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Entries Tagged as 'Books'

POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCCXCIX), Pablo NERUDA (1904-1973), CHILE – “Sonetul XVII” “Soneto XVII”

June 25th, 2016 · Comments Off on POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCCXCIX), Pablo NERUDA (1904-1973), CHILE – “Sonetul XVII” “Soneto XVII” · Books, Famous People, International Media, PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations, Uncategorized

Te amo sin saber cómo, ni cuándo, ni de dónde,
te amo directamente sin problemas ni orgullo:
así te amo porque no sé amar de otra manera,

POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCCXCVII), ENGLAND – Louis H. P. de BERNIERES (b. 1954, Woolwich) – “And now he’s gone”, “ Veşnicie”

June 21st, 2016 · Comments Off on POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCCXCVII), ENGLAND – Louis H. P. de BERNIERES (b. 1954, Woolwich) – “And now he’s gone”, “ Veşnicie” · Books, Famous People, International Media, PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations, Uncategorized

This scene was foreordained. My friends,
She staged a wondrous drama, weeping by his bed,
And finds she loves him truly now he’s dead.

Poetry in Translation (CCCXCV), ROMANIA/SPAIN – Horia VINTILĂ (1915, Segarcea, Romania – 1992, Madrid, Spain) – “Echilibru”, “Balance”

June 14th, 2016 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CCCXCV), ROMANIA/SPAIN – Horia VINTILĂ (1915, Segarcea, Romania – 1992, Madrid, Spain) – “Echilibru”, “Balance” · Books, Diaspora, Famous People, International Media, PEOPLE, Poetry, POLITICAL DETENTION / DISSENT, quotations, Translations, Uncategorized

You’re passing, like a fairy, in shimmering of shadows,
Which ripple in the echoes, to freeze in marble stone.
As in my singing body reverberates your music
Which keeps your smile eternal, with its angelic tone.

“Continental Drift: Colliding Continents, Converging Cultures” – Review by Prof. Thomas G. Gallagher

May 3rd, 2016 · Comments Off on “Continental Drift: Colliding Continents, Converging Cultures” – Review by Prof. Thomas G. Gallagher · Books, Diary, Diaspora, Education, Famous People, International Media, OPINION, PEOPLE, quotations, Science

Constantin Roman writes with candour, wit, and humility. His remarkable life story unfolds with effortless simplicity thanks to his ability to write mellifluous English influenced by Romanian cadences. It is clear that he wishes to do service for the country he never lost touch with during 25 years in exile. Perhaps one way is to motivate and instruct young people with similar talents and ambitions to the ones he possessed in the 1960s.
The need for Romanians to rediscover the characteristic of group solidarity which Roman encountered in the British university world but which disappeared in communist Romania is a pressing one. That is why his story deserves to be better-known in Romania.

Poetry in Translation (CCCXCIII), ROMANIA, Adrian MUNTEANU (b. 1948, Braşov): “Nu mă aştepţi c-un zâmbet”, “With open Arms”

April 27th, 2016 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CCCXCIII), ROMANIA, Adrian MUNTEANU (b. 1948, Braşov): “Nu mă aştepţi c-un zâmbet”, “With open Arms” · Books, Famous People, International Media, PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations

Adrian Munteanu (b. 1948)

WITH OPEN ARMS

With open arms, don’t greet me on your threshold;
Your home is haunted by a hunchback silence,
Which hides in darkest corners, in defiance
Of frozen memories, which grip my world.

Poetry in Translation (CCCXCII), ROMANIA, George TOPÂRCEANU (1886, Bucharest – 1937, Jassy): “Jealousy”, “Gelozie”

April 24th, 2016 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CCCXCII), ROMANIA, George TOPÂRCEANU (1886, Bucharest – 1937, Jassy): “Jealousy”, “Gelozie” · Books, Diaspora, Famous People, International Media, Poetry, quotations, Translations

Jealousy

Had we never met before
(Incidentally, by mistake)
You’d have loved, for Goodness’ sake,
Any lad and any bore.

Poetry in Translation (CCCXCI), SERBIA / VLACH, Vasko POPA (1922 – 1991): “In the Village of my Ancestors”, “Satul de obârşie”

April 12th, 2016 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CCCXCI), SERBIA / VLACH, Vasko POPA (1922 – 1991): “In the Village of my Ancestors”, “Satul de obârşie” · Books, Famous People, International Media, PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations

I ask one of them
Tell me for God’s sake
Is George the Wolf still living

That’s me he answers
With a voice from the next world

I touch his cheek with my hand
And beg him with my eyes
To tell me if I’m living too

ETERNAL REST IN BUCHAREST (PART 1 OF 6)

March 28th, 2016 · Comments Off on ETERNAL REST IN BUCHAREST (PART 1 OF 6) · Books, Diary, Genealogy, History, PEOPLE, quotations, Reviews, Short Stories & Cameos

Sărut mâna pentru masă
C-a fost bună şi gustoasă
Şi bucătăreasa grasă.

Which, in the English vernacular translation, would more or less sound like:

Kiss your hand, Ma’am, for the pastry,
And the meal, which was so tasty,
For the coffee and all that,
As the cook was nice and fat’.

ETERNAL REST IN BUCHAREST (PART 2 OF 6)

March 28th, 2016 · Comments Off on ETERNAL REST IN BUCHAREST (PART 2 OF 6) · Books, Diary, Diaspora, International Media, PEOPLE, quotations, Short Stories & Cameos

The King? What King? I thought you were a republic and just shot one president to replace him with another, I said tartly
– This is His Majesty the King of Romania. He is the guest of His Beatitude the Archbishop of Argesh and is coming to visit the royal graves at the monastery in the Carpathians. The King and his family were specifically assigned these rooms and the hotel will be full with the Press from abroad and dignitaries.
The King of Romania! How very odd – he was turned away before by the new Communist President and marched off all the way to the airport under military escort to have him expelled from the country: only the year before! The old commies were still afraid that he might command some unwelcome popular support and overthrow the rascals who usurped the power after Ceausescu.

ETERNAL REST IN BUCHAREST (PART 4 OF 6)

March 26th, 2016 · Comments Off on ETERNAL REST IN BUCHAREST (PART 4 OF 6) · Books, Genealogy, Genealogy, History, PEOPLE, Short Stories & Cameos

Mr Professor Sir, you are English, aren’t you? But you are also a little bit Romanian!
– No, I am British – I am not English, because I was not born in England and I am naturalised British. What’s all about?
That baffled Vlad, like most Continentals could not make the difference between English and British, so I enquired:
– But why are you asking this all of a sudden?
– Because, Mr Professor Sir, you are also a little Romanian and you criticise too much all these things, the potholes in the road and everything.
Now I got the gist: I offended Vlad’s national pride and he was going to teach me a lesson: he was going to give me a fright by the way of retribution.

Centre for Romanian Studies