For Poetry in Translation 2021 - Stephen Spender Trust
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Judges
Daljit Nagra
Samantha Schnee
Khairani Barokka
Urdu Spotlight judge
Sascha Aurora Akhtar
For Poetry in
Translation
2021
in association with
2 3
14-and-under 16-and-under
Winners Highly commended Winners Highly commended
Adeline Goh Eylül Karakullukcu Steffan Nicholas Rosie Evans
‘The Temple by the Stars’ Spring’s Idleness (extract) ‘Instant Houses’ ‘Folksinger’
by Li Bai by Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı by Iwan Llwyd by Elizabeth Pérez Tzintzún
(Ancient Chinese) (Turkish) (Welsh) (Mexican Spanish)
Matilda Hardman Katrina Fong Maddie Stoll Karolina Kukhta
‘All the Birds’ ‘To Love the Lotus’ ‘25th October 1994 – Modena.’ ‘To Kachalov’s Dog’
by August Heinrich by Zhou Dunyi by Fatima Bouhtouch by Sergei Yesenin
Hoffmann von Fallersleben (Ancient Chinese) (Italian) (Russian)
(German)
Millie Farrell Mia Harris Iona Mandal Sarah McLaren
‘A.A.’ ‘In a Pit Like a Bear’ (extract) ‘Kolkata’s Jesus’ ‘Masses’
by Christian Bernard by Guillaume Apollinaire by Nirendranath Chakraborty by César Vallejo
(French) (French) (Bengali) (Peruvian Spanish)
Commended Commended
Eloise Allen (French) Alexandra Glavan (Romanian) Kai O’Neill (Gaelic) Amirah Soetan-Balogun (Japanese) Umar Ahmed (Spanish) Charlie Harrison (German) Erick Riera (French)
Juliette Blua (Spanish) George Gronow (Polish) Haniel Onwionoko (Chinese) Ishika Sood (Hindi) Ciara Andrell (Spanish) June Hyun (Korean) Iliya Satrap (Farsi)
Salvijus Brazdzius (Lithuanian) Samira Sara Hashmi (Arabic) Martha Pender (Spanish) Konstantin Spasov (Bulgarian) Romy Azouri (Spanish) Luca Kalmar (Hungarian) Rosa Saville Sneath (German)
Cameron Brookes (German) Mattlyn Jiatsa Spencer (Spanish) Carlota Pla-Paradela (German) Peace Ubadike (Spanish) Ritika Chakraborty (Spanish) Simran Khatri (Hindi) Isabel Sykes (Latin)
Rebecca Cayley (Polish) Arna Kar (Bengali) Vinusha Ratnarajah (Tamil) Peter Xu (Chinese) Emma Cortinovis (Italian) Akshata Lakkundi (Kannada) Daniel Topalovic (Spanish)
Sophie Dain (German) Aryan Kheterpal (Hindi) Louisa Roberts (German) Mysha Wahab (German) Zoey Chung (Chinese) Amber Mallet (Spanish) Jack Van Den Heuvel (French)
Toby Davis-Varnell (German) Julia Kolodziejek (Polish) Naranjo Santana (Hebrew) Freya Warren (Spanish) Drew Evans (German) Hazel Morpurgo (French)
Oliver Doel (Spanish) Jessica Lawrence (French) Leila Santanton (Spanish) Sophie Young (Spanish) Tina Filipiak (Polish) Elly Na (Korean)
Jessica Dudzik (Polish) Matilda Lawrence (German) Megan Slattery and Freya Rogerson Charlotte Fox (Latin) Adam Noad (Portuguese)
Matilda Gifford (Italian) Rafael Lynx (French) (Spanish – joint entry) Liv Goldreich (Modern Hebrew) Marianne Peuch (French)4 5
18-and-under Open
First-time
Highly entrant
Winners Highly commended Winners commended commendations
Doga Acikgun Marco Cheung FIRST Suzannah V. Evans Christina Lucassi
‘Last Will’ ‘Funeral of the Flower’ Harry Man ‘Sailors’ (extract) ‘Have You Ever Heard of
by Nâzım Hikmet by Cao Xueqin ‘The Green Tent’ by Tristan Corbière Little Dwarf Dwimble?’
(Turkish) (Chinese) by Endre Ruset (French) by Christina Tropper and
(Norwegian) Alexander Smutni-Tropper
(German)
Jahan de Bellaigue Lilia Foster SECOND Robin Munby Harriet McAlonan
‘O Iran, My Bejewelled Land’ (extract) ‘Underdevelopment Problems’ James Garza ‘Fálala’ by Claudia Elena ‘In the Twilight of Life’
by Forugh Farrokhzad by Nicolás Guillén ‘Room’ Menéndez Fernández by Abdellatif Laâbi
(Farsi) (Cuban Spanish) by Kurobe Setsuko (Asturian) (Moroccan French)
(Japanese)
Jasmine Hardy Chloe O’Connor THIRD Antoinette Arthur Allen
‘They Are Unbeaten by the Rain’ ‘Talking’ Georgina Collins Fawcett ‘I Have Barely Had Time
by Kenji Miyazawa by Chen Cang ‘A Name is Sewn into ‘The Hares’ to Build Your Name’
(Japanese) (Chinese) the Flesh’ by H.H. ter Balkt by Maria Wine
by Jean-Claude Awono (Dutch) (Swedish)
(Cameroonian French)
Commended Commended
Alicia Bushell (French) Sophie Harrison (French) Olivia Minucci (Spanish) Chris Beckett (Ethiopian Amharic) Claire Miranda Roberts (Italian)
Sam Colvine (Russian) Catriona Hay (German) Kate O’Connor (German) Elena Bossi (Italian) Robert Sargant (German)
Fraser Cory (French) Isabelle Horrocks (Ancient Greek) Izzie Pullin (French) Jane Bradley (Romanian) Rebecca Simpson (Catalan)
Rebecca Crawley (Spanish) Freya Jenkinson (French) Jemima Raphael (German) Philip Chadwick (German) Michael Swan (Old English)
Marianne Doherty (Irish) Kitty Joyce (Spanish) Sarah Roberts (Bulgarian) Marian de Vooght (Dutch) Elaine Thornton (German)
Harry Eisinger (French) Harvey Kernohan (Spanish) Surma Saif (French) Oliver Fallon (Sanskrit) Karin Van heerden (Dutch)
Keisha Ellis (Spanish) Kian Khan (German) Emily Stonebridge (French) Naoise Gale (Italian) Sue Vickerman (Slovenian)
Chiara Falls (Spanish) Krystyna Lazaro (Polish) Diederik Zoetmulder (Dutch) Jane Hunter (German) Emma Walker (Spanish)
Alexander Finlayson-Brown (Latin) Edward Maher (Yiddish) Rosemary Mitchell-Schuitevoerder Stephen Walsh (isiNdebele)
Sarah Halsey (Spanish) Lidia Marshall-Sanchez (Spanish) (Dutch) Caitlyn Ward (Latin)6 7
Urdu Spotlight Urdu Spotlight
Prize Prize
10-and-under 14-and-under
Winner Commended Winner Commended
Safi Robertson Bruno Scott-Buck Faaiz Adil Manal Salman
‘There is a fairy with many colours’ ‘A fairy is bright’ ‘If it is grief let it torture my heart’ ‘A Child’s Prayer’
by Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum by Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum by Ahmed Faraz by Allama Iqbal
Deiminas Grudzinskas Alishba Tariq
‘There is one fairy I like’ ‘Clouds’
by Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum by Shehla Shibli
Ashwaq Nassa Amman Ali Hussain Shaheen
‘There is a fairy on its own’ ‘Speak Up’
by Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum by Faiz Ahmed Faiz8 9
Urdu Spotlight Outstanding
Prize Teachers 2021
18-and-under
CÉLESTE ROBILLARD
programmes, and to all who engaged Spender awards for teachers, which
AND COLLEAGUES
their pupils in this year’s Stephen we introduced last year. The group of
Winner Commended THE HOLT SCHOOL , WOKINGHAM
Spender Prize.
