Day 16
The prompt for April 16 was to do a translation poem.
“Go to the Poetry International Language List, pick a language, and then follow it to a poet and a poem. Generally the Poetry International website will present a poem in its original language on the left, and any translation on the right. Cut and paste the original into the text-editing program of your choice (and try not to peek too much at the translation). Now, use the sound and shape of the words and lines to guide you, without worrying too much about whether your translation makes sense.”
Once you have your rough “translation,” you could leave it at that, or continue to shape the poem. It’s up to you. Happy writing!
You can see the whole prompt here: http://www.napowrimo.net/
I chose a poem in Irish by Caitríona Ní Chléirchín. By clicking here: Craobhlasair
you can view the original poem and its English translation. Here is the poem I came up with as my sound translation. As you will see, the subject is certainly quite different!
Crabapples and Air
Crabapples (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Rotting crabapples, three
on the table at
night lying alone.
My bowl, agate
marred and dented
at the rim and all,
a mere bowl
and me always searching.
I, down on my knees,
sneezing
in Nice
at dinnertime.
On the right, a tunnel near the sea
a multitude of
crabapples and air. A cabin, three ghosts, choirs.
Carol A. Stephen, April 16, 2013
Related articles
- NaPoWriMo Day 16: So Totally Lost in Translation (ruqaiyahdavids.wordpress.com)
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