Not "no value", but "different value" is what I would argue
Larry Send a noteboard - 09/11/2010 09:55:54 PM
If you had a beautiful little bookstore and could stock it with whatever you wanted, wouldn't you have a section devoted to poetry?
In how many languages? Most of my favorite poems aren't in English, despite English being my native language.
Don't you like any English-language poets?
Not really, at least not in a top 5 or 10.
Why is poetry important?
For the same reason other forms of literature are important?
And why is that?
Because it's a personal thing that has as many answers as there are people.
Unless you read Spanish, Latin, or German, you couldn't read them as they ought to be read.
This is what I take issue with. Poetry is harder to translate, I agree. But it is no more impossible than any other piece of literature. The experience will always be different, but that is true of any reading even in the same language.
I like to experience literature, and especially poetry, as close to the original as I can. I'll read/review translations (like the Montalbetti), but I find translated fiction, especially poetry, to differ significantly from the original. That's not devaluing what is achieved in translation (or else I'd never do it as a freelance side job), but just an admission that I sometimes like the "original" more than the "cover version" of the music I "hear" when reading poetry.
Illusions fall like the husk of a fruit, one after another, and the fruit is experience. - Narrator, Sylvie
Je suis méchant.
Je suis méchant.
Poetry:
- 08/11/2010 02:07:39 AM
1686 Views
Re: Poetry:
- 08/11/2010 04:13:38 AM
1162 Views
This is why people dislike you.
- 09/11/2010 07:03:17 PM
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Umm...I care?
- 09/11/2010 08:42:55 PM
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Because you should care about being intelligent, rather than appearing to be intelligent.
- 09/11/2010 10:32:04 PM
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Again, why would I care?
- 09/11/2010 10:38:21 PM
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No one can make you care about being decent, or intelligent, or a viable member of the community.
- 09/11/2010 10:41:34 PM
1095 Views
I think it's rather pointless, to be honest.
- 09/11/2010 10:54:17 PM
1129 Views
Then why are you even here?
- 09/11/2010 10:59:49 PM
1085 Views
I don't know. I thought I'd see how long I could string you along.
- 09/11/2010 11:00:37 PM
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You're the one who doesn't care.
- 09/11/2010 11:02:11 PM
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I care only as much as I care. What others think is irrelevant to that.
- 09/11/2010 11:04:15 PM
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But you're still responding to me.
- 09/11/2010 11:05:37 PM
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Because I'm stringing you out until you quit.
- 09/11/2010 11:10:18 PM
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I'm not going to. I find this entertaining.
- 09/11/2010 11:12:27 PM
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I do as well. It's fun pretending to be an asshole, I'll admit.
- 09/11/2010 11:17:34 PM
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Come now, who's pretending?
- 09/11/2010 11:22:18 PM
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That is officially the last one before I start editing and making them NM. 
*NM*
- 09/11/2010 11:24:12 PM
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*NM*
- 09/11/2010 11:24:12 PM
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Me, most of the time
- 09/11/2010 11:40:26 PM
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Keep telling yourself that. *NM*
- 09/11/2010 11:46:34 PM
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Why would I? It's not something I think much about these days. Again, what others think is trivial. *NM*
- 10/11/2010 12:01:03 AM
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Are you 5?
- 09/11/2010 11:14:26 PM
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Nah
- 09/11/2010 11:15:48 PM
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But you were asked about it originally. That was my point.
- 09/11/2010 11:23:25 PM
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And I was evasive about it at the time. When pressed, I answered more fully.
- 09/11/2010 11:48:27 PM
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Why be evasive?
- 10/11/2010 12:16:19 AM
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Because I didn't want to spend an hour pulling out a few dozen books.
- 10/11/2010 12:19:55 AM
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Ye gods. Could you people at the very, very least make your messages NM?
- 09/11/2010 11:17:25 PM
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*NM*
I must say, I'm glad you all decided to play up when I was having an evening off. 
*NM*
- 10/11/2010 12:08:59 PM
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*NM*
- 10/11/2010 12:08:59 PM
480 Views
I disagree with your claim that there can be no value in translations.
- 09/11/2010 08:51:20 PM
1083 Views
Not "no value", but "different value" is what I would argue
- 09/11/2010 09:55:54 PM
1154 Views
I don't disagree, but you can't possibly learn all languages, yet you can read translations of all.
- 09/11/2010 10:56:58 PM
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My choice, hands down, is to ignore the poetry in languages I don't read.
- 10/11/2010 01:44:32 AM
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An English translation of The Divine Comedy was pivotal to my conversion to Christianity.
- 10/11/2010 11:04:57 AM
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Ooh, good survey. I've been thinking for a while we needed more poetry discussion.
- 08/11/2010 10:58:24 AM
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I think you underestimate the number of translations of the Bible.
- 09/11/2010 01:20:30 AM
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Did they just translate logos as... life-light?
- 09/11/2010 07:14:28 PM
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Yes. Yes, they did. *NM*
- 09/11/2010 09:56:09 PM
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I can count the poems I enjoy on one hand. Two fingers, in fact.
- 08/11/2010 06:05:22 PM
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I think poetry is largely overrated.
- 08/11/2010 06:12:59 PM
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the problem is most good poets are dead and dead people tend to fail at marketing
- 08/11/2010 06:44:18 PM
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I like some poetry, but by no means all.
- 09/11/2010 12:28:41 AM
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Now that you mention it, The Imperfect Enjoyment might rank among my favourite poems. *NM*
- 09/11/2010 12:46:56 AM
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*NM*
- 09/11/2010 12:46:56 AM
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It is excellent
- 09/11/2010 08:16:01 PM
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*NM*
Re: Poetry:
- 10/11/2010 04:57:31 PM
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Re: Nice
- 11/11/2010 01:39:48 AM
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Man. . . That voice? Yeah. He should be reading me stories every night.
- 11/11/2010 11:57:02 AM
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Re: Man. . . That voice? Yeah. He should be reading me stories every night.
- 12/11/2010 04:36:22 AM
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