This year for the first time we
teachers highlighted here engaged
huge numbers of their pupils in
LIZ MCWATT, JOE SYKES
AND JEN SERJEANT enabled teachers to register for the poetry translation, and it is particu-
Sarah Jilani Iona Mandal Prize, and were thrilled that over 200 larly pleasing that a primary school
LORETO GR AMMAR SCHOOL ,
‘Speak’ by Faiz Ahmed Faiz ‘The Birds’ Eyes Open’ by Sara Shagufta did so – the majority engaging for the teacher is amongst them – reflecting
ALTRINCHAM
and ‘Time’ by Javed Akhtar and ‘Demolition’ by Nahid Rana first time. We sent fortnightly bulle- the great rise in entries from primary
CAR A BLEIMAN, OLIVIA tins to all who registered, with virtual schools this year.
SENENSIEB, MARTIN CHMIELECKI resources and ideas for bringing
AND VIENNA GODDARD poetry translation into the classroom.
SWIRE CHINESE L ANGUAGE CENTRE It was always a pleasure to receive the
Lucas Omar Ali-Hassan (HARRIS FEDER ATION), LONDON responses to those newsletters, often
‘The Face of Your Lord’ from teachers trying poetry transla-
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz tion with their pupils for the first time,
Collaboration with teachers is at the and surprised by the enthusiastic
heart of all that we do, and we are responses and broad appeal to stu-
now working to build and support a dents of all backgrounds and abilities.
community of educators inspired by We’re delighted to recognise this
creative translation. Partnership with growing collaboration with teachers
translators, teachers and poets has and schools through our new Stephen
fuelled our growing bank of virtual
resources, from e-booklets of poetry
in eighteen languages to ready-made
lesson plans and video masterclasses.
We are grateful to the wonderful We’re delighted to recognise our
teachers who continue to advise and
assist us, including Katrina Barnes, growing collaboration with teachers
Candida Javaid, Nadia Siddiqui, Crista
Hazell, Steven Fawkes, Kate Thirl- and schools through our new Stephen
wall and Stephen Walsh, to all the
teachers involved in our education
Spender awards for teachers10 Charlotte
11 Ryland
Director
The Stephen Spender Trust
An Introduction Looking through and beyond
borders that were hardened
to the Stephen by the pandemic, made
porous again through poetry.
Spender Prize 2021
we have trained a brand new cohort Sascha’s careful curation is a unique
of talented translators to design and collection of Urdu poems, many at
deliver creative workshops in schools the time untranslated, yet now ren-
across the UK, making our work more dered in English for the first time
geographically diverse, multilingual by young Urdu speakers and their
and accessible. classmates in the UK. In their com-
For all this I am grateful to the mentaries the entrants write time
CHARLOTTE RYLAND small but superb SST team for their and again of the conversations with
DIRECTOR dedication and hard work, to our parents and grandparents that were
THE STEPHEN SPENDER TRUST trustees and our growing team of sparked by their translations. This,
translators, and to all who fund our for me, is creative translation at its
work, from individual donations to best – creativity through collabora-
philanthropic and public funding. tion and conversation. Alongside the
We are especially grateful to the Spotlight, the Prize remains beauti-
A record number of young people Rothschild Foundation, Polonsky fully multilingual, with translations
entered translations into the Stephen Foundation, John S Cohen Founda- from 80 languages amongst this
Spender Prize this year, and many tion, Old Possum’s Practical Trust, and year’s entrants. It has been a pleas-
more translated poetry with their Björnson and Prodan Foundation for ure to work with our judges Khairani
teachers in classrooms and lunchtime supporting this year’s Prize. Barokka, Daljit Nagra and Samantha
clubs. This would not have been possi- This year’s Urdu Spotlight strand Schnee, to watch as they have care-
ble – nor so pleasurable – without the deserves special mention. Beautifully fully, caringly selected the winning
support of all our partners and col- curated and judged by poet and trans- and commended poems from so many
laborators, to whom this year’s Prize lator Sascha Aurora Akhtar, who was of great quality and verve. Those
is dedicated. introduced to us by our friends at the winning and highly commended
2021 has been a watershed year Poetry Translation Centre, Sascha entrants bring poems in twenty-one
for SST. We have reached greater in turn connected us to the Rekhta languages from twenty-one nations
numbers of young people than ever Foundation in India. Rekhta publishes into our orbit. Together, they paint
before through our creative transla- a huge number of contemporary and a unique and heartening picture of
tion workshops and resources. We classic Urdu poems open-access, a community still open to the world,
have forged new partnerships and and they supported the Spotlight looking through and beyond borders
developed new collaborations with by providing inspiration and poems. that were hardened by the pandemic,
teachers, translators and poets. And The result of this partnership and of made porous again through poetry.12 13
The act of communing with a for- were so many superb commentaries breaks as it works up to its sad con- me that translation should come ‘Sailors’ is perhaps the liveliest poem
eign country is, perhaps more than that showed poets grappling with the clusion. I enjoyed Maddie Stoll’s poem in any and every form; the shape is I came across; her translation pow-
ever, a political act; the act of cross- many technical demands facing them, for its topicality as well, as well as for superbly worked and the line breaks erfully dramatises the sailors at sea,
ing borders to live in the house of an and I enjoyed reading how our poets its mood of sorrow and resignation, function wonderfully, such as with the manic yet controlled throughout.
