Qarrtsiluni* has just published my translation of two sonnets by Feng Zhi [http://qarrtsiluni.com/2011/02/18/meditation-on-the-road-chinese-wartime-sonnets-by-feng-zhi/]. I initially rendered them from Chinese into English for my Fall 2010 course, “Four Faces of the Wanderer: An Exploration of Modern Chinese Literature.” In retrospect I recognize the multiple benefits of these endeavors.
First, a comparison between midterm and end-of-term teaching evaluations indicates that those students who previously considered poetry painful, awful, boring, or intimidating ended up falling in love with reading and discussing poetry in general, while those who had already been fans of poetry developed an intense interest in modern Chinese poems in particular. As an instructor, I am overjoyed.
Second, I found myself penetrating the secrets gradually or drastically, subsequently or conversely of each stanza, line, phrase, character, and punctuation by persistently attempting to reconstruct in a foreign body the original’s prompts that I increasingly believe are by nature inexhaustible. I, therefore, deem not only romantic poetry “progressive Universalpoesie” (Schlegel); all poetry is progressive and universal, and so all poetry readings [cf. my 'open interpretations':
Third, performing and recording the sonnets inspired me to even wilder associations, fresher approaches, uncannier insights, and more daring inferences. Three subtle yet crucial adjustments were not made until after the rehearsal. Another instance was the decision of Vic, my collaborator, to integrate Miles Davis’ jazz into Feng Zhi’s Sonnet II. This more exciting shot was replaced by Qarrtsiluni* due to copyright reasons with a ‘plain’ version; it can be accessed, however, through http://www.wikiupload.com/HU3wg1bZ].
* The journal title means “sitting together in the darkness, waiting for something to burst.”
What language is the word Qarrtsiluni from?
ReplyDeleteIt is an Iñupiaq word.
ReplyDelete