Due to a last minute schedule change, this week's guest was Doug Cost, a Fulbright scholar who taught English in Turkey, and the newest addition to the M.F.A. poetry family here at U.A.F..
Jacob Stevens from what I've heard had a lovely time in Denali with two other friends of the show, Amanda Bales and Lisa Janout. Grizzlies were seen, caribou taunted, eagles annoyed - good times.
The poetry Doug shared with us were reflections on all the places he has been, from Spring, Texas to Prague. We also discussed why he loves Pablo Neruda.
For more information on this show, listen to the podcast generously provided by Steve Moore.
10 September
Lisa Janout, an MFA canidate in her third year, joined me in the studio today. We had a swell time discussing how she came to poetry, what separates good poetry from bad, and why she still writes.
I apologize for the tardiness of this update, such are the demands of the first weeks of graduate school.
I will direct you to This Garden the personal website of the brilliant and generous Steven Allen Moore for more information on this episode, in other words to podcast archive.
I apologize for the tardiness of this update, such are the demands of the first weeks of graduate school.
I will direct you to This Garden the personal website of the brilliant and generous Steven Allen Moore for more information on this episode, in other words to podcast archive.
7 September The Poetry of Sylvia Plath
Due to global technical difficulties, last week's show was not recorded. If you caught it on air I have no reason to tell you how well the Sylvia Plath show went. If you missed the show the only way you'll feel complete is to read, tonight, The Collected Poems of Sylvia Plath. A brief biography of this groundbreaking and perennial poet is graciously provided by the Academy of American Poets. I apologize for the tardiness of this update and its reflexive brevity.
27 August Marion Jones
Marion Jones joined us on the show today. Marion is working on her inter-disciplinary Ph.D at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
We discussed poetry in translation and the role translators play in the craft of poetry. Marion shared with us her views on the difference between a translation and a version of a given poem.
While we primarily discussed Sufi and Hindu ecstatic poetry, I believe James Wright and Robert Bly's (cooperatively I assume) translation of Neruda's "Era El Otono De Las Uvas" illustrates some of what is often lost in translation. Much is also lost in transcription when your keyboard is not equiped with Spanish punctuaion or accent symbols and the transcriber is a neo-luddite.
Era El Otono De Las Uvas
Era el otono de las uvas.
Temblaba el parral numeroso.
Los racimos blancos, velados,
escarchaban sus dulces dedos,
y las negras uvas llenaban
sus pequenas ubres repletas
de un secreto rio redondo.
El dueno de casa, artesano
de magro rosto, me leia
el palido libro terrestre
de los dias crepusculares.
Su bondad conocia el fruto,
la rama troncal y el trabajo
de la poda que deja al arbol
su desnuda forma de copa.
A los caballos conversaba
como a inmensos ninos: seguian
detras de el los frios durazneros.
El conocia cada rama,
cada cicatriz de los arboles,
y su antigua voz me ensenaba
acariciando a los caballos.
It Was The Grapes Autumn
It was the grape's autumn.
The dense vinefield shivered.
The white clusters, half-hidden,
found their mild fingers cold,
and the black grapes were filling
their tiny stout udders
from a round a secret river.
The man of the house, an artisan
with a hawk's face, read to me
the pale earth book
about the darkening days.
His kindness saw deep into the fruit,
the trunk of the vine, and the work
of the pruning knife, which lets the tree keep
its simple goblet shape.
He talked to his horses
as if to immense boys: behind him
the five cats trailed,
and the dogs of that household,
some arched and slow moving,
others running crazily
under the cold peach trees,
and his ancient voice taught me
while it was stroking his horses.
Thanks to the tireless effort of Master Stephen Moore a podcast of the show can be found on iTunes or you can listen to a streaming version of this and previous shows on Steve's website This Garden
We discussed poetry in translation and the role translators play in the craft of poetry. Marion shared with us her views on the difference between a translation and a version of a given poem.
While we primarily discussed Sufi and Hindu ecstatic poetry, I believe James Wright and Robert Bly's (cooperatively I assume) translation of Neruda's "Era El Otono De Las Uvas" illustrates some of what is often lost in translation. Much is also lost in transcription when your keyboard is not equiped with Spanish punctuaion or accent symbols and the transcriber is a neo-luddite.
Era El Otono De Las Uvas
Era el otono de las uvas.
Temblaba el parral numeroso.
Los racimos blancos, velados,
escarchaban sus dulces dedos,
y las negras uvas llenaban
sus pequenas ubres repletas
de un secreto rio redondo.
El dueno de casa, artesano
de magro rosto, me leia
el palido libro terrestre
de los dias crepusculares.
Su bondad conocia el fruto,
la rama troncal y el trabajo
de la poda que deja al arbol
su desnuda forma de copa.
A los caballos conversaba
como a inmensos ninos: seguian
detras de el los frios durazneros.
El conocia cada rama,
cada cicatriz de los arboles,
y su antigua voz me ensenaba
acariciando a los caballos.
It Was The Grapes Autumn
It was the grape's autumn.
The dense vinefield shivered.
The white clusters, half-hidden,
found their mild fingers cold,
and the black grapes were filling
their tiny stout udders
from a round a secret river.
The man of the house, an artisan
with a hawk's face, read to me
the pale earth book
about the darkening days.
His kindness saw deep into the fruit,
the trunk of the vine, and the work
of the pruning knife, which lets the tree keep
its simple goblet shape.
He talked to his horses
as if to immense boys: behind him
the five cats trailed,
and the dogs of that household,
some arched and slow moving,
others running crazily
under the cold peach trees,
and his ancient voice taught me
while it was stroking his horses.
Thanks to the tireless effort of Master Stephen Moore a podcast of the show can be found on iTunes or you can listen to a streaming version of this and previous shows on Steve's website This Garden
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