established poem and to claim it as tried to evaluate the original poet’s and I loved Karolina Kukhta’s great words ‘the shattered glasses’, which Overall, I enjoyed the variety,
our own is a moving identification of intentions as they grappled with the control of form to convey the humour are broken to great effect into sev- the ever-present the illusion that
shared humanity. It is a grand act of act of translation. about a dog. eral spaces. Similarly, I appreciated these winning poems must have
humility, of respect and ultimately In the 14-and-under category, I In the 18-and-under category, I the block form of ‘Room’, translated been written in English — they never
There are many types of love. This is why I love translation, enjoyed the skills of the winner, ‘The was very taken by the poem about Iran by James Garza, where the shape is feel as though they are translations,
of poems in the house because it can remind us of a shared Temple by the Stars’, for Adeline Goh’s translated by Jahan de Bellaigue. It is relentlessly claustrophobic yet fluent never letting the illusion drop. Con-
of poetry, and as judges aesthetic excellence, because it can superb skills at deploying rhyme and politically charged and this dimension and apt for the psychic journey. I was gratulations to our amazing winning
offer pleasure; the play of translation rhythm to convey the state of joy. is reinforced by the clean lines which also charmed by Christina’s Lucas- poets and to so many who just missed
we were keen to celebrate
is perhaps equal to the play of the It was also good to see a fun visual frequently break when a unit of sense si’s poem about the dwarf Dwimble, out, simply because the standard was
all types of poetry inception of the original poem. I felt layout. I was similarly impressed by has been communicated, thereby where rhyming couplets work to exceptional.
presented to us the rich experiences of ‘carrying over’ Matilda Hardman and Millie Farrell ensuring the irony remains hard-hit- great comic effect. Suzannah V. Evans’
while reading the many poems sub- for their ability to convince us of the ting. Jasmine Hardy’s translation of a
mitted to this year’s competition. created world, and for their clear and Japanese poem is good at conveying
I loved the many traditional interesting commentaries. the hardship of rural workers and her
translations in regular forms, those In the 16-and-under category, commentary is helpful in explaining This is why I love translation, because
composed in free verse, the concrete I admired Iona Mandal’s translation the context. Marco Cheung’s trans-
poems which took on some dazzling about Jesus in Kolkata, in which the lation of a Chinese poem about a it can remind us of a shared aesthetic
shapes, and the spoken word poems.
There are many types of poems in
controlled syntax and the momentum
made for a compelling poem; Steffan
flower is sustained in its pathos for
the flowers; considerable work must
excellence, because it can offer
the house of poetry, and as judges
we were keen to celebrate all types
Nicholas’ translation, meanwhile, is
an excellent choice for these harsh
have gone into creating this superb
poem in English.
pleasure; the play of translation is
of poetry presented to us, so long as times of inequality where some must In the Open category, I loved the perhaps equal to the play of the
they read well and demonstrated a sleep in cardboard boxes. This moving winning poem — a concrete poem,
genuine attempt to translate. There poem uses repetition and fluent line of all things. This poem reminded inception of the original poem.
Judge’s
Commentary
Daljit Nagra14 15
of Tristan Corbière’s French poem Unnos’, which successfully relays, as
into ‘Sailors’, Robin Munby’s transla- Nicholas explains in his commentary,
tion of Asturian poet Claudia Elena ‘the threat to the language as well as
Menéndez Fernández, and Antoinette to the people’ in ‘Instant Houses’; and
Fawcett’s translation from the Dutch Iona Mandal’s translation of Niren-
of H.H. ter Balkt’s ‘The Hares’. We also dranath Chakraborty’s Bengali poem
commend three first-time entrants: ‘Kolkata’s Jesus’, a well-drawn ‘motion-
Christina Lucassi, Harriet McAlonan less image on an artist’s easel’. Sarah
We certainly had our work and Arthur Allen, translating Aus- McLaren, Rosie Evans, and Karolina
cut out for us as judges,
‘The grief forever changed trian, Moroccan and Swedish poets Kukhta are all Highly Commended,
choosing from between respectively. for their respective translations from
In the 18-and-under category, Peruvian Spanish of César Vallejo’s
many excellent entries.
into vines overflowing Jahan de Bellaigue is one of three win-
ners with a brilliant translation from
‘Masses’, from Mexican Spanish of
Elizabeth Pérez Tzintzún’s ‘Folksinger’,
with roses’. Farsi of Forugh Farrokhzad’s ‘O Iran,
my bejewelled land’, a sardonic take
and from Russian of Sergei Yesenin’s
‘To Kachalov’s Dog’.
on ‘the chirruping and cuckooing of Finally, in the 14-and-under
It is an assured example As with last year’s competition, it was the law’. Jasmine Hardy’s translation category, our winners are first-time
heartening to receive so many sub- from Japanese of Kenji Miyazawa’s entrant Adeline Goh’s accomplished
missions in these pandemic times, moving ‘They are unbeaten by the translation of Chinese poet Li Bai’s
of poem-as-illustration, translating from a breadth of lan-
guages, from isiNdebele to Asturian.
rain’, an ode to farmers ‘triumphant
against the wind’, is also a winner in
‘The Temple by the Stars’, describing
‘A temple which can be seen across
a real feat to translate well We sincerely thank everyone who
took the time to submit — we hope
this category, as is Doga Acikgun’s
skillful translation of Nâzım Hikmet’s
the lands’; Matilda Hardman’s trans-
lation of August Heinrich Hoffmann
you all had fun — and your support- Turkish poem ‘Last Will’, with instruc- von Fallersleben’s German, delighting
on many levels. ers, including families and teachers.
We certainly had our work cut out for
tions on how to proceed ‘if I should
die before our liberation’. Highly
us ‘with song and sound’; and Millie
Farrell’s translation of Christian Ber-
us as judges, choosing from between Commended are Marco Cheung’s nard’s ‘A.A.’, for its imaginary of light
many excellent entries. translation of Cao Xueqin’s ‘Funeral that ‘extinguishes the twilight’. These
In the Open category, our First of the Flower’, Lilia Foster’s transla- three stand out for tackling oft-trans-
prize goes to Harry Man’s translation tion of Cuban poet Nicolás Guillén’s lated poets; it is difficult to make a
of Norwegian poet Endre Ruset’s ‘Underdevelopment Problems’ and translation of one such poet stand
Bokmål poem, which does justice to Chloe O’Connor’s translation from out, but they have done so admirably.
the commemorated victims of right- Mandarin of Chen Cang’s ‘Talking’. Highly Commended are Mia Harris,
wing terrorist attacks — in the words The winning poems in the for a translation from the French of an
of the penultimate line, ‘The grief for- 16-and-under category are, in no extract from Guillaume Apollinaire’s
ever changed into vines overflowing particular order: Maddie Stoll’s ‘In a pit like a bear’; Katrina Fong, for
with roses’. It is an assured example translation of Fatima Boutouch’s a translation of Zhou Dunyi’s ancient
of poem-as-illustration, a real feat Italian poetry performance on Ita- Chinese poem ‘To Love the Lotus’; and
to translate well on many levels. In lia’s Got Talent, an emotional piece Eylül Karakullukcu for an extract from
Second is James Garza’s translation that touched us all with verses such Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı’s Turkish poem
of Kurobe Setsuko’s Japanese poem as ‘hoping for an opportunity / that ‘Spring’s Idleness’.
