Centre for Romanian Studies

Centre for Romanian Studies header image 1

Entries Tagged as 'London'

Poetry in Translation (CCCXL), Eugenio MONTALE (1896 – 1981), ITALY/LIGURIA: “Ripenso il tuo sorriso ”, “I recall your smile”, “Surâsul tău”

June 15th, 2015 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CCCXL), Eugenio MONTALE (1896 – 1981), ITALY/LIGURIA: “Ripenso il tuo sorriso ”, “I recall your smile”, “Surâsul tău” · Books, Famous People, International Media, PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations

Nu visez decât la surâsul tău – o apă limpede,
mărturie întâmplătoare în albia râului,
oglindă în care zăresti frunza iederei,
dar mai ales cuprinsul cerului, strălucitor şi calm.
***
I recall your smile, and for me it is limpid water
witnessed by chance among the stones of a riverbed.
slight mirror in which you see an ivy and its inflorescence,
and over all the embrace of a serene white sky.
***
Ripenso il tuo sorriso, ed è per me un’acqua limpida
scorta per avventura tra le pietraie d’un greto,
esiguo specchio in cui guardi un’ellera e i suoi corimbi;
e su tutto l’abbraccio di un bianco cielo quieto.

[Read more →]

Tags:·······················

Poetry in Translation (CCCXXXIX), Herta MULLER (b. 1953), ROMANIA-BANAT/GERMANY: “Colour Grey”, “Gri”

June 15th, 2015 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CCCXXXIX), Herta MULLER (b. 1953), ROMANIA-BANAT/GERMANY: “Colour Grey”, “Gri” · Communist Prisons, Diary, Diaspora, Famous People, International Media, OPINION, PEOPLE, Poetry, POLITICAL DETENTION / DISSENT, quotations, Reviews, Translations

I was nice to him
He was nice to me
Only
Our doors, our windows
Kept closed
Lest we smell each other.

Nu mă gândesc la tine
Dar când pământul aprig îmi va cuprinde pieptul
Voi visa tot mai mult la acele zile.

[Read more →]

Tags:·····················

POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCCXXXVII), Tadeusz RòZEWICZ (1921– 2014), POLAND: “Supravieţuitorul”, “The Survivor”

June 13th, 2015 · Comments Off on POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCCXXXVII), Tadeusz RòZEWICZ (1921– 2014), POLAND: “Supravieţuitorul”, “The Survivor” · Famous People, PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations

Virtue and crime weigh the same
I’ve seen it:
in a man who was both
criminal and virtuous.

I seek a teacher and a master
may he restore my sight hearing and speech
may he again name objects and ideas
may he separate darkness from light.

I am twenty-four
led to slaughter
I survived.
rumuseţe şi sluţenie
curaj şi laşitate
toate cântăresc de-opotrivă
am văzut-o
la un om care era de o potrivă
criminal şi virtuos.

Caut un dascăl şi un îndrumător
ca să-mi redea văzul auzul şi graiul
ca să pot desluşi obiectele şi ideile
să pot distinge întunericul de lumină.

Am ani două zeci şi patru
fiind mânat la abator
am supravieţuit.

[Read more →]

Tags:·············

Poetry in Translation (CCCXXVI), Eric Otto SIEPMANN (1903-1970) ENGLAND: “Epitaph”, “Epitaf”

March 2nd, 2015 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CCCXXVI), Eric Otto SIEPMANN (1903-1970) ENGLAND: “Epitaph”, “Epitaf” · Books, Famous People, PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations

Eric Otto SIEPMANN (1903-1970)
„Epitaph”

Here at my desk I mock my fate,
If help comes now, it comes too late,
The valued pictures in my mind,
My sheer neglect, have made me blind.

My dream deserved a steady look,
I failed to put it in a book,
And now, and now I cannot see,
My dream destroyed reality…

No fact consoles me for my flight,
No truth can give me back my sight,
No dream can make me think I see,
No life is left, so bury me.

