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March 23, 2009
Ko Un
I was browsing an anthology of middle eastern and asian poetry and fell in love with one of Ko Un's zen poems. I didn't memorize it - which just goes to show how relying on Google is a bit like storing phone numbers in cell phones: the result is a memory not exercised. Arriving home, I looked it up and what I found didn't quite match. I didn't remember the precise words but the image conjured by this version was all wrong.
I have spent the whole day talking about other people again
and the trees are watching me
as I go home.
So, today I went back to the bookshop and this time I've got it.
I spent the whole day being someone else's story again
As I journey homeward
The trees are watching me
Much better.
I wonder if this is a case of poetry which improves on the original with a certain type of translation like Cavafy's.
Posted by claudia
Actually, as your undoubtedly aware, poetry 'translation' is extremely hard and requires a lot of interpretations and creativity from the translator.
That said, it's also a lot of fun!
Posted by Erwin at March 24, 2009 08:42 AM
I think you're wrong on Kavafis improving with translation. The anglo-greeks claim it's a shame we loose the sound and the musical rythm of his Greek when the translation is done. Just imagine Pessoa in English or French: the genius is there alright, but where's the poems' music??
Posted by Master at March 25, 2009 06:39 PM
@Erwin: Oh, I'm pretty sure it's extremely hard. I guess my point was that I'm not sure which version of Ko Un's poem is more "accurate".
@Master: I was actually quoting something I read (my greek isn't good enough to pass a judgment like that) but couldn't be bothered to elaborate :P
Here: "It has often been said that Cavafy is an easy poet to translate. Joseph Brodsky found that Cavafy actually gained in translation (Brodsky who was translating his own poems into english, had a stake in believing this.)....blah blah blah... Auden, who knew no greek, found in Cavafy "a tone of voice, a personal speech" that defied every poet's assumption that what essentially distinguished prose and poetry is "that prose can be translated into another tongue but poetry cannot." (in last week's New Yorker)
Posted by Claudia at March 26, 2009 01:52 PM
E como é que se traduz Camilo Pessanha? Haverá alguma tradução para inglês ou para chinês? Na net não consegui encontrar. Gostava de dar a conhecer "Branco e Vermelho" a uma amiga chinesa e ando às voltas com a tradução (para inglês) mas... :(
Posted by almariada at September 2, 2009 06:00 PM
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