‘Room’, conveying controlled use of surpasses the language / with which Congratulations to all, and long
form befitting the subject matter, we speak’; Steffan Nicholas’s transla- live poetry in translation!
Judge’s
with poignant commentary on how tion of Welsh poet Iwan Llywd’s ‘Tai
solitude manifested itself in the poet’s
life. A take that may well resonate in
…it was heartening to receive
our own lives, as we as readers ask
ourselves, ‘Is there anything more
ambiguous than a room?’. Georgina
Commentary
Collins’ translation from the French
of Cameroonian poet Jean-Claude
so many submissions in these
Awono takes Third, with a piece that
conveys the force of the original as pandemic times, translating
performance poetry, through evoca-
tive verses such as ‘A name flows / in from a breadth of languages,
Khairani Barokka
the blood’. A formidable achievement.
Highly Commended in this category
are Susannah V. Evans’ rendition
from isiNdebele to Asturian.16 17
…this year’s submissions to
You could say that reading a thou- Israel, India, Slovenia and more. I reflected in the number of winning
sand poems in five weeks is a bit like was especially moved by the work of entries translated from Turkish, Man-
drinking from a fire hose: consuming Arthur Allen, a first-time entrant in darin and Farsi. I was also impressed
something good for you (even vital
for survival) but in such vast quantity
the Open category, whose transla-
tion of ‘I have barely had time to build
by the number of young classics
scholars who submitted entries,
the Stephen Spender Prize
that you begin to wonder how much
of a good thing is too much. Happily,
your name’ by a little-known Swedish
poet — Marie Wine, who also worked
many of which featured complicated
and clever rhyming solutions; one for poetry in translation
this year’s submissions to the Stephen as a translator — made me want to playful translation of Theocritus from
Reading the entries for this
year’s prize expanded my
Spender Prize for poetry in translation
provided ample gifts for lovers of the
read more of her considerable body
of work.
the Ancient Greek, which received a
commendation in the 18-and-under
provided ample gifts for
literary horizons; these
translations introduced
written word. It was also heartening
to read the work of so many people —
Poetry is one of the oldest forms
of human creative expression, pre-
category, was especially remarkable.
Reading this year’s submissions
lovers of the written word.
It was also heartening to
especially youth — who are inspired dating written literature according to confirmed to me that although we
me to the work of poets to render words that move them into some scholars, and I was particularly may be — in the words of Fatima Bouh-
from Israel, India, Slovenia the English language. pleased that in this year’s group of touch, as translated into English by
and more. I, in turn, was inspired by these
translations — among them, Robin
winners there were several spoken
word entries, including the impres-
Maddie Stoll — ‘grieving for a world
that no longer knows how to love’,
read the work of so many
Munby’s innovative and playful trans-
lation from Asturian of the poem
sive ‘25th October 1994 – Modena’
by young Italian poet Fatima Bouh-
the world is certainly full of those
who love poetry, whether they write people — especially youth
‘Fálala’ in the Open category, urging touch. Watching the YouTube video their own work, translate the work of
Spaniards who speak that language
to keep it alive. Many other so-called
of her performance of this poem on
Italia’s Got Talent inspired one of this
others, or simply love the experience
of reading it.
— who are inspired to render
‘minority’ languages were repre-
sented among the submissions, and
year’s 16-and-under winners, Maddie
Stoll, to translate the poem into Eng-
words that move them into
we judges were all pleased to be able
the English language.
lish. Another standout was Georgina
to count the translation of a Welsh Collins’ translation of Cameroo-
poem — Steffan Nicholas’s rendi- nian performance poet Jean-Claude
tion of Iwan Llwyd’s ‘Instant Houses Awono’s ‘A name is sewn into the
— among this year’s winners in the flesh’ from the Open category.
16-and-under category. In many cultures today poetry
Reading the entries for this remains a dominant form of literary
year’s prize expanded my literary expression, much more a part of daily
horizons; these translations intro- discourse than it is in the Anglophone
duced me to the work of poets from sphere; this phenomenon is perhaps
Judge’s
Commentary
Samantha Schnee18 19
Winners
夜宿山寺
Li Bai
14-and-under
危樓高百尺
手可摘星辰
不敢高聲語
恐驚天上人
Yè sù shān shì
Wéi lóu gāo bǎi chǐ
Shǒu kě zhāi xīng chén
Bù gǎn gāo shēng yǔ
Kǒng jīng tiān shàng rén
Adeline Goh
The Temple by the Stars
Against the blissful starry night stands
A temple which can be seen across the lands,
Hundreds of feet high and dangerously tall
It seems as if it is about to fall.
I stand inside the sacred temple,
So close to the stars, and I am careful
When translating 夜宿山寺, my direct a way that not only ensured that it Not to make a noise, or I may disturb
translation didn’t rhyme or flow very flowed, but that also made it rhyme Heaven; they may have overheard.
well; to overcome this I decided to with the other lines and maintain a Without making the slightest noise, I reach for the star,
slightly tweak the word order and steady rhythm.
However, it is impossible to touch because it is so far
choices, but I had to make sure it
From me and where I stand
didn’t stray too far away from the
poem. I also found that it wasn’t very
Gazing into the distance across the land.
Against the constellations in the sky
Another decision that I had
structured, so I decided to repeat the
first two lines of the first verse at the Lives a temple, where the eye
end, but slightly altered it. Another Can see everything across the lands
decision that I had to make through-
out was trying to make the poem my
to make throughout was Right from where the temple stands.
own without changing the meaning
or tone of the poem — the poem has trying to make the poem
quite a soft tone to it, so I had to try
and maintain that. In addition, there
is also a part about the narrator trying
my own without changing
to touch a star, which was a bit of a
challenge to try and incorporate in
the meaning or tone20 21
Winners
Alle Vögel sind schon da, alle Vögel, alle!
August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben
Alle Vögel sind schon da, alle Vögel, alle!
14-and-under
Welch ein Singen, Musizieren,
Pfeifen, Zwitschern, Tirilieren!
Frühling will nun einmaschiern,
kommt mit Sang und Schalle.
