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

[Sunshine]

I read, "Tales of a Severed Head". It's a verse interpretation of the 1001 Arabian Nights stories by a feminist French poet from Tangiers. It was interesting. She was there through a lot of political upheaval which influenced her interpretation of the stories and the heroine. The French is side by side also which is nice.

[Wellington]

I read I Am The Beggar Of The World for this challenge. The poems and descriptions of the lives of the Afghan people were beautiful, evocative, and heartbreaking.

[Louise]

Amber wrote: "Just finished the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Another book I've had on my shelves for awhile.

Interestingly, I had bought this used and hadn't really looked in it. There is an inscription just befor..."

Oh that is amazing, Iove pre read for the exact same reason.

[Madge]

Kate wrote: "Apologies if this has already been suggested but I'm reading The Norse Eddas for this. They're verse sagas and have been on my TBR list for about 20 years!"

I was just about to ask if anyone else had thought of The Poetic Edda! That's probably what I'm reading for this task, because it's already on my shelf.

[Jenny]

I've read a collection by Anna Akhmatova, and was wondering if that would count... there were a couple that were about her grief over her son, so I don't know if that would disqualify it?

[Jackie]

Jane wrote: "I've read a collection by Anna Akhmatova, and was wondering if that would count... there were a couple that were about her grief over her son, so I don't know if that would disqualify it?"

I feel like the spirit of the prompt is about avoiding poetry on romantic love, rather than just any love of any kind. Grief over a son is probably fine!

[Jenny]

Thanks :) I've also got a collection called Modern African Poetry, but only some of it is in translation... I'll probably read it as well, anyway

[Nancy]

I'm reading a book called "I Am the Beggar of the World" by Eliza Griswold. It's a collection of "landays," a form of short poetry or song created mostly by and for the Pashtun women in the Afghanistan-Pakistan area. This form of expression may be thousands of years old, but the poems Griswold collected are very contemporary, referring to the Taliban, current wars, suicide bombers, Guantnamo prison, social media, etc.. Some of the poems are about love, while other subjects include war, the homeland, grief, and separation.

[Jordan]

I read On Love and Barley: Haiku of Basho by Bashō Matsuo. Which, despite the title, is not about love. I'm not a big poetry fan, but somehow haiku always does way better for me.

[Tammy]

I read I Am the Beggar of the World: Landays from Contemporary Afghanistan for this challenge and thought it was great. I also just discovered a book that I thought would be sort of a joke one to consider: I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats. The poems are translated from "cat". It's a good book, by the way. Very funny, and would make a good gift for any cat lovers you know.

[Yrinsyde]

I finished Sami Nayal's Cold Jackal Moment a few days ago. Translated from Arabic in English, it is a collection of poems about his experiences of the civil war in Lebanon. Powerful and disturbing.