tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1413418028303666065.post5535888628239105677..comments2023-04-26T09:27:30.046-04:00Comments on Absinthe Minded: The Art of Failure: Poetry in TranslationDwayne D. Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838017756012967091noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1413418028303666065.post-28336980474298583902009-09-26T00:04:44.928-04:002009-09-26T00:04:44.928-04:00Excellent read.
I would only add that sometimes ...Excellent read. <br /><br />I would only add that sometimes the difference in literary traditions itself creates an almost unbridgeable divide, as is often the case in Persian poetry. <br /><br />When, for example, the great Persian poet Hafiz says "Ze taab-e aatesh-e duri shodam gharq-e araq chun gol," it is lyrical poetry at its finest. When, however, one translates it literally as "The fire of separation drowned me in sweat like the rose" it sounds bizarre, if not downright tasteless.<br /><br />The reason for this not that some intractable quality of language is being "lost" in the translation. It's not that one simply needs to be creative enough to find an inspired/inspiring way to say what the original says. It's that in English, mixed metaphors are seen as a mistake of taste, whereas in Persian they can be intellectual and lyrical devices of the highest order.<br /><br />If the translator attempts to preserve the mixed metaphors and allows the translation to have "a man like a walking cypress-tree" or "a rose like a wine-cup burning with Moses' fire," it will sound unnatural in English. If, on the other hand, he/she elides them in an attempt to make the poetry conform to Anglophone notions of good taste, he/she is betraying one of the finest qualities of the Persian lyric. <br /><br />What to do? <br /><br />I wish I knew.<br /><br />Incidentally, you can find my own translations here:<br /><br />http://poemsintranslation.blogspot.com/AFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16046618263562987119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1413418028303666065.post-11628441523385768052009-09-16T02:11:46.406-04:002009-09-16T02:11:46.406-04:00Posts like this are always welcomed by readers lik...Posts like this are always welcomed by readers like me.<br /><br />KyleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1413418028303666065.post-47102023059257598602009-09-13T04:12:53.895-04:002009-09-13T04:12:53.895-04:00It is a beautiful piece of reference to anyone who...It is a beautiful piece of reference to anyone who wants to become a good translator. The essential things to be kept in mind while doing a translation work are brilliantly presented. There is no doubt that translation of poetry differs much from translation of prose. Mastery over both the Source and Target languages is not the thing that determines the quality of a translated poem. A spark of creative genius is an inevitable requirement for translating poetry. <br />The various steps you have mentioned about translation process deserve special attention. What the article lacks is continuity.englishguideonlinehttp://www.englishguideonline.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1413418028303666065.post-87814682527389207462009-09-12T19:23:13.383-04:002009-09-12T19:23:13.383-04:00This is a lucid and informative article on a subje...This is a lucid and informative article on a subject which doesn't get a lot of air time. I particularly like the concrete examples: the brunelo example and the one about the Becker poem. As a sometimes translator these gray zones are the difficulty and joy of translation--the unexpectedly perfect solutions we find (hopefully) to the myriads of complex linguistic decisions that arise with every line. It's nice to see someone articulate that aspect so cogently.Raul Clementhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09596462074851002061noreply@blogger.com