Wie sie alle lustig sind, flink und froh sich regen!
Amsel, Drossel, Fink und Star
und die ganze Vogelschar
wünschen dir ein frohes Jahr,
lauter Heil und Segen.
Was sie uns verkünden nun, nehmen wir zur Herzen:
alle wolln wir lustig sein,
lustig wie die Vögelein,
hier und dort, feldaus, feldein,
springen, tanzen, scherzen.
Matilda Hardman
All the Birds
All the birds are already there, all birds, all!
What singing, making music,
Whistling, chirping, trilling!
Spring wants to march in now,
This poem expresses joy and cheer, as She comes with song and sound.
evident from the repeated exclama- I chose not to make this poem rhyme How happy they all are, nimble and glad to move!
tives, and includes some quite Blackbird, Thrush, Finch and Star.
detailed descriptions of ‘the birds’. as I felt like it would have deprived it And the whole flock of birds
As this poem employs a variety of
adjectives, I was able to substitute
of its depth and meaning. Had I made Wish you a happy year,
Nothing but salvation and blessings.
different adjectives fairly easily in
order to avoid repetition or breaking
it rhyme, it would have created an We take to heart what they announce to us.
We all want to be happy,
the poem’s rhythm in my translation. inappropriate playful tone. Happy like the little birds,
It was challenging at times to find
an adjective that both made sense Here and there, field out, field in,
and fitted the metre of the poem, Leaping, dancing, joking.
hence why I translated the adjective initially very confused by the verb, and meaning. Had I made it rhyme, it
‘Tirilieren’ as ‘trilling’ instead of ‘cat- ‘einmaschiern’, which is directly trans- would have created an inappropriate
erwauling’ to comply with the two lated as ‘to mash up’, but after much playful tone. I also like the way the
disyllabic words before it. My great- searching of my thesaurus, I found poem has an irregular structure and
est obstacle in translating this poem out this could also be translated as ‘to uses enjambment, as this reflects the
was deciphering the line ‘Frühling will march’, thus personifying spring and freedom of the birds and the random
nun einmaschiern’. I had to test out creating a delicate, natural image in nature of the poet’s thoughts.
various combinations of this sentence the reader’s mind. Finally, I chose not
by substituting in synonyms and shuf- to make this poem rhyme as I felt like
fling the word order around. I was it would have deprived it of its depth22 23
Winners
A.A.
Christian Bernard
pour Marcelline Delbecq
14-and-under
Les gris de la lumière
éteignent la pénombre.
Elle est assise là
sur le canapé
là au bord du fauteuil
vide dans l’appartement
vide.
Elle se tient droite
ses yeux noirs
démêlent les branches
noires
des grands arbres
Millie Farrell qui barricadent
la fenêtre.
A.A.
Reproduced by kind permission of the poet
The gray light
extinguishes the twilight.
She is sitting there
on the couch
When translating my poem
prefer this word order too. The next
thing I changed is the part that liter-
ally translates as ‘she stands straight’, there at the edge of the empty armchair
there were a few things that which I converted into ‘she holds her-
self’ because the subject is supposed
in the empty apartment
I changed just to make it to be sitting in the armchair, but the
literal translation makes it sound
She holds herself
her black eyes
like she is standing up when really
run smoother and sound it just means that she is sitting up
in the chair. The last thing I changed
untangling the black branches
better in English was ‘who’ to ‘that’ in the final stanza
because the literal ‘who’ wouldn’t be
of the tree
that barricades
grammatically correct in English in the window
the context of the line and since the
When translating my poem there version wasn’t grammatically correct tree is not a person, I thought ‘that’
were a few things that I changed just in English. Then I changed ‘there at would work better. Overall I changed
to make it run smoother and sound the edge of, the armchair, empty in a few bits in this poem, not really for
better in English; however I really the apartment, empty’ to ‘there at style but to make it more grammati-
liked the original poem and the words the edge of the empty armchair in the cally correct in English.
used so I didn’t change much. Firstly empty apartment’, because the word
I changed ‘the grays of the light’ to order wasn’t quite right in the initial
‘the gray light’ because the original translation and because I personally24 25
Highly Commended
Bahar Sarhoşluğu
Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı
Yuvası saçakta kalan kırlangıç,
14-and-under
Yavrusu dallara emanet serçe,
Derken camiler üstünde güvercin
Minareler katından geçiyorum
Gökyüzü mahallesi İstanbul’un
Süt beyaz bir martıyım açıklarda
Gemilere ben yol gösteriyorum,
Buğday ve ilaç yüklü gemilere
Bir kanat vuruşta bulutlardayım;
Bir süzülüşte vatanım dalgalar!
Reproduced by kind permission of the rightsholder
Eylül Karakullukcu
Spring’s Idleness
The home of the swallow in the eaves,
That of the little sparrow in the branches,
And of the pigeons on roofs of mosques
Sweeping through the minarets
This is İstanbul’s azure neighbourhood.
I think to truly understand
that was difficult to portray was the
pigeons on the roofs of mosques. I am a silver seagull, soaring along the horizon.
This is quite a common sight in Istan- It is me who shows the way to ships,
this poem, you would need bul, and people often feed them bird
food outside the mosques. However,
Loaded with wheat and medicine.
In a wingbeat I am engulfed in the clouds;
to have seen Istanbul and its to someone who has never been to
Turkey, it might seem odd! The orig-
In a glide, the waves are my domain!
inal poem has a regular metre, but I
skyline in person, but I did my decided to not incorporate this into
my translation, since I think it sounds
best to capture that feeling. more natural without it.
I think to truly understand this poem, to the branches’, but what it actually
you would need to have seen Istan- means is that the bird’s home is in
bul and its skyline in person, but I the branches. Another challenge was
did my best to capture that feeling. A the word ‘vatan’, which literally trans-
particular description that was hard lates as ‘homeland’, but I changed it
to translate was ‘dallara emanet’; to ‘domain’ to make the poem end on
this translates literally as ‘entrusted a powerful note. A cultural reference26 27
Highly Commended
愛蓮說
Zhou Dunyi
14-and-under
水陸草木之花，可愛者甚蕃。 晉陶淵明獨愛菊。 自李唐來，世人甚愛牡丹。 予獨愛蓮之出淤泥而不
染，濯清漣而不妖，中通外直，不蔓不枝，香遠益清，亭亭淨植，可遠觀而不可褻玩焉。
予謂菊，花之隱逸者也;牡丹，花之富貴者也;蓮，花之君子者也。 噫！ 菊之愛，陶後鮮有聞。 蓮之愛，
同予者何人？ 牡丹之愛，宜乎眾矣。
Katrina Fong
To Love the Lotus
Of all the flowers of land and sea, many
deserve to be adored. Tao Yuan Ming of the Jin
It was an intentional choice not to dynasty only had eyes for chrysanthemums,
translate ‘君子’ in my translation. I The poem is written in what I interpret and since the Li clan ruled the Tang dynasty,
feel that this phrase is one of those people have loved the peonies. But I will only
phrases that have no equivalent in to be the ancient Chinese equivalent love the lotus flower that emerges from the
English. In the simplest sense, a junzi
is a respectable, virtuous individual,
of free verse, so it posed a challenge mud unsullied, and passes through clean water
with dignity. Its hollow stem is pin-straight, and
but there are much heavier implica-
tions that come with it. It implies wide
to keep a lot of the original structure. it does not crawl like vines nor grow unsightly
branches, and the farther its sweet scent
knowledge, wisdom, dignity, and is
spreads, the fresher its aroma becomes. Clean
one of the highest compliments you
could pay anyone in ancient Chinese preserve the original mood. It was dif- grammatically absurd. Consequently
and regal, it stands tall in the water. It is to be
society! The poem is written in what ficult to translate the section ‘予獨愛蓮 I took some creative liberties and admired from afar, and never up close.
