Tag Archives: translation

Minefield of Rabbit Holes

Posted on January 9, 2022 by JMN

In my Arabic grammar I encounter the preposition fiy- illustrated in a “relationship of comparison” (rapport de comparaison). Blachere’s jouissance is matA( from root m-t-( meaning “to carry away” and, in derived forms, “to enjoy.” Its usages meander through enjoyment, … Continue reading →

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Rewarded With Provocations

Posted on January 8, 2022 by JMN

It helps me read contemporary poetry to conjure the mindset of an athlete in the elite sport of pole vaulting. The bar sits there at a distanced height. I summon latency, coil with icy focus, charge the standards, launch myself … Continue reading →

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‘The Past Stretched Before Us’

Posted on January 2, 2022 by JMN

I encountered the following expression in my Arabic reference grammar: May you be ransomed by my soul! Arabic can be sublimely terse and florid in the same breath. Blachere’s example shows optative use of the perfect tense instancing how the … Continue reading →

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‘Confound, Torment, Swallow Us Whole’

Posted on December 26, 2021 by JMN

To write, first and foremost, is to choose the words to tell a story, whereas to translate is to evaluate, acutely, each word an author chooses. Thus starts Jhumpa Lahiri’s essay drawn from the afterword of her translation of “Trust” … Continue reading →

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Travesía (16) Final

Posted on August 1, 2021 by JMN

Versión castellana del poema “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” (1856) de Walt WhitmanEnglish text at http://www.poetryfoundation.orgSpanish Interpretation by JMN [Translator’s note: This is the last segment of part nine, and the end of Walt Whitman’s “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” and my Spanish version … Continue reading →

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Sancho Panza Appreciates a Nip of Good Wine

Posted on July 30, 2021 by JMN

Sancho Panza takes a memorable pull from a companion’s proffered wineskin (“bota”) in this scene from part 2 of “Don Quijote.” Y diciendo esto, se la puso en las manos a Sancho, el cual, empinándola, puesta a la boca, estuvo … Continue reading →

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Travesía (15)

Posted on July 28, 2021 by JMN

Versión castellana del poema “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” (1856) de Walt WhitmanEnglish text at http://www.poetryfoundation.orgSpanish Interpretation by JMN [Translator’s note: This is the third segment of the ninth and last part of “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.” One segment remains.](9)Appearances, now or henceforth, … Continue reading →

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The Moncrieff Proust

Posted on July 11, 2021 by JMN

C. K. Scott Moncrieff (1889 – 1930) published the early-twentieth-century English version of Marcel Proust’s “A la Recherche du Temps Perdu.” Adam Gopnik reviews the first full-length biography of Moncrieff by Jean Findlay, “Chasing Lost Time: The Life of C. … Continue reading →

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‘This Is a Rooster’

Posted on July 6, 2021 by JMN

Don Quijote’s reference to Orbaneja the Painter stuck with me fondly over the years. It’s as savory now on second reading as it was on first. … Orbaneja el pintor de Úbeda, al cual preguntándole qué pintaba, respondió: <<Lo que … Continue reading →

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Worse Than God Made Us

Posted on July 5, 2021 by JMN

… Cada uno meta la mano en su pecho, y no se ponga a juzgar lo blanco por negro y lo negro por blanco; que cada uno es como Dios le hizo, y aun peor muchas veces. (Sancho Panza, “Don … Continue reading →

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