Task #23: Read a collection of poetry in translation on a theme other than love

[[deleted user]]

Would Les Fleurs du Mal qualify? While Baudelaire definitely deals in eroticism, I don't know if I would qualify his themes as love. It's been on my TBR for a while, so I figured it would be a great opportunity if it fit the category :)

[Vellum]

Carla wrote: "I wanted to challenge myself with this to make sure I'm reading a poet who writes in a language I don't speak, and whose work I have not read before. I have been leaning towards Rumi - are there co..."

Hi Carla! I was also leaning towards Rumi and came across this book " The Glance- Songs of Soul Meeting" and it sounded like its got more to do with the soul but a lot of his stuff has to do with love, so I might do some research before I choose it.

[Kathleen]

Strongly recommend Gabriela Mistral's selected poems translated by by Ursula K. LeGuin. She is an excellent poet, esteemed during her time -- she actually taught Pablo Neruda -- but is not nearly as recognized as others.

[Camille]

I don't really like poetry so I chose an easy one for this. A Movie in My Pillow/Una pelicula en mi almohada by Jorge Argueta is a collection of poems written for children about immigrating to America.

[Angela]

Camille wrote: "I don't really like poetry so I chose an easy one for this. A Movie in My Pillow/Una pelicula en mi almohada by Jorge Argueta is a collection of poems written for chil..."

I was having a hard time with this one, so thank you so much for this recommendation! I have chosen several children's/middle grade/YA books throughout this challenge, so this fits in perfectly.

[Natália]

Brandi wrote: "If the goal is to read a collection of poetry in a language that isn't your mother tongue, is the translation part important? I have several collections in different languages that I do speak, and ..."
I was thinking just the same... English is not my native language, so reading any poetry in English, for example, would be a 'challenge' for me.
Also, does anyone know if "salt." was published in english or translated?

[Kirsten]

Ugh. I cannot believe this one. I'm terrible with poetry as a rule. But translated poetry?? This is going to be tough.

Maybe an epic poem with a story? Maybe something Persian or Indian? I'll have to look around.

[Cait]

Kathleen wrote: "Strongly recommend Gabriela Mistral's selected poems translated by by Ursula K. LeGuin. She is an excellent poet, esteemed during her time -- she actually taught Pablo Neruda -- but is not nearly a..."

Thank you so much for this suggestion! I love LeGuin, so having her as a translator adds a layer of accessibility other ideas have been missing.

[Maddie]

Carla wrote: "I wanted to challenge myself with this to make sure I'm reading a poet who writes in a language I don't speak, and whose work I have not read before. I have been leaning towards Rumi - are there co..."

I have been working my way through The Essential Rumi translated by Coleman Barks
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

[Stina]

Julie wrote: "Would Les Fleurs du Mal qualify? While Baudelaire definitely deals in eroticism, I don't know if I would qualify his themes as love. It's been on my TBR for a while, so I figured it would be a grea..."

I couldn't decide, either, so I'm going with something else. Besides, I figure if I choose something from a language I'm less fluent in, I won't be as distracted by the translation aspect of the task.

[Anne]

I'm choosing Rumi for this task...

[Hallie]

Kirsten *Brrrr.... It's WAY Too Cold Outside!" wrote: "Ugh. I cannot believe this one. I'm terrible with poetry as a rule. But translated poetry?? This is going to be tough.

Maybe an epic poem with a story? Maybe something Persian or Indian?"

I was going to read The Táin but then thought of the 'collection' and figured an epic might not work. Rachel did reply to someone saying that a novel in verse wasn't the intention of this task, which suggests that an epic poem probably isn't either. I still want to use it for this task but will probably hit a large bookshop and see if anything looks promising.

[Julia]

This is a tough one for me too. I have decided to go with Markings, mainly because my library carries this one.

[Lisa]

This one was a tough one for me too. Not a poetry fan. Just came to me - I am going to reread Tao Te Ching. I wasn't sure it was poetry, but according to this site it is:
http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PI...

The above link is for a page that has translated poetry for free if you want to search for something else that appeals to you.

[Elizabeth]

It's a little bit of a stretch, but I've been waiting to read Multiple Choice for a while now. Technically not a "collection" and technically not all poetry, though large parts of it are.

[Katie]

For this one I plan on reading Odes to Common Things.

[S.]

I just rediscovered A Season in Hell and Illuminations by Arthur Rimbaud. It's translated from French. What a tortured soul.

[Bobby]

I am planning to read Selected Poems, by Jorge Luis Borges. I don't think he wrote much on the subject of love.

