New York Times: How a Sonnet Made a Statue the ‘Mother of Exiles’ The New Colossus Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a …
Read MoreJapanese poem: Autumn in the Field (in the tanka form)
This poem is attributed to the Emperor Tenji in the famous 1235 AD anthology of Japanese poetry, One Hundred People, One Verse Each, but it is unlikely to have actually been written by him and is more likely taken from a folk song. Like all …
Read MoreGustavo Adolfo Bécquer’s “I’m fiery, brunette”
This poem by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836-1870) is about wanting the unobtainable in love. Here is a beautiful musical version in Spanish: The translation is pretty straightforward in this case and doesn’t differ too much from the literal translation, except for some rearrangement and omissions to …
Read MoreThe joy of translating
Translating poetry is a special pleasure, both for its challenge and its beauty. It is impossible to take a poem in one language a duplicate it in another, even in closely related languages. The more different the languages are, the more hopeless that effort becomes. …
Read MoreIn the Jewelry District
Walking down the diamond street, Humanity’s depth falls all around. I look into the faces of those I meet, Not trusting a soul that walks the ground.
Read More(a leaf falls) loneliness – E.E. Cummings
l(a le af fa ll s) one l iness This is one of E.E. Cummings’ poems influenced by the imagist movement that paints a visual image with the words of the poem. The movement in turn was partially influenced by Japanese haiku that attempts to …
Read MoreGaze
The languorous touch Of your lips lock me in silence. You stop, face lost of sense, Resting, pillowed, Seeing the distance.
Read MoreCaught in the Rain (Basho)
My Translation Missing my hat, Caught in the cold rain. What the hell… Original Japanese 笠もなきわれを時雨るるかこは何と Pronunciation GoogleTranslator: press speaker button to listen Kasa mo naki Ware wo shigururu ka Ko ha nan-to Literal Hat also none I am in a wintry shower What a …
Read MoreEnchanted Lady
This poem tells the story of a man visiting his lover, who cannot leave the palace. It was written by Li Yu (937–978 AD), last emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and probably directed to his lover, his wife’s sister and a woman renowned for …
Read MoreFoliage
Parchment red and orange, Silently, the woods question: Sound… a squirrel jumps. Today I went to the Chuang Yen Buddhist monastery in Carmel, New York. The drive was beautiful, with puffs of foliage red, orange, yellow, and green. The air smelled of of dirt …
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