I interpret to be the ancient Chinese 之出淤泥而不染，濯清漣而不妖，中通外 translated the title according to how
equivalent of free verse, so it posed a 直，不蔓不枝，香遠益清，亭亭淨植，可遠 the poem comes across – as a short I think chrysanthemums are the quiet,
challenge to keep a lot of the original 觀而不可褻玩焉。’ as it includes many musing and a tribute to the beauty wise recluses among flowers; Peonies are
structure. It is also written in ancient phrases that have no direct equiva- and virtue of lotus flowers. I tried to the extravagant nobles; And Lotuses are
literary Chinese (文言文), so one Chi- lent in English, so I had to take some preserve the elegant flow and lan- the virtuous, dignified junzi. Alas! After
nese character could mean a whole creative liberties. The most difficult guage of the original by using slightly Tao Yuan Ming’s time, love for his beloved
phrase in English. I tried to keep to part was translating the title, as it archaic English as opposed to a more chrysanthemums has dwindled to nothing. And
the original rhythm by using mostly directly translates as ‘Love Lotus Say’, modern/casual approach. as for the adoration of the lotus, how could
the same punctuation and pauses, to which both makes no sense and is there be anyone other than me! But for the
peony, those who love it are many!28 29
Highly Commended
Dans une fosse comme un ours
(extract from ‘A la Santé’)
Guillaume Apollinaire
14-and-under
Dans une fosse comme un ours
Chaque matin je me promène
Tournons tournons tournons toujours
Le ciel est bleu comme une chaîne
Dans une fosse comme un ours
Chaque matin je me promène
Dans la cellule d’à côté
On y fait couler la fontaine
Avec les clefs qu’il fait tinter
Que le geôlier aille et revienne
Dans la cellule d’à côté
On y fait couler la fontaine
In a pit like a bear
Mia Harris
Stuck in this cage,
Like a bear, I am trapped,
Each morning we walk,
We walk round and round,
And round and round.
Each morning we walk,
And each time, we finish our walk,
As soon as I read this poem in French, Back in this cage,
I really liked it and wanted to choose Sometimes when you translate The sky is the limit,
it. However, when I read it a second Like a great blue chain.
time, I realised that the structure something from another language, Yet here we are,
was going to be difficult to recreate Incarcerated outcasts,
in English. English and French poems it loses its mood and no longer feels Animals to the world.
are structured very differently, but I So each and every morning,
still wanted to capture the essence of like a poem. We walk away and end up here,
the poem, no matter which language
Over and over again,
it was in. To overcome this challenge,
In another cell,
I took the words of the poem and kept about feeling trapped in a prison cell, of incarceration, so I tweaked some
its meaning the same, but I tweaked I changed it to ‘The sky is like a great parts of the poem so that English and
An inmate has left,
the structure so that it made more blue chain’ to convey this sense more French readers would feel the same Left the taps running,
sense to English readers. Another strongly. I did the same thing with a when they read the poem. I wanted to Left the taps dripping.
issue was that some of the words few more parts of the poem. The third keep the sad, repetitive atmosphere That guard,
used only made sense in French. For problem I faced was trying to capture of the poem, and I would say I did so The guard who jingles his keys,
example, the literal translation of one the mood of the poem. Sometimes fairly successfully by changing the Letting these men come and go,
line was ‘The sky is blue like a chain’. when you translate something from structure and words, but the meaning In another cell,
When I translated this into English, it another language, it loses its mood of the poem remains the same. An inmate has left,
sounded like a simile, and this wasn’t and no longer feels like a poem. I Left the taps running,
what I wanted. Instead, as the poem is still wanted to capture the feeling Left the taps dripping.30 31
Winners
KOLKATA’S JESUS
Nirendranath Chakraborty
No red light at the signal, yet the turbulent pace
16-and-under
of the city of Kolkata
came to an abrupt halt;
adjusting violently
Taxis and private cars, three wheelers,
tiger stamped double-deckers.
“He is gone!”, they screamed,
those running along
from either side of the road -
porters, vendors, shopkeepers, and customers -
like a motionless image on an artist’s easel.
Each watching in silence,
in wobbly feet
crossing the road, one side to the other
a naked child.
Iona Mandal It has rained a while ago
in the Chowringhee neighbourhood,
now the sunlight, like a long spear
descends, piercing the heart of the clouds;
enveloping the city of Kolkata
in magical light.
Resting my chin on the State bus window
I see the sky, I see you.
Child of a beggar mother,
Infant Jesus of Kolkata,
The Bengali poem ‘Kolkatar Jishu’, one in facing the world upfront, oblivious While translating ‘State bus,’ I realised stopping the entire traffic
of Nirendranath Chakraborty’s most of the dangers that lurk, makes the there was no equivalent here in the
in your mystic spell.
beautiful creations, is particularly poem universal to everyone irrespec- UK and hence, I retained the same.
The public furore,
close to my heart for its simplic- tive of where one belongs – and that Apart from this, there were no other
ity in language, visual imagery and is what makes the poem so appeal- words, phrases or cultural references
the impatient driver’s grinding teeth,
universality, transcending time and ing. I read the poem several times to posing any challenge in translation. you seem perturbed by none;
place. The poem narrates the poet’s delve into its mirth so that not much However, that does not make the death looming on either side,
personal experience in watching a was lost in translation. I was incredi- poem any less beautiful or unworthy juxtaposed in between
naked beggar child crossing a busy bly appreciative of the simplistic yet of translation. you walk along in unstable steps.
road in Kolkata, bringing the traffic intensely meaningful nature, as it also As if humanity was embodied,
to a complete standstill. The child is meant that I faced a less conflicting in the joy of taking the first step
completely fearless and unaware of task of translating complex, contex- Reproduced by kind permission of the poet’s daughter you wanting to conquer the entire universe
accidental consequences, much to the tually specific phrases. I have tried to in your fist. Hence,
horror of those observing the act. To retain the vividness in description and in wobbly feet you move
the poet, the child resembles Infant clarity in thought of the original poem
from one end of the world to the other.
