tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post7573413785239382957..comments2024-03-27T16:48:21.039-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: Oh the autumn the autumn has been the death of summer - an Apollinaire poemAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-5017520106012851462015-01-26T08:24:16.370-06:002015-01-26T08:24:16.370-06:00A university library, with all of the translation ...A university library, with all of the translation in a line, is the most luxurious of luxuries.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-86848027193371085852015-01-25T23:10:25.379-06:002015-01-25T23:10:25.379-06:00I'm almost done with the introduction (though ...I'm almost done with the introduction (though of course I've dipped a bit elsewhere.)<br /><br />It is difficult. But I wish somebody would do it! I'd like to be a little less blind in translation-ordering...living in a rural area means a certain amount of guesswork.Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-39988333536445100902015-01-25T22:46:23.958-06:002015-01-25T22:46:23.958-06:00It's a good idea, isn't it? But difficult...It's a good idea, isn't it? But difficult. A lot of work. Merwin and Hughes and a few other has at least had the courtesy to collect their translations in single volumes, which helps.<br /><br />Maybe I should read Young's Petrarch. It is tempting.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-15599148874084009182015-01-25T21:54:12.138-06:002015-01-25T21:54:12.138-06:00Wishing (selfishly) that you would do a big post o...Wishing (selfishly) that you would do a big post on 20th-century translators of poetry... Oh, well, nobody's going to do that...<br /><br />About Merwin: When I was young (whenever that was), Bly and Merwin seemed to be everywhere as translators, and they both left a strong imprint of themselves. <br /><br />Just ordered David Young's Petrarch and a couple of volumes of translations by Ted Hughes (the Ovid and a mishmash anthology collection.) Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-74965753704679158312011-01-25T20:51:14.159-06:002011-01-25T20:51:14.159-06:00Merwin does not exactly hide his presence, does he...Merwin does not exactly hide his presence, does he? Those are big, arguable changes.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-14977462684735530752011-01-25T18:25:51.871-06:002011-01-25T18:25:51.871-06:00I am really not in love with that first translated...I am really <em>not</em> in love with that first translated stanza. It would have been perfectly fine in English, in a poem, to follow the French syntax exactly. The worst it would have been is conventional. But it's definitely bugging me to put the two "mist"s on the same line like that.<br /><br />And while I'm fine with breaking the rhyme scheme, something rankles me about breaking it and then faking it. The -ings aren't in the right places.<br /><br />Talk about fussing around. I believe I have now ruined all possible enjoyment for myself in this poem. But the ring is the best part.nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17532641082944082516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-90446419324137210402011-01-25T14:58:41.546-06:002011-01-25T14:58:41.546-06:00It's wonderful, isn't it? Michael Hamburg...It's wonderful, isn't it? Michael Hamburger is an outstanding translator, but his lifetime of perseverance with Hölderlin is almost unbelievable.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-71010333171836266722011-01-25T12:56:37.758-06:002011-01-25T12:56:37.758-06:00Actually, that doesn't sound nuts. Chip away e...Actually, that doesn't sound nuts. Chip away everything that doesn't look like an elephant, sort of; or else make fifty statues and choose the one that looks most like an elephant. Right?Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00251983804060081813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-23628695256754043262011-01-24T23:21:38.966-06:002011-01-24T23:21:38.966-06:00I thought Shattuck's book was excellent - wort...I thought Shattuck's book was excellent - worth looking at even if you know French. The poems are in French and English, some wonderfully bonkers prose in English only, and Shattuck's long essay is most helpful.<br /><br />"How to translate"? - choose your poison, that's how. Or translate and re-translate, trying every which way, which sounds nuts, but is basically what Michael Hamburger did with his Hölderlin translations.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-31358340977305033262011-01-24T21:47:53.915-06:002011-01-24T21:47:53.915-06:00I am *extremely* fond of Apollinaire but have neve...I am *extremely* fond of Apollinaire but have never tried him in translation. He does a lot of wordplay, of course, which would make that difficult. In his poem "Annie," the French word "bouton" means both "bud" and "button" and makes the poem what it is. How to translate? But it's lovely.Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00251983804060081813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-24485037011733997032011-01-20T15:19:34.391-06:002011-01-20T15:19:34.391-06:00I think even Vendler herself would support dipping...I think even Vendler herself would support dipping your toe in her books here and there.Hannahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09543197858284977937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-84519181249579293102011-01-20T15:10:41.803-06:002011-01-20T15:10:41.803-06:00I know of Vendler's books. That's pretty ...I know <i>of</i> Vendler's books. That's pretty much the same thing, right? No?<br /><br />I actually read a lot of Vendler's reviews, in <i>The New Republic</i> and elsewhere, of other people's books. Suppose I should try her out. That Dickinson book would be a good candidate for my "read but do not finish" resolution.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-63477536537935628912011-01-20T14:17:16.339-06:002011-01-20T14:17:16.339-06:00I love Merwin's decision to convey the sense o...I love Merwin's decision to convey the sense of rhyme through the -ings. Subtle. <br /><br />By the way--I assume you know Vendler's books on Shakespeare's sonnets and the new one on Emily Dickinson. She's a brilliant close reader and if you aren't familiar with her work, take a look at it.Hannahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09543197858284977937noreply@blogger.com