Stingy Kids

My River

Doing some research for my dissertation, I came across a Leah Goldberg translation of Emily Dickinson. Hadasah Shapira published a collection of her Dickinson translations in 1981 (Jerusalem, Devir) and I've come across single poem translations here and there. But I find Dickinson immensely difficult to read in English so I'm always curious how translators resolve her idiosyncratic rhymes, syntax and diction. At first glance, Goldberg's translation struck me as far more readable than any Dickinson original. I decided to retranslate it into English, trying forget for a moment what Dickinson sounds like to me. It helped that I didn't recognize this poem. Here's the Goldberg's Hebrew translation:

My literal retranslation into English:

My river will go to you:
Blue sea, will you bless my arrival?

My river awaits a reply:
Sea, wish me good tidings!

I will bring you brooks
from the refuge of my shadowy abode,

Sea, answer me,
take me!

My translation doesn't keep Goldberg's rhyme or meter but I can tell you that the rhyme and meter in Goldberg's translation lend it a nice formal compactness which may be a nod to Dickinson's own measured use of language and tight poetic lines. But the rhyme flows easily, too easily I think. Maybe Goldberg is thinking water-streams-flow, but in Dickinson these standard images are often intensified and challenged by verbal and syntactic contortions that are anything but fluid and safe. Aside from the fact that literal English translations of Hebrew are always more verbose than their original, the Hebrew feels wordy. Goldberg is able to call upon Hebrew's smichut (construct) and pack a lot of imagery in one line, as in the penultimate verse "me-mistor tsilelei navi" (lit. "from the refuge of the shadows of my abode") but Dickinson does the same in even fewer words. So how does any of this compare to the original? Check it out:

My river runs to thee:
Blue sea, wilt welcome me?

My river waits reply.
Oh sea, look graciously!

I'll fetch thee brooks
From spotted nooks,--

Say, sea,
Take me!

Another meaning for "levarekh" is "greet" so Goldberg is not far from Dickinson. Goldberg's use of "levarekh" also has a formal quality that complements Dickinson's "wilt (thou)." I can't quibble with much of it until "spotted nooks." First of all, I've looked around and I haven't found a single definition of "spotted" that suggests "mystery" or "hiding." Perhaps Goldberg visualized this line as a secluded space "spotted" with shadows. Still, Goldberg's translation is consistent with her general view of translation, which declared meter and rhyme important properties that a translator nevertheless should feel free to "sacrifice" or modify in order to keep the content and meaning of a poem intact.

Reading @ JCC

On Sunday, I will be reading my translation of a short story by Reuven Miran at the JCC. The story "Meteor" will be appearing (along with two other stories) in an upcoming issue of Zeek. And if time permits, I also will share a very recent translation of a poem by Anna Herman.  Here's the event information:

Babel to Bamba: New Words From, About, and Wrestling with Israel
Sunday, February 25, 5:00-6:30pm
JCC in Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave @ 76th St

Zeek presents poets, writers, performers, and artists shouting, jamming, and reciting their work about the Promised Land. Featuring both American and Israeli voices (and Israeli-American ones), we'll move beyond the cliches to engage with the social, political, and religious realities of Israel and diaspora, as reflected in the literary mind. Co-presented with Corner Prophets as part of Israel Non-Stop at the JCC.

A Birthday Poem

Just past dawn, the sun stands
with its heavy red head
in a black stanchion of trees,
waiting for someone to come
with his bucket
for the foamy white light,
and then a long day in the pasture.
I too spend my days grazing,
feasting on every green moment
till darkness calls,
and with the others
I walk away into the night,
swinging the little tin bell
of my name.

--by Ted Kooser

I needed a birthday poem today and was drawing blanks, so I took a chance on google.  This spare and elegant piece by Kooser turned up.  I feel lucky. 

No Promises

Carla Bruni's new album No Promises consists entirely of poems. The first track "These Dancing Days Are Gone" recasts William Butler Yeats as a Southern folk bard. Other poets who find themselves singing in accents and rhythms they may have never imagined possible are Auden, Dickinson, Rossetti, Parker and de la Mare.

Track 2: "Before the World Was Made" by William Butler Yeats

If I make the lashes dark
And the eyes more bright
And the lips more scarlet,
Or ask if all be right
From mirror after mirror,
No vanity's displayed:
I'm looking for the face I had
Before the world was made.

What if I look upon a man
As though on my beloved,
And my blood be cold the while
And my heart unmoved?
Why should he think me cruel
Or that he is betrayed?
I'd have him love the thing that was
Before the world was made.

Bruni's revamped website (which I link to above) includes sections on each poet amid wistful photographs of stray pink balloons and Bruni's long legs. Sexy and educational.