David Hadbawnik's Blog, page 7

Holes

April 5

Judas Iscariot done in

by a bad pun, the one about

the scarecrow out-

standing in his field.

Unable to throw away his

thirty pieces of silver

because he had no

thirty pieces of silver,

no arms to throw them with.

Mary Magdalene waiting for him

in the place they’d agreed

to meet, somewhere

in Texas. Some words

are just holes we

fall through.

*

Also, it’s my pleasure today to participate in the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair, an annual event that goes some small way towards restoring my faith in the crazy world of independent publishing and bookmaking, not to mention humanity in general. I first attended the fair as a prospective UB PhD student way back in spring of 2008. I was blown away by the concentration of poets, poetry, and beautiful handmade books by small regional presses. Since then it’s grown every year, but that spirit remains. I’ll be manning a table for habenicht press but also featuring books and chaps from eth press, punctum books, and Little Red Leaves. Later this evening I’ll be hosting a reading at Sweetness 7 cafe with Aaron Lowinger, Michael Sikkema, Jen Tynes, Shanna Compton, Susana Gardner, Amanda Montei, and book fair guru Chris Fritton. Long day, but I’m looking forward to it.

Hecate

April 4

She & her lover dance down

to a point, he

is only a fraction, how they

have to keep

carrying over, lines

appear over her head

her three-fold face old

then young then

young-old, why

does this keep happening

Sticks

April 3

What I want to say

in a very few words

is beautiful, don’t stop

at just getting it

wrong, bent

sticks in the river

sticks in

my craw, the sound

light makes

if you listen

Nat’l Poetry Month!

Even though I feel pretty ambivalent about the national poetry month thing, I thought I’d try to post something every day — a poem or some thoughts about a book I’ve been reading or an update about eth press or habenicht press, something…

Here are a couple of notebook things I came up with over the past couple days:



April 1

As we age, waves

ribbons verbs

as we age

screens nouns

lines

on a bouncing

ball

as we age traffic

waves light

and waves, heads

nodding towards definite

articles

April 2

Things with their caps

off calling

to you in the night, gaps

in teeth

a window rattling.

Why get up now?

You have grown used

to this feeling, hand

pressing ice on your

shoulder, a woman’s

voice, breath

in your ear

The Aeneid, from books 1 and 2

Now available as a chapbook, lovingly hand-sewn by Dawn Pendergast at Little Red Leaves (order here). Read a review by Steve Mentz here.

Big thank you to Dawn; Carrie Kaser for providing the beautiful images (including the one on the cover); the editors of Turntable and Blue Light, Horse Less Press Review, White Wall Review, and Manor House Quarterly, where selections from the translation have appeared.

This is the first step of the project — more news to come soon!

Kadar Koli 8 — Dystranslation

Habenicht Press is pleased to announce the latest issue of kadar koli, on “dystranslation.” Thank you to co-editor Chris Piuma, as well as all of our excellent contributors.

Summer 2013, 143pp., $7 (domestic) plus $3 shipping.

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The Next Big Thing

I was tagged by Arielle Guy, inspiration extraordinaire…

Drawing for The Aeneid, copyright Carolyn Kaser

What is the working title of the book?

The Aeneid.

Unsolicited blurb:

“Better than the original…” –Publius Vergilius Maro

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I was studying Latin and working on various texts — I have always been fascinated with ancient Rome and my first book, Ovid in Exile, dealt with the other great Roman poet — and it struck me that The Aeneid is a really great and somewhat misunderstood poem. It is perceived to be imperial propaganda, whereas Ovid is a sort of revolutionary troublemaker. To some extent, that’s true, but there are subversive and deeply ironic threads that are fascinating to unwind. The great artist Carolyn Kaser is also providing images that really bring the project to life. In that sense, I consider it a collaboration, which makes working on it even more exciting.

What genre does your book fall under?

Poetry / translation.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Having just seen Touch of Evil, I would say Charlton Heston could play Aeneas, Janet Leigh Dido, Marlene Dietrich Venus, and Orson Welles would have to be Virgil.



What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Epic poetry is weirder and wilder than you think.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

I’m still working on it; have been for over a year, expect it to take another six months to a year.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Poetry has been difficult for me over the past few years of studying for my PhD, frankly… Translation is a way to keep working on something that has a more or less definite roadmap, and the moments when it goes off the map inspire me to keep going. As I continue to work on it, I’m also inspired by Thomas Meyer‘s experimental Beowulf, which takes an often-translated text in exciting new directions.