Jesus – an earthly ruler and saviour for (in free verse) by keeping alive the nat-
mankind – engaged in the joyous act ural flow. It was difficult to translate
of taking his first baby steps, holding the ‘tiger stamped double-deckers’, as
in his hands a magical orb, bringing no English phrase seemed to encap-
the world to a standstill. The infant’s sulate the same urban yet authentic
fearlessness as he takes his first steps sentiment of the Bengali phrase.32 33
Winners
25 ottobre 1994 – provincia di Modena.
Fatima Bouhtouch
16-and-under Mia madre è in travaglio ha le contrazioni,
non c’è nessun parente a tenerle la mano,
nessuno a tradurre per lei le nozioni di una lingua che le fa strano,
che non somiglia, a nessuna idea di famiglia e non ancora.
Il medico non la capisce, è un po’ – si innervosisce.
L’aria impastata di incomprensione e comincia così
la storia di alienazione
di una donna straniera in questa nazione.
“Ah vedrai –
L’Europa ti piacerà” l’aveva assicurato papà,
ma non riesci a dargli ragione rinchiusa nel monolocale fuori città,
le tocca fare i conti con solitudine, nostalgia e umidità.
Maddie Stoll “Tu sei arrivata come una promessa”
mi ha raccontato anni dopo,
ma pareva lo dicesse a se stessa.
“Mi aspettavo tanto ma ho avuto così poco
poi sei arrivata tu e come un’onda di mare
hai tirato via il mio male.”
Oggi piange troppo spesso,
e con uno sforzo immenso
I started learning Italian three years performance. Bouhtouch’s delivery were hard to communicate. A literal cerco di non guardarla invecchiare,
ago quite by chance, and since then of the text used pauses, changed translation would be to do maths, to intristita da un mondo che non sa più amare. Ed è così che comincia la rassegnazione
have loved the sonority of the lan- speed at times, and used inflection to calculate a bill or to face something,
a non avere voce nella propria narrazione,
guage and the way it plays with emphasise specific words. Everything so this expression at once suggests E noto inciso sulla sua pelle, a lasciare che sia l’altro, a definirci,
allegory. I happened to discover a Bouhtouch was able to convey with something mathematical or calcu- il sacrificio in nome mio e delle mie sorelle.
rich culture of Italian spoken word her voice – emotion and passion lated and something emotional. The
a usare la propria ignoranza per ferirci.
Qualcuno ci gridava,
poetry on YouTube, and was struck – had to be replicated with punctu- act of translation has added depth to
“Arabe di merda, tornatevene nella vostra tenda” E nel mentre di una pandemia globale
in particular by Fatima Bouhtouch’s ation, and where possible, syllable my understanding and appreciation
e a me saliva la rabbia incontrollata ripenso alla mia realtà individuale,
message and also her expressive count. Though English and Italian of Bouhtouch’s performance, which
mentre mia madre sembrava ormai abituata. e mi accorgo che è per questo che io non trovo differenza,
use of rhetoric and rhyme. The first share many similarities at a grammat- grows more powerful each time I
challenge, therefore, was creating an ical level, one key difference that was experience it. I’m humbled to be able sicché siamo tutti eguali nella disperazione,
accurate transcription of her perfor- brought home to me through this pro- to share her message. compagni di viaggio,
mance. In spoken Italian, vowels and cess was a tendency in Italian towards devoti alla speranza di meritare un’opportunità
shorter words often tend to blend, metaphor. For example, Bouhtouch che vada al di là della lingua
impacting on possible meaning. uses the word ‘impastata’, literally con cui parliamo,
For example, ‘vada’ coupled with ‘al meaning ‘kneaded’, to convey an
con cui ci amiamo,
di là’ means surpasses, exceeds or uncomfortable, stifling atmosphere.
con cui ci sosteniamo,
goes beyond, yet ‘aldilà’ itself is the It was difficult to find an English
afterlife, or another world. The pri- equivalent for this beautifully con-
e ci distruggiamo.
mary challenge for this translation densed description. ‘Fare i conti’ was
was that the text was designed for another phrase whose connotations Ti regalerò un’opportunità mamma.
Reproduced by kind permission of the poet34 35
Winners 25th October 1994 – Modena.
16-and-under
Maddie Stoll My mother is in labour – she is having contractions,
cont… there is no one with her to hold her hand,
no one to translate for her the concepts of a language that feels strange,
that doesn’t resemble any idea of family and never has.
The doctor doesn’t understand her. He gets heated.
The atmosphere is thick with doughy incomprehension
and so begins the story of the alienation
of a foreign woman in this, this very nation.
“Oh you’ll see –
you’ll like Europe” my father had assured,
but you can’t prove him right, cooped up in some bedsit on the outskirts of the city,
having to process all the loneliness, the nostalgia and the humidity.
“You arrived like a promise”,
she told me years later
but she seemed to be speaking to herself.
“I expected so much but had so little, and then,
then you arrived, and, like a wave of the sea,
The primary challenge for this you washed away my agony.”
translation was that the text Today she cries too often
and I try with everything in me And clearly, indelibly, is etched on her skin
was designed for performance. not to see her ageing,
grieving for a world that no longer knows how to love.
the sacrifice made in my name and that of my sisters.
Someone shouts
Bouhtouch’s delivery of the text used “Shitty Arabs, return to your tents”,
and in me grows an incontrollable anger
whilst my mum seems by now numbed.
pauses, changed speed at times, and And so it begins: resigning yourself
used inflection to emphasise specific to having no say in the telling of your story,
to letting it be other, letting it define us,
words…Everything Bouhtouch was letting another’s ignorance wound us.
able to convey with her voice – And in the midst of a global pandemic,
I think back to my individual reality
and through that I see no differences –
emotion and passion – had to be we can all be rendered equal by desperation,
can become companions on a journey,
replicated with punctuation, and hoping for an opportunity
that surpasses the language
where possible, syllable count. with which we speak,
with which we love,
with which we support ourselves,
and with which we, also, destroy ourselves.
