Category Archives: Translations

Quivering Craziness

Posted on February 27, 2010 by Francois Lachance

Robert Bly published ten of his translations from Francis Ponge and ten of his own poems inspired by Ponge. Let’s take a look a single phrase. Les papillons miteux […] tous frémissent aux bords d’une frénésie voisine de la stupeur. … Continue reading →

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Numbering in the Reading Process

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Francois Lachance

The process outlined below is is akin to homolinguistic translation. Its activity is a precursor to computing the text. It provides a primitive mark-up and leaves the mystery of rendition (i.e. reading) open. NUMBER PIECE I Count all the words … Continue reading →

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Landscape Translations

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Francois Lachance

Canadian sketch after Lachlan MacKinnon Deep as forever Great river of stars Above cabin in the woods Inspired by MacKinnon’s opening to “A Suffolk Sketchbook” in Small Hours Deep as forever the great field of stars over the cottage garden. … Continue reading →

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Metallurgy

Posted on January 14, 2010 by Francois Lachance

On the page it looks like this: Once a critic described the craft of a poet as flawed by belief, as it it ran like crooked seam through precious ore In my mind it reads like this: Once a critic … Continue reading →

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Gifts, Graces, & the Greek Anthology

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Francois Lachance

W.S. Merwin translates Antiphilos (1st century A.D.). It’s a poem addressed to a lady and transmits three gifts: a tunic, some wool and some perfume. Merwin (in Selected Translations: 1968-1978) concludes this poetic gift giving thus […] I want the … Continue reading →

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ON MAJUSCULES

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Francois Lachance

The poetry of Roberto Juarroz has been translated into English by W.S. Merwin among others. In Merwin’s Selected Translations: 1968-1978 there is a poem by Juarroz wherein is depicted a man and his strange encounter with capital letters. They are … Continue reading →

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Global View of Canine Feces

Posted on January 4, 2010 by Francois Lachance

W.S. Merwin in Selected Translations 1968-1978 has rendered selections from Asia which he gathers under the rubrics Japanese Figures, Chinese Figures and Korean Figures. The pieces are two-liners (they don’t quite function like couplets) without any direct links between them. … Continue reading →

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Invitations To A Certain View

Posted on January 3, 2010 by Francois Lachance

One writer encounters another in a series of concentrations. Gertrude Stein Tender Buttons is available online via Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15396/15396-h/15396-h.htm From the section on Objects. A BOX. Out of kindness comes redness and out of rudeness comes rapid same question, … Continue reading →

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Necklaces Neckless

Posted on December 26, 2009 by Francois Lachance

Ceiling, we look up. Roof, we look down. Covering, either way. [in English] Wait, wait a moment for us to dry a moment there’s in our trace a reckless lament     and a ceramic bird … and watch for the necklaces … Continue reading →

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Aggregates and Equivalencies

Posted on December 18, 2009 by Francois Lachance

W.S. Merwin on the progressive nature of translation from his forward to Selected Translations 1968-1978. But if we take a single word of any language and try to find an exact equivalent in another, even if the second language is … Continue reading →

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