The opening text of my recent book of poems, Aljibe II, begins with a verse that came to me spontaneously, out of nowhere. Reads: "My father was a healer and hunter, is it any wonder that I've become a poet and translator?". The algebraic ratio would equal the proposed sentence healer poet and translator hunter. This may seem a little easier, linear, and perhaps more useful to imagine that the terms occupy the four corners of an X, cross beam, a figure in motion and chiasm that creates links between the four terms. And more, I can see the poet as a healer and hunter, and the translator as a hunter and healer. But details of that discussion will have to wait a better time ... Today I want to briefly mention the issue of translation. Let me do it through a kind of list, such as a list poem, perhaps.
Why translate?
Because I am happy.
For than television, except when they put the Mets, but most of the time play so badly that his eyes away and continued translating, looking up only to see the scoreboard.
Because to be honest, I know what they're tucked the poets in Ghana.
Because I'm foolish enough to believe in the philosopher and poet of XVI century, Giordano Bruno, who said that every science has its origin in the translation, and was burned at the stake for this and a few other peccadilloes in 1600 in Campo Fiore, Rome. Bruno is, of course, the patron saint of translators.
by accident because I was born cursed or blessed with a lot of languages different and a perverse pleasure to face these languages \u200b\u200band their music.
Because I can.
Because I love doing it.
Because I have to, because if I and everybody else does not translate, the world will be a lot more crap than it already is.
Because when I can not write poems, still I can do to translate the poems of other poets.
Because once upon a time in a faraway country of this galaxy I was foolish enough to believe that possibly could be insolvent (translate that word!) young poet who was paying the rent with a translator gigs, something that did not work because I realized that I hated those books translated -novels, nonfiction treaties, manuals how-do-do, etc. .- that would have generated enough money to pay the rent.
Because trífida speak with a language and always wanted to be a healer-Mescalero Apache.
Because the cold mass of ugliness Anglo-gringa (1 ), greed and Christian Fascism continue basic busting people and libraries and museums a hundred homes and Bagdads, unless we can make many U.S. citizens realize the beauty of another, the poetry of others, the speech of all others.
Because I've never been able to convince my department (at the University, ie not in the store where most things in fact manufactured in China, Mexico, Korea and elsewhere) to impose learning (at least) two languages, one of which should be a non-Indo-European language, in the graduate program as a conditio sine qua non (translated that) for anyone to be admitted to a doctorate in literature.
Because, besides writing and cooking, is the only practical translation that I have the ability and know how to do.
Because I love to draw lines and images and sounds of all foreign poets to read and incorporate them into my own poems (that's the poet as a hunter).
For is the best excuse I've found to buy many books and travel to many countries to interact with poets and other perverted strangers.
Because the best way learn to read poems is translated.
Because the best way to learn to write poems to translate the great works of other poets.
For to have new thoughts have to renew the language and the best way I've found is to create with him a spindle, mutilate and mutarlo to write in English as foreign language poet ( vid. the operation of the Greek language in the German, who held Hölderlin) (2 ).
Because allows you to have intense love affairs with people who are far away or long dead.
Because I have this weird sense of ethics, as I can, I have to do to help my concitoyens (untranslatable by the inevitable loss pun) linguistically challenged ( 3 ).
Because the translation and its social counterpart, miscegenation, are the only things that could possibly make this world a safer and feasible.
Because, although a few years ago I stopped translating into French, last year I could not resist to say yes to translate 25 pages of poems by Allen Ginsberg for a French version of the opera Hydrogen Jukebox by Philip Glass, since the last time I saw Allen in Paris asked me to get involved in the translations of his work something that until now, when the opportunity to re-pay my respects appeared out of nowhere, I was busy.
Because 40 years later I still have not translated all the works of Paul Celan and for some unreason feel it should.
For most of my fellow poets States United along with their compadres Francophone French and translated to each other with fierce intensity, which gives me the space to concentrate on translating the poets from North Africa who otherwise would not be translated, so there next books Tengour Habib appearance, and Mohammed Abdallah Al Amrani Zrika.
