A review by spacestationtrustfund
The Complete Poems of Cavafy: Expanded Edition by C. P. Cavafy
5.0
"There must be some elements in poetry which are separable from their original verbal expression and some which are inseparable," says W.H. Auden in his introduction to Dr. Rae Dalven's translation,
Auden's introduction also touches on the difficulties of approaching translated poetry both from the perspective of the reader and the translator. "I do now know a word of Modern Greek," he says (same, buddy),
My favourite poem of the collection was "The City" (pp. 27):
I have read several translation of Cavafy's poetry: Dr. Rae Dalven (this one), Daniel Mendelsohn, Aliki Barnstone, Stratis Haviaras.
ETA: Notes on translating this poem, by André Aciman.
It is obvious, for example, that any association of ideas created by homophones is restricted to the language in which these homophones occur. Only in German does Welt rhyme with Geld, and only in English is Hilaire Belloc's pun possible:I am reminded of the difficulties of translating James Joyce's Ulysses into Chinese: a paragraph full of linguistic colloquialisms and plays on words goes into Chinese and returns to English as an entirely different piece of writing nearly unrecognisable as Joyce—after all, as one reviewer said, it's far from being incomprehensible enough.
When I am dead, I hope it may be said:
'His sins were scarlet, but his books were read.'
When, as in pure lyric, a poet "sings" rather than "speaks," he is rarely, if ever translatable. The "meaning" of a song by Campion is inseparable from the sound and the rhythmical values of the actual words he employs. It is conceivable that a genuine bilingual poet might write what, to him, was the same lyric in two languages, but if someone else were then to make a literal translation of each version into the language of the other, no reader would be able to recognise their connection.
Auden's introduction also touches on the difficulties of approaching translated poetry both from the perspective of the reader and the translator. "I do now know a word of Modern Greek," he says (same, buddy),
so that my only access to Cavafy's poetry has been through English and French translations. This perplexes and a little disturbs me. Like everybody else, I think, who writes poetry, I have always believed the essential difference between prose and poetry to be that prose can be translated into another tongue but poetry cannot. [...] I do not have to read Pindar in Greek in order to appreciate the beauty and aptness with which he praises the island of Delos. [...] Since language is the creation of a social group, not of an individual, the standards by which it can be judged are relatively objective. Thus, when reading a poem in one's native tongue, one can find the sensibility personally antipathetic and yet be compelled to admire its verbal manifestation. But when one is reading a translation, all one gets is the sensibility, and either one likes it or one does not. I happen to like Cavafy's very much.The quality of this particular translation must be credited to the efforts of Dr. Dalven, herself born in Préveza, Greece; Dr. Dalven was a professional translator of Greek as well as a longtime professor of English literature and Modern Greek literature.
My favourite poem of the collection was "The City" (pp. 27):
You said, “I will go to another land, I will go to another sea.And in the original Greek:
Another city will be found, a better one than this.
Every effort of mine is a condemnation of fate;
and my heart is—like a corpse—buried.
How long will my mind remain in this wasteland.
Wherever I turn my eyes, wherever I may look
I see black ruins of my life here,
where I spent so many years destroying and wasting.”
You will find no new lands, you will find no other seas.
The city will follow you. You will roam the same
streets. And you will age in the same neighbourhoods;
and you will grow grey in these same houses.
Always you will arrive in this city. Do not hope for any other—
There is no ship for you, there is no road.
As you have destroyed your life here
in this little corner, you have ruined it in the entire world.
I speak Ancient Greek far, far better than Modern Greek, but I have a dictionary and the ability to read Greek typefont, so I can pretty safely say that the above is a decent translation. A couple minor missteps, such as translating ασπρίζεις as "you will go grey" (it means "you will whiten"), κώχη (κόχη, κόγχη) refers more to an alcove (although corner is technically fine—it also refers to any bodily cavity), etc., but all of these are permissible; Dr. Dalven translates the line "Κάθε προσπάθεια μου μια καταδίκη είναι γραφτή" as "Every effort of mine is a condemnation of fate," but a more literal translation would be "every effort of mine, a condemnation is written," with condemnation in the sense of a conviction or sentencing.Η ΠΌΛΙΣ,Είπες Θα πάγω σ' άλλη γή, θα πάγω σ' άλλη θάλασσα,
Μια πόλις άλλη θα βρεθεί καλλίτερη από αυτή.
Κάθε προσπάθεια μου μια καταδίκη είναι γραφτή
κ' είν' η καρδιά μου—σαν νεκρός—θαμένη.
Ο νους μου ως πότε μες στον μαρασμό αυτόν θα μένει.
Οπου το μάτι μου γυρίσω, όπου κι αν δω
ερείπια μαύρα της ζωής μου βλέπω εδώ,
που τόσα χρόνια πέρασα και ρήμαξα και χάλασα
Καινούριους τόπους δεν θα βρεις, δεν θάβρεις άλλες θάλασσες.
Η πόλις θα σε ακολουθεί. Στους δρόμους θα γυρνάς
τους ίδιους. Και στες γειτονιές τες ίδιες θα γερνάς
και μες στα ίδια σπίτια αυτά θ' ασπρίζεις.
Πάντα στην πόλι αυτή θα φθάνεις. Για τα αλλού—μη ελπίζεις—
δεν έχει πλοίο για σε, δεν έχει οδό.
Ετσι που τη ζωή σου ρήμαξες εδώ
στην κώχη τούτη την μικρή, σ' όλην την γή την χάλασες.
I have read several translation of Cavafy's poetry: Dr. Rae Dalven (this one), Daniel Mendelsohn, Aliki Barnstone, Stratis Haviaras.
ETA: Notes on translating this poem, by André Aciman.