This is where I translate and contemplate poetry from around the world.
Note: I tend to focus on works from Russian, German and French-speaking cultures. That’s not to be exclusive, but rather because those are the languages I’m most interested in at present.
Ever had feelings for someone, and you just couldn’t work up the nerve to tell them? Or worse, you tried to hide that you liked them at all? Today’s poem, written by the 19th-century Russian poet Afanasy Fet, expresses that feeling with poignant simplicity and elegance. I tried to preserve as much of that tone as … Read more
Okay, so, whatever our differences may be, Alexander Pushkin and I have at least this one thing in common: our favorite season is fall. That is, осень, or osen’, in Russian. Let Tyutchev have his spring … what’s not to love about the leaves turning gold, red, and orange — the air turning crisp and … Read more
YES, FOLKS, I am very-geekily-excited to have discovered that Mikhail Lermontov — the Russian Romantic poet who wrote A Hero of Our Time — composed a free translation of J. W. von Goethe‘s famous short poem “Wandrers Nachtlied II” (aka “Über allen Gipfeln…”)! (Anyone who has taken formal German classes should recognize that!) Goethe’s poem has left … Read more
I confess I’m not much into spring poetry. The idea that spring is the season of poets is a super-cliché, and in my case, it’s not all that accurate. For me, fall and winter are the poetic seasons. They’re the times of introspection and reflection — of turning inward. Spring and summer are the seasons … Read more
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.