What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

It’s got monsters, gods, a tragic love story… what more do you want?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’m trying to farm out sections of it as chapbooks now, and a publisher is interested in the project as a whole, but I’ll have to wait and see when it’s finished.

kadar koli no. 8: “dystranslation”

After the enthusiastic response to last year’s “violence” issue of kadar koli—featuring contributions from Joyelle McSweeney, Richard Owens, Rob Halpern, Julie Carr, josé felipe alvergue, Maggie Nelson, Diane di Prima, Emily Critchley, Justin Katko, Shin Yu Pai, Gloria Frym, Daniel C. Remein, Dale Smith, Jared Schickling, and Laura Kilbride—the theme of this issue of kadar koli is “dystranslation.” This is our term for translation that presents some kind of difficulty or aporia that forces the translator (or editor, etc.) to make choices—gaps, smudges, mistakes that require interpretation. These translations might demand emendatio, the correction of an unlikely word or phrase in a text, or even divinatio, an extreme form of emendatio, where the editor relies on special insight into what the author really intended, even if the text is more or less legible as presented.

For example, editors and translators over the years have troubled the reading of “pluma” in Horace’s Carmen 4.10, rendering wildly divergent interpretations of the line. The opening of the poem reads:

O crudelis adhuc et Veneris muneribus potens,

inseperata tuae cum veniet pluma superbiae,

Oh you—cruel and, for now, quite well endowed, flush with the gifts of Love—

once that ‘pluma’ that you—you in your pride—didn’t foresee arrives,

As Chris Piuma notes, to read it as “pluma” offers the following sense: “once that fledgling mustache you in your pride didn’t foresee arrives… ” But the following alternatives have been suggested as well:

bruma: once those wintery hairs you in your pride didn’t foresee arrives

ruga: once those wrinkles that you—you in your pride—didn’t foresee arrive

poena: once the suffering that you—you in your pride—didn’t foresee arrives

plaga: once the welting that you—you in your pride—didn’t foresee arrives

multa: once the manifold things you in your pride didn’t foresee arrive

palma: once the victory prize you in your pride didn’t foresee arrives

This issue of kadar koli invites contributors to think through moments of dystranslation, either those they’ve encountered in reading and research, such as that noted above, or in their own translation work. We are interested in examples from poetry and prose, from whatever time period, language, or location. We will publish a selection of translation examples (with original language specimens, if possible), essays on translation practice, and translations of essays related to this topic. Potential contributors should feel free to interpret dystranslation broadly; any translation or engagement with translation that deviates from normative expectations will be considered (where “normative” is understood as linear, literal, unproblematic, etc.). Dystranslation, by contrast, is creative, experimental, controversial. Instead of eliding difficulties, it highlights and engages with them, blurring (intentionally or not) the lines between poet/writer and translator/editor. We are especially interested in work that pushes at such boundaries, and—while we are not interested in “fake” translation per se, we are intrigued by the question of what constitutes “real” v. “fake” translation—is a translation inherently less worthwhile if it doesn’t adhere to some measure of fidelity? What constitutes the difference, and is it possible or desirable to blur that line as well?

Please send inquiries to co-editors David Hadbawnik (dhadbawnik at gmail.com) and Chris Piuma (chrispiuma at gmail.com) immediately; deadline for contributions is February 15th, 2013.

Ballads by Richard Owens

Habenicht Press is pleased to announce the publication of Richard Owens’ Ballads.

Comments on Owens’ poetry:

John Latta on various ballads: “Balladeering as a form of community-making, or communally-made lament for community: Owens’s seem a matter of reassembling pieces, somber, sobering, post-glorioso warnings to the polis.”

David Hadbawnik, from Working Papers #2: “Melding tradition and originality, modern disjunctive strategies and a good old fashioned ear for sound, a careful reading of the [Ballads] project belies the depth of research and energy that informs and propels them. Content-wise, the poems distill Marxist concerns and attention to harsh economic ‘globble’ realities that have haunted Owens’ writing for many years. Personal detail mingles with research and reading in ways that don’t allow the reader to easily escape or dismiss the particularity of the poem’s power.”

120pp, letterpress cover, perfect bound. $12 (domestic) plus $3 shipping.

*FIRST 50 ORDERS* receive a limited-edition broadside of an early ballad, “Cindy Has Gone for a Broker.”

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LIMITED TIME ONLY: purchase Kadar Koli 7 and Ballads both for $18 and get free shipping (in the U.S.).

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Announcing Kadar Koli #7: On Violence

A special issue devoted to the question of violence, inspired by conversations in Sous les Pavés, Damn the Caesars, and elsewhere surrounding protest movements worldwide over the past year, as well as violence within poetic language and poetry movements.

Essays by: Joyelle McSweeney, Richard Owens, Rob Halpern, Julie Carr, and josé felipe alvergue; interview with Maggie Nelson, conducted by John Hyland; poems by Diane di Prima, Emily Critchley, Justin Katko, Shin Yu Pai, Gloria Frym, Daniel C. Remein, Dale Smith, Jared Schickling, and Laura Kilbride.

Co-edited by John Hyland and David Hadbawnik.

Summer 2012, 105pp., $7 (domestic) plus $3 shipping.

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