Because the Mets are losing again.
[[and damn, would not the Mets lost two straight against the Brewers last night ...?]]
Notes text
( 1) I thank the poet and translator Joseph Mulligan (http://jwmulligan.wordpress.com/) the exchange of emails in connection with the use of Joris of the word "Anglo-'merican." Mulligan sees the use of this word "mid-western" (in the region near the Great Lakes and some states in northern and central regions) a mockery of American ignorance. Knowing this, I tried to reflect this mockery restricting to a specific population segment: the WASPs (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, initials also represent the word 'wasp', 'wasp') or supporters of the infamous and racist Tea Party.
( 2 ) In connection with this statement, I think to quote the words of George Steiner's translation of Friedrich Hölderlin of Sophocles' Antigone, which I will translate: "He believed that the ancient meaning of words, particularly in the drama Tragically, had an aura and a materials result which lacked modern epistemology. A prophecy, oracular precept, a formula of anathema in Greek tragedy carried a literal fate. Speech does not represent or describing the fact: it was done. Antigone not only overshadowed mental anticipation of threat and blood, darker, more bloodthirsty, words scripts are already revolt and suicide. καλχαίνουσ ' means "blush." Ruling-stained red-the epos Antigone has become a fact fatal, ineluctable. Anthropology, a linguistic contrastive role of discourse in ancient and modern societies need to and behind the literalness of Hölderlin, its paradoxical purpose of understanding and improving the original word for word as it proceeds. The tactic is often violent and absurd, but many recent reflections on the speech habits in primitive cultures and the physical strength of the mandate for example, ancient Hebrew, corroborating the view of Hölderlin "( After Babel: Aspects of Language & Translation , Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 346).
( 3) The word used Joris, concitoyens , there are two ways. On the one hand, the literal translation of that word: citizens, on the other, as with French for bastard, bastards citizens (one of the most outstanding uses of that word is in the song Requiem pour un with , Serge Gainsbourg).
Pierre Joris was born in 1946 in Luxembourg. At 19 she moved to the United States. He lived in Britain, North Africa, France and Luxembourg. In 1992 he returned to New York. Currently a professor at the State University of New York at Albany.
Forthcoming books are Paul Celan: The Meridian (Stanford University Press) and is my Trade Exile: The Habib Tengour Reader (Black Widow Press).
has published over forty books. Among its books of poetry, stand The Fifth Season (1971), Trance / Mutations (1972), The Tassili Connection (1978), The Book of Luap Nalec (1982), Translations from 5 Arthur Rimbaud (graphics, 1984), Breccia: Selected Poems (1986), Winnetou Old (1996), Poas : Selected Poems (1986-1999) (Wesleyan University Press), The Stations of Mansur al- Hallaj (Anchorite Press, 2007), and Aljibe Aljibe II (bilingual edition with French translation by Eric scabies, Editions PHI, Luxembourg, 2007 and 2008). The newest The Tang Extending From The Blade (Ahad Books, E-chapbook, 2010).
Books of essays A Nomad Poetics (Wesleyan University Press, 2003) and Justifying the Margins: Essays 1990-2006 (Salt Publishing, 2009).
recent translations: 4x1: Work by Tristan Tzara, Rainer Maria Rilke, Jean Pierre Duprey & Habib Tengour translated by Pierre Joris (Inconumdrum Press, 2002); The Malady of Islam by Abdelwahab Meddeb (along with Ann Reid, Basic Books), Green Integer published three volumes of translations of Paul Celan: Breathturn , Threadsuns and Lightduress (which won a prize: 2005 PEN Poetry Translation Award).
Other English translations include books by Pablo Picasso, Maurice Blanchot, Edmond Jabes, Kurt Schwitters and Michel Bulteau.
has translated into French books Carl Solomon, Jack Kerouac, Gregory Corso, Pete Townsend, Julian Beck and Sam Shepard.
The information in this note can be found at:
· http://www.pierrejoris.com/blog/?page_id=4481
· http://wings.buffalo .edu / epc / authors / joris / joris.bio
translation and notes by Mario Dominguez Parra
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