Over lockdown, Dr Parolin introduced me to the Stephen Spender Trust’s competition for poetry in translation. I couldn’t wait to get started, as it brought together two of my favourite things: poems and foreign languages. This year, the competition had more than 1300 entries. I submitted 3 poems translated from Italian, Latin and Polish. The Trust had a separate category called the Polish Spotlight; the spotlight is a strand of the competition for the UK’s community languages. Next year, for example, they are holding an Urdu Spotlight! I was extremely happy to find out that I had been commended in the U18 Polish Spotlight for my translation of Adam Zagajewski’s ‘I dlatego’! As a result, I was given the opportunity to attend a brilliant poetry workshop, with award winning poet Kate Clanchy. I also got be a part of an online awards’ evening on the 18^th November. It was such a great experience, and I would urge anyone with an interest in MFL to enter next year.

I dlatego – Adam Zagajewski

And that’s why – translation by Skye Slatcher

I dlatego chodziłem korytarzami Tych wielkich muzeów Patrząc na obrazy świata Na których Dawid jest niewinny jak harcerz Goliat zasługuje na nikczemną śmierć A na płótnach Rembrandta panuje wieczny półmrok Półmrok niepokoju i skupienia I przechodziłem od sali do sali Podziwiając portrety cynicznych kardynałów W rzymskiej purpurze Ekstatyczne chłopskie wesela Namiętnych graczy w karty albo w kości Oglądając żaglowce bitwy i chwile pojednania I dlatego chodziłem korytarzami Tych sławnych muzeów tych nieziemskich pałaców Próbując zrozumieć ofiarę Izaaka Smutek Marii i pogodne niebo nad Sekwaną I zawsze wracałem na wielkomiejską ulicę Gdzie wciąż trwały szaleństwo cierpienie i śmiech − Jeszcze nie namalowane.

And that’s why I walked the corridors Of these big museums Looking at paintings of the world On which David is as innocent as a boy scout And Goliath deserves fate worse than death Or on Rembrandt’s canvases an eternal dusk reigns A dusk of anxiety and focus And I walked hall to hall Admiring the portraits of cynical cardinals In Roman purple Joyous peasant weddings Passionate players of cards or dice Looking at sailing battles and moments of reconciliation And that’s why I walked the corridors Of these famous museums of these unearthly palaces Trying to understand Isaac’s sacrifice Mary’s sorrow and the serene skies over the Seine And I always returned to the metropolitan streets Where the chaos suffering and laughter continued – Not yet painted.

Commentary:

In these peculiar times of isolation and social-distancing, one form of entertainment I have found particularly comforting is a virtual museum or art gallery tour. So, when I was browsing the curated selection of poetry for the Polish Spotlight, and came across ‘I dlatego’ by Adam Zagajewski, I knew I had to choose it. It reflects on the beauty of paintings, concluding with a memorable statement about our lives, ‘not yet painted’.

One challenge I faced, while translating, was retaining the tone that Zagajewski introduces. The poem has a sort of reminiscent, contemplative mood; keeping this was very important. Therefore, I tried to stay as close as possible to the exact imagery in the original, as this plays a key part in setting the atmosphere. 

I found that ‘panuje’ was a difficult word to translate, on line 6. ‘Panuje’ can mean ‘there is’, however I didn’t think that this was the best translation – I wanted to ensure the line was as poetic in English as in Polish. I chose to use the verb ‘reigns’ instead, as this maintains prominence of the dusk in the Rembrandt painting. 

Often, we see Zagajewski using alliteration, for example /p/ on line 6. I decided that I would not keep this in my version, because I couldn’t find the appropriate words to fit both the tone of the poem and the repetition of a letter. 

I think that the poem in its entirety poses a challenge to the translator as well as the reader. Zagajewski leaves the reason for the speaker’s journey through the museum to the imagination. He/she could be looking for inspiration, an escape from reality. To me, however, it speaks of searching for something in a painting that he is missing in his own life, a sense of peace and tranquillity.

Commentary:

Auschwitz by Quasimodo tells the reader of the horrors of the Holocaust. I decided to translate this poem, because, having visited Auschwitz myself, it was one I felt the most connection to. While I cannot imagine the terrible things he went through, I walked the same path as he would have, and I saw the same watchtowers and ‘tangled iron of the fences’. The poem is filled with metaphors, for example Alpheus and Arethusa, which is a reference to classical mythology, not surprising considering Quasimodo’s background in Latin and Greek translation, and creates an extremely moving atmosphere.

During the process of translation, I did face some challenges, for example the translation of ‘un campo’. In Italian, this can be interpreted as both a field and a concentration camp. While in the context of Auschwitz, concentration camp may have been the most obvious choice, I chose field, because, in the Italian, Quasimodo creates the assonance of f (‘fredda, funebre’) and I wanted to keep this. It also continues the image of the ‘plain’. Similarly, I chose ‘frore’ rather than ‘cold’ for ‘fredda’, as it used the f and sounded more poetic.

Lines 25-26 were also a challenge, due to the difference of word order in Italian and English. I chose therefore to switch the lines to ensure that my translation didn’t sound like an originally English poem.

Another difficult decision I had to make was the translation of ‘muro del tiro a segno’, which is literally ‘wall of target practice’, though this is not poetic and ‘practice’ sounded like the Nazis could miss or let people live, and this was not the case. I chose ‘the wall of execution’, because, although I lose Quasimodo’s metaphor, it is brutally direct, which was my intention, and it doesn’t take away from the meaning.