Tag Archives: translation

‘L’avidité de tes muqueuses cannibales’

Posted on June 23, 2023 by JMN

Emilie Moorhouse’s translations of the verse of Joyce Mansour (1928-1986) in Poetry, June 2023, give full-throated voice to the satisfactions of the originals. Take the line from “Fever your sex is a crab” that serves as my title: Lack of … Continue reading →

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The Poem of an-Nābiḡa (Died ca. A.D. 604)

Posted on June 21, 2023 by JMN

In this complicated, ancient poem* I glimpse the life of squalid intrigue and dependency that was ever the courtier’s lot. At the mercy of the tyrant’s whim and the plots of competitors, his is a routine of flattery, complaint and … Continue reading →

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Sometimes I Miss the Forest for Dwelling on the Trees

Posted on June 17, 2023 by JMN

In reading “The ‘Change’ in Climate Change” by Jacob Shores-Argüello (Poetry, June 2023), I stiffened attentively at the following: … Because a year before,a hurricane reaved its way across this country for the first timein recorded history… The country is … Continue reading →

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A Tenacious Seeking of Certainty Sows More Doubt

Posted on June 15, 2023 by JMN

I’ve saved this passage by Kafka translator Ross Benjamin in my notes since early February. In re-reading it I realize anew how cogently it expresses my own experience of reading poetry, never mind translating it. It ends with a compelling … Continue reading →

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Notes on Poetry (Compound Pizza)

Posted on June 10, 2023 by JMN

To make it clear, I don’t think there’s anything mysticalabout “ghosts” — they are an isness. There’s no secret codeor system of access, and they are there whether you wantthem to be or not. They are enjambments within your narrative.(John … Continue reading →

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Translating a Cryptic Text Helps Weather It

Posted on June 4, 2023 by JMN

Rodney Gómez, “Mortification by Census,” Poetry, May 2023. Mortification by Census brown but which kind?no entry for oleanderno entry for ocean spume this cell by which various selves are collocatedthis cell by which various selves are evaluated to geocode the … Continue reading →

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Mona Kareem’s ‘Nights’: Stanzas 5-7 (End)

Posted on June 3, 2023 by JMN

This post is continued from here. Poetry, May 2023 publishes the Arabic text of Mona Kareem’s poem Lailayāt (“Nights”) along with a translation into English by Sara Elkamel. My translation follows below. 5Born between a tree’s two hands, a croneproffers … Continue reading →

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Mona Kareem’s ‘Nights’: Stanzas 3-4

Posted on May 30, 2023 by JMN

This post is continued from here. Poetry, May 2023 publishes the Arabic text of Mona Kareem’s poem Lailayāt (“Nights”) along with a translation into English by Sara Elkamel. I can’t vary in any interesting way Sara Elkamel’s excellent, close translation … Continue reading →

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Mona Kareem’s ‘Nights’: Stanza 2

Posted on May 27, 2023 by JMN

This post is continued from here. Poetry, May 2023 publishes the Arabic text of Mona Kareem’s poem Lailayāt (“Nights”) along with a translation into English by Sara Elkamel. 2A cloud comes into view.God smiles, it’s my belief, for the hapless … Continue reading →

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Mona Kareem’s ‘Nights’: Stanza 1

Posted on May 23, 2023 by JMN

I’m pleased to encounter Mona Kareem in Poetry, May 2023 after first reading of her in Arablit & Arablit Quarterly. The Poetry issue prints the Arabic text of Kareem’s poem Lailayāt (“Nights”) along with a translation into English by Sara … Continue reading →

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