Poetry in Translation (CLXXI): Ar-Ruşāfī de Valencia (XIIth c.), Hispano-Arab Poet – “Una tarde clara”, “A clear evening”, “O seară senină”
Ce plăcut e sa bem un pahar de vin,
în ciripit de vrăbii
si de turturele
la umbra acestui pom bătrân
sorbind vinul roşu al serii.
(Rendered in Romanian by Constantin ROMAN, London,
© 2013 Copyright Constantin ROMAN)
Entries Tagged as 'poetry'
Poetry in Translation (CLXXI): Ar-Ruşāfī de Valencia (XIIth c.), Hispano-Arab Poet – “Una tarde clara”, “A clear evening”, “O seară senină”
February 24th, 2013 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CLXXI): Ar-Ruşāfī de Valencia (XIIth c.), Hispano-Arab Poet – “Una tarde clara”, “A clear evening”, “O seară senină” · International Media, Poetry, quotations, Translations
Tags:"Ar-Ruşāfī de Valencia"·"Centre for Romanian Studies - London"·"Constantin Roman"·"Hispano-Arab Poet"·"Poetry in Translation"·poetry·romanian·Spanish·translation·“A clear evening”·“O seară senină”·“Una tarde clara”
Poetry in Translation (CLXII): Lucian BLAGA (1895 – 1961), “J’ai compris le péché qui pèse sur ma maison” , “The sin that burdens my house”
January 26th, 2013 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CLXII): Lucian BLAGA (1895 – 1961), “J’ai compris le péché qui pèse sur ma maison” , “The sin that burdens my house” · Poetry, quotations, Translations
J’ai compris le péché qui pèse sur ma maison
Lucian BLAGA (1895 – 1961)
J’ai compris le péché qui pèse sur ma maison
comme une mousse ancestrale.
Oh, pourquoi ai-je interprété les temps et le zodiaque
autrement que la vieille qui rouit le chanvre dans l’étang?
Pourquoi ai-je désiré un autre sourire que celui du tailleur de pierre
qui fait jaillir des étincelles au bord du chemin?
Pourquoi ai-je aspiré à un autre sort
dans le monde des sept jours
que celui du sonneur de cloches qui conduit les morts au ciel?
Passant, donne-moi ta main, et toi qui t’en vas
et toi qui viens.
Tous les troupeaux de la terre ont des auréoles saintes
au dessus de leurs têtes.
C’est ainsi que je m’aime dorénavant:
un parmi beaucoup d’autres
En Français par Constantin ROMAN
Bucarest 1967, Londres, 2013
Tags:"Centre for Romanian Studies - London"·"Constantin Roman"·"Lucian Blaga"·"Poetry in Translation"·"sonneur de cloches"·"tailleur de pierre"·chanvre·Français·French·poem·poetry·romanian·Roumain·traduction·translation·zodiaque·“J’ai compris le péché qui pèse sur ma maison”
Poetry in Translation (CLV): Marin SORESCU (1936 – 1996, Romania) – “Passport”, “Paşaport”
December 26th, 2012 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CLV): Marin SORESCU (1936 – 1996, Romania) – “Passport”, “Paşaport” · Poetry, quotations, Translations
Passport
(Marin Sorescu, Romania)
To cross the border
Between the sunflower
And the moonflower
Between the alphabet
Of handwritten events
And printed events.
(Rendered in English by Constantin ROMAN, London
© 2012, Copyright Constantin ROMAN)
Tags:"Centre for Romanian Studies - London"·"Constantin Roman"·"Marin Sorescu"·"Romanian into English"·poet·poetry·poezie·romanian·translator
Poetry in Translation (CLII): Jan CAMPERT (1902 – 1943), The Netherlands – “Song of the Eighteen Dead”, (fragment), “Prohod la douăzeci de morţi”
December 24th, 2012 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CLII): Jan CAMPERT (1902 – 1943), The Netherlands – “Song of the Eighteen Dead”, (fragment), “Prohod la douăzeci de morţi” · PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations
Jan Campert (1902-1943, Netherlands
The Song of the Eigtheen Dead
A cell is but six feet long
and hardly six feet wide,
yet smaller is the patch of ground,
that I now do not yet know,
but where I nameless come to lie,
my comrades all and one,
we eighteen were in number then,
none shall the evening see come.
Prohod la douăzeci de morţi
În temniţa ce m-au închis
de-abea mă pot mişca,
toţi în picioare-nghesuiţi,
încât nu ştiu cum voi putea,
nevolnic să imi fac culcuş,
pe umeda podea.
Noi douăzeci eram atunci,
dar seara nimenea.
(Rendered in Romanian by Constantin ROMAN, London
© 2012, Copyright Constantin ROMAN)
Tags:"al doilea razboi mondial"·"Centre for Romanian Studies - London"·"Constantin Roman"·"Jan Campert"·"Poetry in Translation"·"Poezie din inchisori"·"The Netherlands"·(fragment)·Dutch·inchisoare·London·poet Olanda·poetry·prison·prohot·WWII·“Prohod la douăzeci de morţi”·“Song of the Eighteen Dead”
Poetry in Translation (CXLIX): Antonio MACHADO (1875-1939), SPAIN, “Proverbios y cantares”, “Proverbe şi cântece”
November 28th, 2012 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CXLIX): Antonio MACHADO (1875-1939), SPAIN, “Proverbios y cantares”, “Proverbe şi cântece” · PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations
Caminante, son tus huellas
el camino, y nada más;
caminante, no hay camino,
se hace camino al andar.
Al andar se hace camino,
y al volver la vista atrás
se ve la senda que nunca
se ha de volver a pisar.
