Translations by Other New York School Poets
Other New York School poets who have published their translations include Frank O'Hara, John Ashbery, and Ron Padgett. Some of their translations are featured in issue #27 of the literary magazine The World, which is a special translation issue that compiles poems translated by various artists. Ann Waldmann, the editor of the issue, leaves comments on why this issue was created, which might help understand the motivation behind translations made during the 1970s. In the "Editor's Miscellany" section at the end of the issue, Waldman points out that there are two reasons why this issue was published: to publish translations "that read outstandingly, ancient or modern, literal or take-off, correct or erroneous" and to disclose how young poets work with other languages and how their works are affected, which can be tied to the idea that NYS poets started to experiment with translations. Waldman also states that the P.E.N Translation Committee encouraged poets and provided support through various means; some of the ways they supported include drafting a manifesto for translators, establishing professorships, giving prizes, establishing a forum to discuss various problems involved with translations, and providing fellowships for translations of difficult languages. This organizational support may have pushed many artists to take part in translating foreign works, which could have been one of the reasons why many New York School poets experimented with translations. Below is a gallery of poems translated by Frank O'Hara, John Ashbery, and Ron Padgett that are featured in this issue.
Frank O'Hara
"Le Coeur Vole"
Written in French by Arthur Rimbaud
This poem exists in three versions:"Le Coeur Supplicié" ("The Tortured Heart"), "Le Coeur Volé" ("The Stolen Heart"), and "Coeur de Pitre" ("Heart of a Clown")."Le Coeur Supplicié" is in triolets, which is a form of verse traditionally used for light romantic poetry. Rimbaud emphasizes the clash of form and subject matter by intentionally clumsy rhythms. This is a difficult poem to translate due to its ambiguous language that does lead to a single meaning.
John Ashbery
"Le Mépris de la vie et consolation contre la mort"
Written in French by Jean Baptiste Chassignet
The title can be translated as "The Vanity of Life and Consolation against Death". Chassignet reflects his influence on Christian neo-stoicism and writes in a way that emotionally persuades the reader of moral or religious truth.
Ron Padgett
"A Phantom of Clouds"
Written in French by Guillaume Apollinaire
This poem was published in 1918 as a part of Appollinaire's Calligrammes, a collection of cubist poetry in which the poems are written in the shape of the objects that they describe. Apollinaire's fervent belief that the potential to appreciate great painting exists in every man is reflected in this poem"in which a magical child acrobat, balancing on a ball, cast a spell all around, so what when he finally disappeared, 'every spectator sought within himself the miraculous child'"