I am also considering ...I never saw another butterfly..., a collection of poems by children who were imprisoned by the Nazis at the Terezin concentration camp.

[Melissa]

Stina wrote: "Catie wrote: "This might be a somewhat unusual choice for this task, but if you're interested in the translation part of this task more than the poetry part, you might enjoy [book:19 Ways of Lookin..."

mel wrote: "Any suggestions for a collection translated from Spanish with the original text included?"

I randomly came across this one when I was looking for something for this challenge.

https://www.amazon.com/Coins-Nueve-mo...

[Elizabeth]

Agreed, Mary Ellen. At first I felt a little frustrated, looking at the list, not knowing where to start... but now that I've put together my list, I'm really excited! I'm going to be stretched in some new directions by this challenge, and I think that's good for me.

There were categories I thought I had zero interest in, where I've actually found books I'm super excited to read.

[Shaun P.]

Bobby wrote: "I am planning to read Selected Poems, by Jorge Luis Borges. I don't think he wrote much on the subject of love.

I am also considering [book:...I never saw another butter..."

I was in a one act play of "I Never Saw Another Butterfly" when I was in High School. Super powerful.

[Bobby]

mel wrote: "Any suggestions for a collection translated from Spanish with the original text included?"

Selected Poems, by Jorge Luis Borges, is a bilingual text with Spanish and English on facing pages.

[Lindsey]

Happened upon Selected Poems by Tomas Transtromer in my library and am really enjoying it for this challenge! There are a variety of translators gathered together in this collection, yet I still get a great feel for the poet's voice and style. I had no idea what to read, so this was a perfect find.

[Leslie (updates on SG)]

mel wrote: "Any suggestions for a collection translated from Spanish with the original text included?"

The book I applied to this task is bilingual: From Eve's Rib
by Gioconda Belli

[Jean]

I'm not a fan of poetry either, so I haven't read much.
I think I'd prefer to read a collection of poems by different authors, rather than a whole book all by one poet. I'm getting stuck on this one. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Viv]

I'm reading View With a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems by Wisława Szymborska and I would recommend it for anyone who is a bit intimidated by poetry (like me!) as it's not too inaccessible or cryptic. I am amazed that it is translated, as the poems read so naturally and many are quite humorous.

[Jean]

I may have found something. A coworker recommended looking at children's poetry and I found this: Are You an Echo?: The Lost Poetry of Misuzu Kaneko.

[Rachel]

Margaret wrote: "Going with Anxiety of Words: Contemporary Poetry by Korean Women. Looks wonderful"

This is an excellent suggestion; thanks for sharing! I will definitely be adding this to my TBR :D

[Kate]

If you're looking to ease into poetry, I'd recommend a book involving poems as well as prose poems; unfortunately I can't think of any that mix the two in translation off the top of my head. But Rimbaud's Illuminations is all prose poems (and there's a bilingual version), and Baudelaire has all prose poems in Paris Spleen. I also prefer bilingual versions in translated poetry, so that's what I tend toward.

I second Lorca's Poet in New York. Also The Collected Poems, 1957-1987, Rilke's Duino Elegies, Adam Zagajewski's Without End: New and Selected Poems, and Amichai's Poems of Jerusalem or Selected Poems. For Nabokov fans, there's Verses and Versions: Three Centuries of Russian Poetry Selected and Translated by, although some of that will involve love. There's also Anna Akhmatova in the Russian vein. Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill will probably even amaze those ambivalent about poetry (I may be going with her book, The Water Horse, for this task, which is also bilingual). Another great bilingual choice would be Negro Marfil / Ivory Black. There's The Collected Poems of Chika Sagawa, and I Am the Beggar of the World: Landays from Contemporary Afghanistan (I think landays or couplet forms from any culture are probably super accessible if you're more on the fence about poetry).

Someone mentioned preferring a collection of different poets in translation - I really enjoyed Hughes' Selected Translations.

Also many Old English works would count and can be fun reads.

[Henriette]

Did I read the task wrong? Does it say that the pems should be in another language than your native tongue? Isn't just about reading a collection of poems in another language than the one it was orginally published in?
Like - I'm considering a collection by a German poet, originally written and published in German, now translated into Danish, which is my native language.
I also have Milk and Honey by Kaur on the way from Amazone, so I've got it covered, but I just don't see how you could read that demand in to the task?

[Kate]

Henriette wrote: "Did I read the task wrong? Does it say that the pems should be in another language than your native tongue? Isn't just about reading a collection of poems in another language than the one it was or..."

No, they can be in your native tongue, or any language you like - they just have to be translated from the original.

