Thanks Jonathan!! Haha, yeah, these are really intended as study guides - so best taken in small doses. And hopefully it's easy enough to brush over the theory and just enjoy the poems. :-) Ah thankyou! Yeah, I was pleased with rivergathered - it's a technique I started noticing in some poets I was reading and have been keen for a while to start incorporating it into my own work. So, really glad you picked up on it.
Ah wonderful! :-) Yeah, Barnhill's books are really good for reading Bashō! Another one I meant to recommend is David Lanoue's translations of Issa - all free online, over 10,000 poems: http://haikuguy.com/ Such an amazing collection! Worth a bookmark too. And aw, thanks so much! Yeah, I enjoyed writing that one. So glad it resonated. Hope all is well, and the poetry is flowing!
Translating poems is definitely more art than science. Generally you have to choose whether to prioritize structure, literal meaning, or the metaphor. Often you can get two of those, but very rarely can one accomplish all three. To retranslate a poem already translated is very valid, because no translation of poetry can ever be fully accurate. (This is why there's so many different versions of ancient works like the Bible as well.)
Thanks for explaining these poems with both the structure and the context, as well. Many poem enthusiasts seem to forget the context. Haikus, for example, are well known for their structure, but few know that they are traditionally inspired by nature. I've saved this article to circle back to so I can try my hand at these poems when I have the time.
Absolutely! Juggling the structure, literalness, and metaphor is at the heart of it, and you're so right, often one becomes dominant for each translator . Haha - yeah, context is everything huh! Especially with haiku in which the whole poem is often symbolic/metaphorical - and the reference to the season (kigo) informs the emotional mood of the poem (it's also worth remembering that kigo don't have to refer to "nature", but simply to the passing of the seasons, whether through the non-human natural world, or the human world or habits, festivals and so on). I hope you do get the chance to try your hand at writing some - if you do, make sure to come back and post them as comments, or let me know. Would love to read whatever you come up with. And if you're looking for more info, in terms of things like kigo, I wrote an article on it recently: https://forgottenpoets.substack.com/p/haiku-thursdays-bakusui-1718-1783 :-)
Skimmed but intend to circle back and read it more carefully -- if not in this life, then the next :)
"rivergathered" is what I'm holding onto for the moment, which is marvelous
Thanks Jonathan!! Haha, yeah, these are really intended as study guides - so best taken in small doses. And hopefully it's easy enough to brush over the theory and just enjoy the poems. :-) Ah thankyou! Yeah, I was pleased with rivergathered - it's a technique I started noticing in some poets I was reading and have been keen for a while to start incorporating it into my own work. So, really glad you picked up on it.
Lots of new things for me. I have bookmarked David Landis Barnhill’s books for further reading, thank you, Dick! And I love your Sedōka!!!
Ah wonderful! :-) Yeah, Barnhill's books are really good for reading Bashō! Another one I meant to recommend is David Lanoue's translations of Issa - all free online, over 10,000 poems: http://haikuguy.com/ Such an amazing collection! Worth a bookmark too. And aw, thanks so much! Yeah, I enjoyed writing that one. So glad it resonated. Hope all is well, and the poetry is flowing!
That's a lot of homework, but I'm not complaining :) Thanks, Dick.
Haha - yeah, it's a life's worth of reading. Definitely don't think I'll ever get through them all!
Translating poems is definitely more art than science. Generally you have to choose whether to prioritize structure, literal meaning, or the metaphor. Often you can get two of those, but very rarely can one accomplish all three. To retranslate a poem already translated is very valid, because no translation of poetry can ever be fully accurate. (This is why there's so many different versions of ancient works like the Bible as well.)
Thanks for explaining these poems with both the structure and the context, as well. Many poem enthusiasts seem to forget the context. Haikus, for example, are well known for their structure, but few know that they are traditionally inspired by nature. I've saved this article to circle back to so I can try my hand at these poems when I have the time.
Absolutely! Juggling the structure, literalness, and metaphor is at the heart of it, and you're so right, often one becomes dominant for each translator . Haha - yeah, context is everything huh! Especially with haiku in which the whole poem is often symbolic/metaphorical - and the reference to the season (kigo) informs the emotional mood of the poem (it's also worth remembering that kigo don't have to refer to "nature", but simply to the passing of the seasons, whether through the non-human natural world, or the human world or habits, festivals and so on). I hope you do get the chance to try your hand at writing some - if you do, make sure to come back and post them as comments, or let me know. Would love to read whatever you come up with. And if you're looking for more info, in terms of things like kigo, I wrote an article on it recently: https://forgottenpoets.substack.com/p/haiku-thursdays-bakusui-1718-1783 :-)