Caminante, no hay camino,
sino estelas en la mar.
Trecătorule, paşii tăi sunt chiar
calea aceasta şi nimic altceva;
trecătorule, calea nu există,
calea se naşte din mers.
Mergând creăm drumul,
iar privind înapoi
vedem cărarea
ce nu mai trebuie străbătută, din nou, niciodata.
Trecătorule, calea nu există…
Doar stele pe cer.
(Rendered in Romanian
by Constantin ROMAN, Londra,
© 2012, Copyright Constantin ROMAN)
Tags:"Antonio Machado"·"Centre for Romanian Stdudies - London"·"Cons·"Poetry on Translation"·poet·poetry·romaneste·Spain·Spaniola·traducere·translation·“Proverbe şi cântece”·“Proverbios y cantares”
Poetry in Translation (CXLVI): Sergiu MANDINESCU (1926-1964), ROMANIA, “Prison Warder”, “ Suflet de călău”
November 22nd, 2012 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CXLVI): Sergiu MANDINESCU (1926-1964), ROMANIA, “Prison Warder”, “ Suflet de călău” · PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations
A muffled night
a bottomless abyss
a peacock’s cry
that never goes amiss.
Great panthers watching in the night
and tigers ready for the pounce,
the pythons flawlessly advance
a path so trite.
The shadow’s silence so profound
fills to the brim the darkest mind –
a jungle full of beasts of any kind,
but human soul is nowhere to be found!
(Rendered in English, from the Romanian original,
by Constantin ROMAN, London,
© 2012, Copyright Constantin ROMAN)
Sergiu MANDINESCU (1926-1964) – Biographical Note:
Sergiu Mandinescu was a son of Bucovina, who died prematurely at the age of 38, of which 14 years, between 1949 and 1963, were spent in the harshest Communist prisons: Jilava, Pitesti, Gherla, Aiud and more.
He died within one year of being released from prison, having barely had time to put pen to paper – his own poems that he memorized in the darkest prison cells.
Sergiu was only 23 years of age when he was imprisoned by the Communists and was discharged at the age of 37, only to pass away a year later.
Even after the demise of Ceausescu, 25 years after Mandinescu’s death, Romania was not ready to confront the demons of its past, as the “post-Communist” publishing houses still blackballed the publications of the poet’s verse. However, a handful of these appeared in print, first, before 1989, through the effort of the Romanian Diaspora and of late, in Romania, on the Internet and in some provincial literary magazines.
Considering the aforesaid, one can reasonably state, without fear of contradiction, that the conspiracy of silence is still alive and well in the Carpathian lands, in the guise of a pre programmed amnesia, through the good offices of overt and covert gremlins, perched in lucrative sinecures: the latter are at work, full time, like termites, until the whole shebang would implode: never too soon!
Addendum:
There seems to be no portrait extant of Sergiu Mandinescu, even though, given the assiduous efforts of the Romanian secret services, there ought to be some prison photos when he was indicted and therefore available in the late poet’s Securitate files.
Tags:"Centre for Romanian Studies - London"·"Communist prisons"·"Constantin Roman"·"Poetry in Translation"·"prison Warder"·"Romanian into English"·"Sergiu Mandinescu"·"Suflet de călău"·communism·mandinescu·poetry·poets·Romania·romanian·traducator·translator
Poetry in Translation (CXLIII): Parid TEFERICI (b. 1972, Albania), “Index”, “Direcţie”
November 11th, 2012 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CXLIII): Parid TEFERICI (b. 1972, Albania), “Index”, “Direcţie” · Diaspora, International Media, Poetry, quotations, Translations
INDEX
Farid TEFERICI (b. 1972, Albania)
What point is there in my showing you ‘mongst the crowds
What sort of person I am,
Or the turn in the road you must take to find
My house, where the quince tree is aging in the yard?
Index fingers are the roots that feed
That trunk which offers no leaves, nor fruit, nor shade.
[Index, from the volume Meqenëse sytë, Tirana: Aleph 2003, p. 87. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]
(Rendered in Romanian
by Constantin ROMAN, London,
© 2012, Copyright Constantin ROMAN)
Tags:"Centre for Romanian Studies - London"·"Constantin Roman"·"Parid Teferici"·"Poetry in Translation"·Albania·copyright·Londra·poet·poetry·poezie·traducere·translation·“Direcţie"·“Index”
Poetry in Translation (CXXXVII): Anonymous, “EPITAF PE O LESPEDE DE MORMÂNT”
November 7th, 2012 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CXXXVII): Anonymous, “EPITAF PE O LESPEDE DE MORMÂNT” · International Media, Poetry, quotations, Translations
Poetry in Translation (CXXXVII): Anonymous, “EPITAF PE O LESPEDE DE MORMÂNT”
“EPITAF PE O LESPEDE DE MORMÂNT”
(Poet anonim)
Am plâns si-am râs, ca nou născut:
Timpu-a’nceput.
Ca tânăr am iubit în vers –
Timpul a mers.
Când om în fire-am devenit –
Timpu-a fugit.
Când bătrâneţea s-arătat –
Timpu-a zburat.
Mergând prin viaţa ce-am avut –
Timpu-a trecut.
Eu Ţie, sufletu-mi închin –
AMIN!
(Rendered in Romanian
by Constantin ROMAN, London,
© 2012, Copyright Constantin ROMAN)
Tags:"Centre for Romanian Studies - London"·"Constantin Roman"·"Epitaf pe o lespede de mormant"·"Poetry in Translation"·English·Epitaf·poetry·romanian·traducere·translation