We had new wood floors installed last week. So, our sweet Zoe got her first "shoes." The picture doesn't show the hilarious lifting of her back legs in trying to shake them off the first time. But, she has adjusted nicely to them now and waits for us to put them on after coming in from outside. Enjoy!
As often happens when I like an author, I begin collecting any work I can get my hands on. I found Tomas Transtromer: Selected Poems 1954-1986 edited by Robert Haas in a second-hand bookstore in Stillwater, MN over ten years ago. I am thrilled that more collections of his poems are more readily available. I recently purchased The Half-Finished Heaven: The Best Poems of Tomas Transtromer chosen and translated by Robert Bly and Tomas Transtromer:The Great Enigma, New Collected Poems translated by Robin Fulton. So, here is my question...
Which translation of Kyrie is better?
I personally prefer Robin Fulton's version, which appears in Haas' edition. The words "invisibly," "slowly," "tread" work for me better than Bly's ""no one sees me," "for a long, long time," "thump." I assume Haas liked Fulton's translation best since he used it. And, like Haas, I would choose Bly's Nocturne translation over Fultons.
I will also say, I wish I knew Swedish. It must be so much better to read the poems exactly how Transtromer wrote them!
One of my favorite poems is Kyrie by Tomas Transtromer. The beginning line, "Sometimes my life opened its eyes in the dark," became a spin-off line for my own poem Adjusting the Darkness from my book The Last Time We Were Children. I also titled one of my own "life" poems Kyrie and followed Transtromer's form. This entire poem, translated by Robin Fulton, stood out starkly to me as a college student. That first line spoke to my mood at the time, and the shortness of the poem (eight lines) succeeds at the art of speaking universal truth in brevity. (Something I have not quite learned, but continue trying.) But, what makes this poem one of my top ten is the way it moves me at different times of my life. I had no idea when I read this poem at 21, that at the age of 30 it would help me relate to another dark time of my life, when my eyes snapped wide open to a new challenge. In the wake of learning one of my sons has autism, I understood the "feeling as if crowds drew through streets/in blindness and anxiety on the way towards a miracle,/while I invisibly remain standing." Anyone who has a child with autism will tell you there are too many of us, yet we feel awfully alone. Oh for the day, when "the doors of darkness open" completely! Yet, all is not bleak, and there is the lure of Transtromer again. In many of his poems, there is a melancholy tone along with some unreachable, tangible hope. I wish I knew what moved Transtromer to write this poem. But, I am grateful to him for writing it and what it means to me.
A very personal thank you to all who attended my book signing at Waldenbooks in Northtown on Saturday, November 17, 2007. Most signings sell five to ten copies. Your enthusiasm for my book sold 31 books outright! If you missed the signing, there are an additional 10 signed copies in the store. Thank you for supporting my first book, and I hope you enjoy reading and sharing it with others. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I finished reading Astrid and Veronika by Lisa Olsson this afternoon. While most will enjoy this book for its theme about female friendships that transcend age and tragic circumstances, I began reading this book for very different reasons. Not only did my mother recommend it by giving me a copy, but I am lately drawn to Swedish authors. My own book of poetry is influenced by Tomas Transtromer, Kjell Espmark, and Lars Gustafsson. I have never been to Sweden, though I hope to visit one day, yet as I read Swedish authors I find natural kinship with them. As well I should I suppose being half-Swedish. There is no exception after completing Olsson's novel. But, I found another connection to this author because she uses poetry within her novel. Not only does she begin each chapter with a poetic heading, but her own style of writing contains the rhythm and imagery of a hidden poet, not just a translator. While her book has received mixed reviews and I see the point of those who see its shortcomings, as the author of a first book and an avid reader, I say "well done" to Ms. Olsson. I hope she will continue to write with the same lyric, compelling style and incorporate poetry in her future stories. For me, the linking of these two genres made the book that much more inviting and intriguing.
Tate Publishing and Enterprises
The Lord gave the Word; great was the company of those that published it.”
-Psalms 68:11
Penny J Johnson Book Signing Event
Date: November 17, 2007 Time: 1pm – 3pm
Waldenbooks
212 Northtown Dr, Blaine, MN
We hope to see you there!
Tate Publishing and Enterprises, LLC
Can’t make the event?
Go to www.tatepublishing.com to visit our online bookstore to get a copy!
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Tate Publishing and Enterprises
The Lord gave the Word; great was the company of those that published it.”
-Psalms 68:11
Penny J Johnson Book Signing Event
Date: November 17, 2007 Time: 3pm – 5pm
Waldenbooks
212 Northtown Dr, Blaine, MN
We hope to see you there!
Tate Publishing and Enterprises, LLC
Can’t make the event?
Go to www.tatepublishing.com to visit our online bookstore to get a copy!
Yesterday and today, I had to explain inertia to my boys for our science lesson. Being a rather resistant student when it came to math and science, I am surprised that in needing to teach something I forced myself to misunderstand, I actually "get it." At least enough to explain why hard boiled eggs spin. At least enough to realize how much I resist change, that an inert life sounds inviting sometimes, that the push and pull of life often causes more friction even to a damaging degree. But if something soothing is added to my life--a smile, a kind word, a tender touch--the friction lessens much like oil to shifts and gears. It reminds me that an inert life is a dull life, and learning how to enjoy life's spin makes all the doing worth while.
One of my sons and I were working on a wordfind for his spelling lesson yesterday. He hates these very much, claiming that he was never taught how to do them properly. I found the words he had the most trouble finding were the ones spelled backwards. As I was helping him see these words from a different perspective, I noticed something. Hidden in the words "ridicule" and "ridiculous" is the word "lucid." So I wonder...Before resorting to ridicule, do we need to look at the actions and ideas of others from their perspective no matter how backwards they may seem? In other words, within the ridiculous is something lucid hidden?
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