?
If it had anything to do with my paranoia, my "insecurities" or anything of the sort, I wouldn't even be saying what I'm saying. I'm saying your poetry is shot full of clichés and why it is. I'm telling you that zodiac's right. Poets don't write only for themselves unless their name is Emily Dickenson. I'm telling you why your poetry doesen't inspire.
Truth be told, I can't separate it from the melody. "Moi je t'offrirai des perles de pluie venues de pays où il ne pleut pas" really gets me, though, especially in your version.
I'll agree with you there...
Interestingly, I only translate poems that I find worth the effort of translating. So what sort of poems, if not Machado and Lorca, are to your taste?
Um, it's a great song anyway.
I refuse to argue anymore with any of you. This is all pointless. People's opinions and beliefs differ depending on the person. No one is right or wrong. Sasha I don't know why you're so hung up on trying to bring me down...My goal isn't to try to impress others, I've already stated that. But you can't expect me at 16 to have experienced "all there is" and to have grown enough to "meet your standards" of what a "good" poem is. This arguing is all really childish and thats why I'm at least ending my half of it here.
You're welcome.
So this translation, at least, is not of a dull poem?
So if I have an emotional overload and go into a siezure during which my head hits the keyboard repeatedly, is "sfbisfo sibaioniabrjg803nin7qcoai 31uo&* g(ealf" a poem because it occured during an emotional moment, even though it doesen't have words?