To the beautiful and faithful…
Translations of Seneca, St. John of the Cross, and Vocance. And two events this weekend.
This week I had my MFA orientation and a very hectic week at work so I did not have much time to write. Part of my energy over the past few days was devoted to refining work that I am sharing with mentor poets at the Frost Farm Poetry Conference this weekend.
This means I will have to miss this Saturday’s On Seneca: Anger, Fear, and Sadness from
. I thoroughly enjoyed the last one that Plato’s Academy held on Philosophy and Resilience.
There is an old saying that translations are like lovers: They can either be beautiful but unfaithful or faithful but not beautiful. However, these three translations from Wisebooks show that translations can be both faithful to the original and still be beautiful poetry.
I only have a few moments to write so I cannot give a full review of all three of these books, but I hope to write a more complete treatment someday—hopefully soon.
St. John of the Cross’s The Spring that Feed the Torrent has been beautifully translated by Rhina Espaillat, who is virtuosic in both Spanish and English. I am so pleased that I have one of the coveted spots in her poetry workshop Saturday and Sunday.
This weekend Alfred Nichol will be doing the Master Class workshop for the veteran poets at Frost Farm. His translation of Julien Vocance’s 100 Visions of War is haunting. Written in haiku, the language is sharp and piercing. But don’t take my word for it. Reviews have been amazing…
Dana Gioia, who wrote the preface for Nicol’s translation of Vocance, has his own translation out from the same publishers—Seneca’s The Madness of Hercules. The book has a long preface which gives context to the actual translated work and Seneca’s talent as a dramatist, which I believe is important because Seneca is known more in modern times for his essays and letters that informed much of stoic philosophy as we know it.
Sorry to say that my time is up. I hope some of my philosophically minded friends can make the online event on Seneca. I will now be headed out to Derry, NH to get my translations signed by Rhina and Alfred. (I am extremely excited!)
Pax et bonum!
So looking forward to diving into Gioia's translation of Seneca's work! A big reason why I purchased the book was the ample amount of context he provides on Seneca and the culture surrounding his time before the translation begins. It's in my "to be read next" pile :) :)
I hope you have a wonderful time at the conference! So many good people! I don't really know Rhina at all, but I like Alfred a lot. And so many others! I hope it's just a marvelous, exciting revitalizing time.