[Read more →]

Tags:······················

Constantin ROMAN: “Voices & Shadows of the Carpathians” Postface (Part 1 of 2)

February 20th, 2015 · Comments Off on Constantin ROMAN: “Voices & Shadows of the Carpathians” Postface (Part 1 of 2) · Books, Diaspora, Famous People, International Media, PEOPLE, quotations

“Now, I am a person who likes simple words. It is true, I had realised before this journey that there was much evil and injustice in the world that I had now left, but I had believed I could shake the foundations if I called things by their proper name. I knew such an enterprise meant returning to absolute naiveté. This naiveté I considered as a primal vision purified of the slag of centuries of hoary lies about the world.” (Paul Celan)

[Read more →]

Tags:·······················

Poetry in Translation (CCCXXIII): Alberto BEVILACQUA (1934, Parma – 2013, Roma), EMILIA ROMAGNA / ITALY – “Anima amante”, “Suflet Îndrăgostit”, “Falling in Love”

February 17th, 2015 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CCCXXIII): Alberto BEVILACQUA (1934, Parma – 2013, Roma), EMILIA ROMAGNA / ITALY – “Anima amante”, “Suflet Îndrăgostit”, “Falling in Love” · Famous People, International Media, PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations

My soul had fallen in love by mistake on a diary page from faraway lands maybe you will belong to me because I could have anybody and it’s not absolutely necessary to have you my taste is different we shall try to speed up Eternity to enjoy a few moments.

[Read more →]

Tags:·················

Poetry in translation (CCCXXI): Constantin ROMAN (ENGLAND) – “In Memoriam”

February 13th, 2015 · Comments Off on Poetry in translation (CCCXXI): Constantin ROMAN (ENGLAND) – “In Memoriam” · Diaspora, International Media, PEOPLE, Poetry, Translations

IN MEMORIAM
We shall remain prostrate by Gravity
And our latent self-esteem,
As we will lose all our levity
And the professional pipe dream…
Don’t cry, you, milligal and lonely oersted,
As the old man died, with alacrity.
Therefore, we shall stampede, in earnest,
To grab his seat, at the Academy.
But, mindful of the world’s Ecology,
We’ll mummify his body for the Nations,
To be preserved for future generations
And be admired by Humanity.
And as we’ll find him pickled, in preserves,
Displayed amongst the vile orangutans,
We shall forgive him his shenanigans,
To grant him the respect that he deserves.

[Read more →]

Tags:················

Poetry in Translation (CCCXIV): Alexandru O. TEODOREANU, aka PASTOREL (1894-1964), ROMANIA – “Soldate Rus, Slavă Ţie!”, “Hail, Soviet Soldier!”, “Gloire au Soldat Soviétique!” –

January 23rd, 2015 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CCCXIV): Alexandru O. TEODOREANU, aka PASTOREL (1894-1964), ROMANIA – “Soldate Rus, Slavă Ţie!”, “Hail, Soviet Soldier!”, “Gloire au Soldat Soviétique!” – · Poetry, quotations, Translations

You, Soviet soldier, Soviet soldier,
Why are you perched so high, I wonder?
Because you conquered us, as well,
Or that your feet may stink like hell?

“GLOIRE AU SOLDAT SOVIÉTIQUE!”
Păstorel Teodoreanu
(1894-1964),

Toi soviétique, si haut perché,
Pourquoi es-tu si isolé?
Serait-ce par marque de respect? s
Ou pour ne pas sentir tes pieds?

Version Francaise par Constantin ROMAN,
London © 2014 Copyright Constantin ROMAN, Londres

[Read more →]

Tags:·························

Poetry in Translation (CCCXI): Radu GIR (1905-1975), ROMANIA – Poet of the Romanian Communist Prisons, “Întrebare ”, “Question”

January 2nd, 2015 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CCCXI): Radu GIR (1905-1975), ROMANIA – Poet of the Romanian Communist Prisons, “Întrebare ”, “Question” · Communist Prisons, Famous People, History, PEOPLE, Poetry, POLITICAL DETENTION / DISSENT, quotations

Radu GYR
Poet of the Romanian Communist Prisons
Mă-ntorc spre ea cu sânge în cuvânt
Şi-n ochii lui Iisus e numai pace.
Întreb: -Tu eşti? Şi umbra spune: -Sânt.
I turn to it, with all my hope, reborn,
As Jesus Christ inspires utter Peace…
I ask: that’s you, Milord? He says: I am, my Son!

Rendered in English by Constantin ROMAN, London
© 2014 Copyright Constantin ROMAN, London

[Read more →]

Tags:·····················

Poetry in Translation (CCCIX), Charles Hubert SISSON (1914 –2003), ENGLAND, “Finale”, “Final”

January 2nd, 2015 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CCCIX), Charles Hubert SISSON (1914 –2003), ENGLAND, “Finale”, “Final” · PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations

Nothing means anything now:
I am alone
— My mind a vacant space,
My heart of stone.

Nimic nu mai contează
Singur sunt
Memoria’m pierdut
Viaţa să-nfrunt.

[Read more →]

Tags:·················