Tag Archives: translation

Suddenly I Understand

Posted on August 8, 2026 by JMN

Her eyes are bleary with sleeplessness. She “watches over” stars all night as if she were a shepherd and they her flock. She hardly bothers to dress herself other than in tatters. Arabian poet Al-Khansā’ (d. 645 AD) starts to … Continue reading →

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‘There dwells in the glance an ancient hunger…’

Posted on July 10, 2026 by JMN

Translation to English of a poem in Spanish titled “Únicas/Únicos” by Azurea20 published at La Bancarrota del Circo on July 6, 2026. ONE / ONLYThere dwells in the glancean ancient hunger;a buzzing ofbees crownscogitationas one’s own lighttries to take rootin … Continue reading →

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Purulence, Pus, Matter? Anointed or Kohl’d?

Posted on June 11, 2026 by JMN

I was sleepless, and I passed the night keeping vigil, as if my eyes had been anointed with pus, […] That’s Arberry’s reliable translation of line 1 of the sixth-century elegy on the death of her brother Sakhr by the … Continue reading →

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‘Tendrá que ser’ (It Will Have to Be)

Posted on March 18, 2026 by JMN

My translation of “Tendrá que ser” (It Will Have to Be) by Azurea20 follows: IT WILL HAVE TO BE I shoulder youlike an invisible flag,or a great fire lilyblooming out of mefor bestowing on what’s not there yet.No one sees … Continue reading →

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Translation of ‘October With Wings’ by Azurea20

Posted on February 7, 2026 by JMN

“Translating a piece of verse can be the sincerest way of reading it.” Huda J. Fakhreddine No sé. I don’t know. They’re important words in any language. I know that I feel, if not what I feel, when a poem … Continue reading →

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And That’s Okay, But Don’t Worry, It’s Under Control’

Posted on January 13, 2026 by JMN

Remarks by podcaster Jason Staples have led me to ponder the notion of “original” language relative to scriptures widely known via translation. My attention was drawn to Staples’s comment that the Book of Revelations “has mixed metaphors all over the … Continue reading →

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How Translations ‘Fail’

Posted on October 27, 2025 by JMN

(Update, Oct. 26, 2025. Some time after writing what’s below I’ve encountered Mitch Teemley’s citation of Psalm 37:23. What’s a good word for how the Quran and the Bible interact? I’ve no expertise in either, but I see signs of … Continue reading →

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‘Sheathed in Fetters’ or ‘Bound in Chains’?

Posted on September 26, 2025 by JMN

Afterthought foregrounded: This will go down as a wildly utopian, presumptuous, naive, impractical proposition. Imagine a world in which the devout were schooled from an early age to read the foundational scriptures of their respective creeds in the original languages … Continue reading →

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Azurea20: ‘Permit Me a Space Wherein to Hang My Voice’

Posted on September 22, 2025 by JMN

“I personally learned my own craft of writing poetry through translating poetry… I think one way to deepen the appreciation of poetry is to approach it through translation.” (Arthur Sze, new U.S. poet laureate) “Señora de las Cosas Errantes” by … Continue reading →

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Hill Country, Texas Camper’s Song

Posted on August 7, 2025 by JMN

Down I lay me now to sleep and prayFor come who might to whats-it in the sky.Not dead before I wake may I be found.To sleep and pray now down I do me lay.The ocean’s mighty large and wet, they … Continue reading →

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