[Malvina]

I'm reading Map: Collected and Last Poems which was translated into English by Clare Cavanagh (she won awards for her translations). It's a collection of Szymborska's poems so there may be a few about love but for the most part they are poems about life. I generally have a hard time getting into poetry but am finding these to be approachable. I read a few before bed and am surprisingly enjoying the process. I've been meaning to read Map for ages so thanks Book Riot for pushing me! :)

[[deleted user]]

For this challenge I read Three Tang Dynasty Poets.

[Kate]

Kirsten *Misty's better! Thanks to all who wished her well!" wrote: "Ugh. I cannot believe this one. I'm terrible with poetry as a rule. But translated poetry?? This is going to be tough.

Maybe an epic poem with a story? Maybe something Persian or Indian? I'll hav..."

Have you considered the Bhagavad Gita? The stories are compelling and the translations I've read are lovely.

[Megan]

Kate wrote: "Kirsten *Misty's better! Thanks to all who wished her well!" wrote: "Ugh. I cannot believe this one. I'm terrible with poetry as a rule. But translated poetry?? This is going to be tough.

Maybe a..."

I can't stand poetry: would going with the Bhagavad Gita count?

[Jaime]

Shel Silverstein is always a go to.

[Neil]

I would like to recommend, for those who don't like poetry: Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

This exploration of the haiku form contains some beautiful and poignant work. The author of the book includes some of the circumstances of the poems' writing and other tidbits as well so it is not just poetry. As you may or may not know, a haiku is a three line poem of a certain syllabic pattern. This makes them easier to digest.

[Bonnie G.]

Shel Silverstein writes in english,though I suppose you could read his work translated into another language.

[Kate]

Megan wrote: "Kate wrote: "Kirsten *Misty's better! Thanks to all who wished her well!" wrote: "Ugh. I cannot believe this one. I'm terrible with poetry as a rule. But translated poetry?? This is going to be tou..."

It's in verse, so I can't see why not.

[Jen]

Ashley wrote: "I mentioned this task to one of my co-workers because I, like many of you have expressed, am not a big poetry reader. She immediately asked if I had read any Rilke (Rainer Maria Rilke), to which I ..."

Thank you! I went through about 30 searches of my library catalogue, searching literally everything else in this topic, before I *finally* hit on Rilke.

[Kat]

Starting The Selected Poetry of Yehuda Amichai today. I remember reading some of his poems in a literature class a decade ago, and how they just kicked me in the gut. While I love poems, I don't usually read translations. Glad this challenge is making me seek out writers I admire but don't necessarily read on the regular.

[Jack]

Does anyone have a rec for a poetry collection (preferably in translation) that has an immigration narrative?

[Cheryl Daly]

I read October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Leslea Newman. Fabulous read. Very powerful and moving.

[Brandyn]

Jean wrote: "I may have found something. A coworker recommended looking at children's poetry and I found this: Are You an Echo?: The Lost Poetry of Misuzu Kaneko."

I read this and really appreciated it! Thanks for mentioning it here.

[Anamika]

Silvina Ocampo is absolutely incredible. She was good friends with Jorge Luis Borges, who thought she was pretty much the best writer in existence. Surreal, beautiful, lush, evocative. Translated from Spanish.

[Penny]

Can anyone give me recomendations for collections of poetry in English, I don't enjoy translate poetry as much as the ones in Spanish, but this might be the perfect time to try one of the classics.

[Erica]

I'm reading https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

[Kate]

Penny wrote: "Can anyone give me recomendations for collections of poetry in English, I don't enjoy translate poetry as much as the ones in Spanish, but this might be the perfect time to try one of the classics."

Are you looking for collections translated from Spanish to English, from English to Spanish, or something else?

[Penny]

Kate wrote: "Penny wrote: "Can anyone give me recomendations for collections of poetry in English, I don't enjoy translate poetry as much as the ones in Spanish, but this might be the perfect time to try one of..."

Collection in English, I can look for the translation.

[Kate]

Penny wrote: "Kate wrote: "Penny wrote: "Can anyone give me recomendations for collections of poetry in English, I don't enjoy translate poetry as much as the ones in Spanish, but this might be the perfect time ..."

Here are some poets you should be able to find in translation that are English classics: Rita Dove, Seamus Heaney, Philip Larkin, Elizabeth Bishop, Sylvia Plath, Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Anne Carson, Walt Whitman, Maya Angelou, C. K. Williams. (That's just a smattering of some of the giants that I happen to think may read well in translation and be enjoyable; feel free to ask for more suggestions if none of these strikes your fancy.)