I’ll give you that opportunity, mum.36 37
Winners
Tai Unnos
Iwan Llwyd
Sbwriel oes yr iâ oedd y cerrig llyfnion
16-and-under
orweddai’n flêr hyd lannau’r afon:
sbarion a shafins cŷn a morthwyl y rhewlif
a siapiodd bob dyffryn ganrif wrth ganrif:
ac â’r sbwriel cododd ein cyndeidiau’n ddyfal
fwthyn clyd yn nhro’r afon, ar seiliau petryal;
gosod carreg ar garreg rhwng gwyll a gwawr,
a chynnau tân cyn i’r landlord dynnu’r cyfan i lawr;
hawlio darn o dir a’i godi’n aelwyd,
drwy nerth bôn braich troi llafur yn freuddwyd:
ar lannau traffyrdd y dinasoedd llwydion,
ac yng nghesail goncrid swyddfeydd gweigion,
dan bontydd ffyrdd osgoi, mewn meysydd parcio mae rhai
yn eu dyblau heno hefyd wrthi’n codi tai,
rhoi trefn ar sbwriel dan y sêr,
hawlio darn o dir â bocsys cardbord blêr.
Steffan Nicholas Reproduced by kind permission of Nia Lloyd
Instant Houses
The first and most fundamental diffi- ‘Tai Unnos’ refers to the 19th-century Welsh An Ice Age litter of smooth stones
cult decision I had to make was how
to translate the title. The Welsh title,
tradition of building a house in one night and lay scattered along the river’s bank:
‘Tai Unnos’, refers to the 19th-century having smoke coming out of the chimney by The waste and spoils of the ice flow’s hammer
Welsh tradition of building a house in which shaped the valleys year by year;
one night and having smoke coming daylight. If the villagers failed to complete and with this waste, our ancestors built
out of the chimney by daylight. If the house in time, the landowner would be a rectangular cottage on the river’s turn,
the villagers failed to complete the stone by stone through day and night,
house in time, the landowner would allowed to tear the house down. lit a fire before the landowner could knock it all down;
be allowed to tear the house down. claimed a spot of land and made it home,
English culture doesn’t have a concept in Wales were often English people again was lost in the translation, as through the strength of an arm
like this, so I eventually chose ‘Instant and were often absentee landlords. English is not an endangered lan- turned dream to reality:
Houses’ because this ties both halves Once again, as England hasn’t been guage. The third difficulty had to do
On the edge of the motorway in the grey city,
of the poem together (the historic oppressed in this way (people from with verb tenses. In Welsh, it is possi-
and under the wing of empty concrete offices,
oppression of the rural Welsh and other countries owning land), there is ble to stack infinitives in subclauses,
today’s urban homelessness). The no word or way to convey a non-native e.g. Gosod, Cynnau, Hawlio. This isn’t
under bypass bridges, and in car parks
second problem I encountered was landlord, so I chose to keep an English allowed in English so I decided to some are doubled over tonight also building a house,
the use of the English loanword ‘land- word with ‘Landowner’. For the Welsh change them into past tense. scouring through the waste and spoils beneath the stars,
lord’ in the original Welsh poem. This reader the loanword also conjures up claiming a piece of land with a cardboard box.
word was chosen for poetic effect: it the threat to the language as well as
symbolises the fact that landowners to the people, which is a concept that38 39
Highly Commended
Собаке Качалова
Sergei Yesenin
Дай, Джим, на счастье лапу мне,
16-and-under
Такую лапу не видал я сроду.
Давай с тобой полаем при луне
На тихую, бесшумную погоду.
Дай, Джим, на счастье лапу мне.
Пожалуйста, голубчик, не лижись.
Пойми со мной хоть самое простое.
Ведь ты не знаешь, что такое жизнь,
Не знаешь ты, что жить на свете стоит.
Хозяин твой и мил и знаменит,
И у него гостей бывает в доме много,
И каждый, улыбаясь, норовит
Тебя по шерсти бархатной потрогать.
Ты по-собачьи дьявольски красив, To Kachalov’s Dog
С такою милою доверчивой приятцей.
И, никого ни капли не спросив,
Karolina Kukhta Как пьяный друг, ты лезешь
целоваться.
Jim, give me your paw for luck,
In all my life I haven’t seen one like it.
Мой милый Джим, среди твоих гостей And at the moon let’s howl and bark
Так много всяких и невсяких было. When nature’s still and silent.
Но та, что всех безмолвней и грустней, Come Jim, give me your paw for luck.
Сюда случайно вдруг не заходила?
Она придет, даю тебе поруку. My dear, do not lick yourself so.
И без меня, в ее уставясь взгляд, With me accept the simple things, I pray.
Ты за меня лизни ей нежно руку What living life is like you do not know,
За все, в чем был и не был виноват. You do not know the price you have to pay.
‘To Kachalov’s Dog’ was written in word ‘приятно’ (‘pleasant’). I couldn’t is also used to show respect or care,
1925 when the poet visited his friend translate this directly because it was so I translated it as ‘dear’; although Your owner is both known and admired
Kachalov. During the visit Yesenin made up by the poet to preserve the the term ‘милый’ also means ‘dear’ And he has guests, full house of them beset,
established a strong bond with Kach- rhyme, so instead I translated it as and appears elsewhere in the poem, As each one with a smile extends their hand
alov’s dog (Jim). When I read the poem ‘good nature’ as I felt that Jim’s good I felt the repetition would further To pat your fur of shining velvet.
I immediately fell in love with its musi- looks reflect his inner beauty and show Yesenin’s admiration for Jim
cality. I looked at translations of the goodness. I also decided to change and so decided to keep it as ‘dear’ in You are a devilishly handsome dog,
poem but was disappointed that most the last line of the first stanza by both cases. With such an amiable, good nature.
dismissed the rhyme scheme and adding ‘come’ where the original
Like a drunk friend you kiss and snog,
overlooked the poem’s lyrical metre poem just has ‘Jim give me your paw
Not waiting on approval neither censure.
– its unique feature. This inspired me for luck’. In English commands are
to create my own version of the poem usually followed by ‘please’ to sound
and I challenged myself to preserve polite; this isn’t the case in Russian, My dear Jim, among your guests
the iambic pentameter metre. I did so I added the ‘come’ to communicate The one from many so-and-sos
this by listening to the poem and com- to the reader the respect and friend- That was the saddest and the quietest
paring its musicality to my translation ship that the poet and dog share. Didn’t pass by, you don’t suppose?
and I felt it was necessary to preserve Another challenge was that Russian
the ABAB rhyme scheme, represent- words can be made to sound softer by Oh she will come, on that I swear and vow.
ing Jim’s sincerity and predictability. adding a certain suffix to them, as in So without me, look at her sweetly,
As I was translating I encountered ‘голубчик’ (where ‘чик’ is the suffix). And gently lick her hand with tender love
‘приятцей’, which comes from the This word literally means ‘pigeon’ but For all of which I was and was not guiltyYou can also read
