Translation, rendering--take your pick.
My last post was entitled Hafiz on Wednesday. Well, I discovered that it should have been called Ladinsky on Wednesday instead. Here I was, thinking I was enjoying poetry by Hafiz in a collection called The Gift; Poems by Hafiz The Great Sufi Master. Underneath that: Translations by Daniel Ladinsky. But what do you know, Ladinsky doesn't understand a word of Farsi so could not have possibly translated any of the poetry at all. Turns out, these are what he calls renderings of translations by H. Wilberforce Clark. So, in other words, they're original poems by Ladinsky inspired by Hafiz. Say what? I write stories that are inspired by Sufi masters, by Buddhist teachers, etc.. I couldn't imagine claiming that mine were original translations. But who's going to buy stories by an unknown, right?
Well, I could go on and on about that, but I won't. Because all of you know what it means. There's a lack of integrity there which is very interesting since these poems are all about integrity of the heart. It's too bad, because I actually really liked many of the poems he wrote. And as a poet, he knows very well how each word is a gem to be used truthfully. With honesty. So I'll be looking for a more authentic translation of Hafiz. Right now, Ladinsky's book is on my pile of outgoing books. Though I'm not sure that I want to put it back out in the world for others to be taken in. Hmm, we do have an uneven table leg that could use a prop. ;)
Well, I could go on and on about that, but I won't. Because all of you know what it means. There's a lack of integrity there which is very interesting since these poems are all about integrity of the heart. It's too bad, because I actually really liked many of the poems he wrote. And as a poet, he knows very well how each word is a gem to be used truthfully. With honesty. So I'll be looking for a more authentic translation of Hafiz. Right now, Ladinsky's book is on my pile of outgoing books. Though I'm not sure that I want to put it back out in the world for others to be taken in. Hmm, we do have an uneven table leg that could use a prop. ;)