Monthly Archives: August 2022

Fixing to Start Something With ‘Gilgamesh’s Snake’

Posted on August 28, 2022 by JMN

Ghareeb Iskander is an Iraqi writer who lives in London. HIs book of poems in Arabic, “Gilgamesh’s Snake and Other Poems,” was published by Syracuse University Press in 2016. The English translations are the work of Scottish poet John Glenday … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

‘Writing a Chrysanthemum’

Posted on August 25, 2022 by JMN

On scrolls of Japanese paper each 19 feet in length, Barton documented the underbelly of San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood before the hippies showed up… A friend and fellow artist recalled that Barton began a portrait with the sitter’s fingernail… … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

‘Because You See His Teeth, Don’t Assume the Lion Is Smiling’

Posted on August 23, 2022 by JMN

The comment about the unsmiling lion is attributed to the 10th-century Arabic poet al-Mutanabbi (915 – 965). I heard it on a podcast called “Arabic Qahwa.” The line has a zesty zing to it that marks it as an old … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Translating Conceived as Sketching

Posted on August 21, 2022 by JMN

I wonder if a translation of a poem can be compared to a sketch of a painting? The sketcher recreates aspects of an original art work in a different medium, say pencil. Words are the translator’s medium. She uses those … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

‘There Are No Bright Lines Here’

Posted on August 19, 2022 by JMN

Tish Harrison Warren, an Anglican priest, describes a recent baptismal service: Baptisms at our church are a mixture of solemnity and unbridled glee, often full of laughter and tears of joy. Those who were being baptized, or in the case … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Some Days I’m Angry AND Disappointed

Posted on August 17, 2022 by JMN

Those are stay-big-picture days: paint, write, read, think about language. If gender is fluent, so are the other language markers which assert us. What if I don’t always identify as a first person? I may feel like a you, for … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Versicles & Dangleberries

Posted on August 15, 2022 by JMN

Wrath of ThronesThee 8TH of Henrys did decreebad wyves &&& Thomases must meet their Heav’nly Fodder sharpishly,ahead of shedjewel, toote sweet.***** Thee Archfellowe of Hi KirkFor proper fayth Thee others beeBeelzebubbish,don’t ye see?**** Saint Peete Monarkee & Papacee a-sittin’ in … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged | 2 Comments

Failure Foretold: Manifesto of Translation Excuses

Posted on August 13, 2022 by JMN

The physics of a tiny bead driven by a puff of air towards a miracle on airy wing guarantees that a kid plinking at dragonflies with his BB-gun will never bag one. That’s the comfort built into the action. So … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Fun With Man-Words

Posted on August 11, 2022 by JMN

In 2013, 52 Atlantic spotted dolphins migrated from the northern Bahamas to Bimini, 100 miles south, where a community of 120 of their species already lived. The encounter could have gone badly. When groups of social mammals meet, things can … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Also Good With Cheese on a Biscuit

Posted on August 9, 2022 by JMN

Anyone who has twisted the cap off an opened jar of Marmite rimmed with dried product will know why it’s used to glue the tiles on the heat shields of Elon Musk’s rockets. The shields enable the craft to withstand … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , | Leave a comment